http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Yumtso/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Yumtso en-us Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:38:32 +0000 Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:38:32 +0000 A grand finalemy last month in Golok for the summer July is the season for festivals and the landscape of Golok is lush after the June rains. The grasslands have deep emerald sheen speckled with wildflowers. Friends join me for several weeks of monastery visits rides on bumpy back roads and a horsepacking trip through Nyenpo Yutse a sacred mountain range and legendary source of the Golok t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-77470.html For my second trip to Golok this summer I make a bline for Serta just in time for the annual dharma gathering chos tshogs at Nyenlung Gompa. Hundreds of visitors pack into the gompa Tibetan monks from as far as Rebkong lamas from nearby Jikdril and Padma Chinese students from scattered provinces and locals from surrounding valleys. Storage spaces become dorms. Monks rent their rooms out fo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-77222.html Recovered for the most part from a nasty flu that delayed my departure for two weeks I finally set out for Golok. With a lingering cough and low energy I decide to take it slow and make the trip in short stages. First stop is Chabcha where I stayed with an old friend who is a teacher there and his family. Next I head to Tongde where SRJ's brother is waiting for me on motorcycle. No time to t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-58996.html Over spring break from Qinghai Nationalities University my roomate and friend join me in Tawu. At this point I am just waiting a few days before going to Darlag and Padma Counties farther south. Killing time however quickly turns into fruitful research as I begin to meet prominent figures in Tawu in between sightseeing. Tawu is described in one guidebook as the quintessential 'cowboy town' of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-59001.html Back to the bucket bath for my first few days in Kathmandu staying with friends in Swayambunath. It is shocking how little Kathmandu has changed. The dusty streets seemed dustier after five years and the smog thicker. But no signs of progress or care for the city and its people from the king. A sad state of affairs. Yet there are a host of creature comforts for those who can afford it. After the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/blog-43040.html As a symbol of good fortune for the New Year. Tibetans fill a colorful wooden box with grain tsampa roasted barely flour wheat stalks and other decorations. The Tibetan New Year or Losar is mainly a time for visiting temples family and friends. Outside the Jokhang hawkers are selling red helium balloons with prayer flags attached to them a hybrid of Chinese and Tibetan colors and forms of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-54153.html From the lap of luxury in Kathmandu back to rugged roads of Tibet. In just a few hours the ride to the Nepal border at Kodari took us out of the smog past a series of check posts and up to terraced fields of the Himalayan foothills. Delayed by four hours at the border due to irregularities in our group permit my colleagues and I reach Tingri after nightfall in a deluxe landcruiser supplied by http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/Zhigatse/blog-43043.html Wutai Shan is the abode of the bodhisattva Manjushri who brandishes the sword of wisdom at least in Tibetan images of him. At Wutai Shan I was surprised to discover another wholly different image of Manjushri in which he appears more like a Taoist immortal with an imperial pose and grand beard. We saw both styles of iconography there.A Curious Mix Indeed Wutai Shan contains a curious mix of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-30972.html October is an ideal time to visit Lhasa. What a joy to arrive to blue skies and golden leaves to see the Potala Palace towering over the city and to walk the Barkhor again. In late October there are few tourists just enough in fact to keep the restaurants open that serve western fare for the weary traveler. Parade of PilgrimsThe Barkhor is the heart of Lhasa. It bustles with Tibetan pilgrims http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/Lhasa/blog-28137.html A dumpling banquet with a colleague plus a performance of music and dance from the Tang dynasty when Chinese culture reached an apex in Xian. And the next day apple pie at McDonald's or rather Mid257nglo don't forget your tones to keep in the spirit of celebrating the autumn harvest. The Shaanxi Song and Dance Theatre puts on nightly dinners with a show mainly for foreigners. After gett http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-30969.html Just days after landing in China I venture into Golok on my own for the first time. I am intimidated and exhilarated. Intimidated because of the linguistic barriers with little Chinese beyond nihao and a stillstrange dialect of Tibetan to contend with. Exhilarated because nonetheless I manage to navigate buses restaurants hotels minivans and more. Now the big challenge three days at a mon http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-24621.html Athletics in LabrangKhorra circumambulation is not as leisurely or contemplative as one might expect. It seems more like an athletic event at the Tsegaling the sanctuary of joyful living which appears to be the oldest and most prominently placed building at Labrang Tashikyil. The monastery itself was founded in the eighteenth century by the famous Gelukpa scholar Jamyang Shepa and many of t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-24857.html Around every bend there is another lhakhang literally house of the divine. Each has a single central image of a buddha bodhisttva or tantric deity with a corridor around it for circumambulation and hundreds of smaller identical images lining the walls. On the exterior are murals in the exquisite Rebkong painting style. The Bodhisattva AvalokitesvaraMy friend from Lhasa and I visit almost a do http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-24720.html Just 150 kilometers from Xining the south shore of Lake Kokonor is a popular destination for Chinese tourists. Most stay for just the afternoon. By the Busload The tourists come by the busload to take a boat trip on the lake and peruse the array of necklaces ornate swords animal hides and other wares offered by local vendors. A yak and camel sit on the beach in case someone wants a ride and c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-24712.html We have extra time to visit two monasteries outside of Gabde Tongchab Gompa and Thubten Chkorling also known as Tumpokha after its main lama Pema Tumpo better known in the West as Kusum Lingpa. Global Buddhism off the Beaten TrackThe eclectic vision of Kusum Lingpa is evident from the first glimpse of Tumpokha. A replica of the Boudha Stupa in Nepal is the most prominent. It now leans to one http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-24866.html After rushing from Serta to get to Xining I arrive at Qinghai Nationalities University to study the Golok dialect only to find out that the university has two weeks of vacation sports week where classes are suspended and then the national holiday. I decide to use this time to explore nearby Tibetan areas and to return to Golok this time from the north. Golok is home to eastern Tibet's warrior http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-24862.html