heading further west

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My stopover in a mountain temple area was a success in that i was able to locate my monk (immediately, by quirky happenstance: i was looking for an adapter to a battery charger i had bought in korea for him, the monk, which i didn't think fit chinese outlets... which did in fact... but the adapter was, i suppose, the means to indirectly stumbling across the monk. I walked into a shop i didn't reallllly believe would have the adapter i didn't realllly need. Looked around: cameras, film, batteries, monk in red robes with a pointy elfin beard, camera accessories... Monk? Here was my monk, sitting at a computer, burning a photo cd. And even more startling, he recognized me right away "Eeefa!") and learn a little bit more about him and his previous life.

He told my hotel companion in sparse chinese, over cup after cup after cup of mountain flower tea, he had moved from the northwest, Qinghai province, to WS only last may, about 2 months before i encountered him. The dirty cheeked, grinning, boy monk was from lhasa, i get the impression orphaned. His students/disciples/clan were still there also, lovely as ever. It was interesting this time as, with the help of my hotel companion, i was able to communicate through more than the smiles of last year. I also had a tibetan phrasebook which was extremely useful in getting points across and getting pointers on pronunciation.

I was intially a little disappointed, unfairly so perhaps, by the changes in attitude i noticed in my monk. Last year he seemed a great deal calmer and more sincere. This year i got the impression his new surroundings, complete with a multitude of tourists and aggressive salespeople and hoteliers, had altered his mannerisms. He was a bit louder, rougher, and almost seemed like he was forcing his laughter. On the other hand, these could have been coping mechanisms to deal with his new life. In Qinghai province, he would have been amidst a great deal more tibetans with completely different forms of expression. In any case, my second visit the next day reaffirmed that his sincerity was still there, even if slightly masked by new expression.

A hike up one of the many mountains in the area brought relief from sitting on buses too long, as well as good views of the area. However, even at that height, sounds of continual construction clanged up, breaking the silence. This once peaceful temple area is fast becoming a disneyland temple ground.

Coming down from the mountain town, i had bought a seat on a minibus, which should have been an only slightly cramped ride down, no great problem. However, they took a very cambodian approach and proceeded to cram as many as and more people than possible. I could have dealt with this, but could not deal with the two chain-smoking bus driver assistants who were sitting on and around me. I finally motioned my way off and hitched down the 4 hours to the town. In fact, i lucked out and got a very kind group of 3 chinese who not only delivered me to the train station, but helped me to get my ticket, and fed me bananas and nectarines on the way, also completing the trip in an hour less than the bus would have. The bus, by the way, sat heaving at the side of the road about 30 minutes after i left it, as we passed smoothly by.

A 30 hour train ride brought me sweatily to Chengdu, where it has now started raining, mocking me for not yet having bought appropriate rain gear. I'm staying in a fun hostel which is very geared towards tibet travellers, so there is a lot of information floating around. Last night i had an interesting conversation with two australian/american tibetan monks, fully ordained. They had pointers, insights, and red robes. And a wonderful guidebook full of wonderfully explicit maps, to compensate for my not so wonderful photocopies of LP's not so wonderful coverage of tibetan areas.

Et voila, i am ready to head west!

Oh, until i am able to transfer photos, check out

http://www.GarlicheadVietnam.june2005.PhotoShare.co.nz

for scenes from the temple mountain area.

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Photos

little man
he is thirteen, laughs like a child, has the practised movements and stance of an adult.

Comments

[Mima and Dave]

From us to you
Hi EEEEEEEva, we have just got to a reliable (read speedy and cheap) internet connection and can read your blog. I wish we had known about this community site before we set up our own. You have finally left the land of the kimchi, can't say we miss that stuff, but I certainly miss the toasted seaweed, and the bowls of stawberries. We are in the dominican republic right now, trying to get the right weather to sail across the caribbean sea to Venezuela. Its hurricane season right now, so we want to get our boat the hellouta here asap! Are you on your way all the way back West? We will be back in the UK early 2006 so you are welcome indeed to any facilities we have (although it might be a camper van). Look forward to tracking your progress through here, connectivity permitting. Lotsa love, the fellow moon lovers. Mima and Dave