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Published: August 14th 2009
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Really, a day is all you need.
After a lovely Sichuan hotpot dinner, me and 2 Brits wandered around the town a bit, attracting attention as we went. One guy wanted to take our photo on his cell phone and then we took his photo with our cameras. We stopped for some green tea at a teahouse before heading back to the hostel. The shower, while a bit creepy looking, was HOT and had marvelous water pressure. There was even a heat lamp. Which was wonderful since this fresh mountain air is freezing. It feels like winter in Shenzhen. The girl who runs the place wears a hot pink velour track suit with "fur" on the hood. She was kind enough to loan me her hair dryer. I still snuggled deep into my bed and extra blanket, trying to not hear the barking and howling dogs outside.
Today we got up around 8am and there wasn't a soul around. A relaxed town and hostel, I guess. We went to the bus station to purchase our tickets for tomorrow and then we had some spicy noodles for breakfast... followed by treats from the pastry shop. I ended up getting cream
from my cream puff in my hair. Luckily there haven't been any bees. Yet. I saw many hives enroute yesterday and have already seen honey for sale.
We came back to our hostel debating our plan for the day. We visited two monasteries. The first one was definitely Tibetan. All the signs were in Tibetan and some Chinese. It was beautiful. We walked around the building clockwise and saw some monks in convesation in a back room. I smiled and waved, feeling a bit awkward. Luckily, the one closest to the door waved back. We then went inside the main temple. There were some long custions (for multiple monks) and a lama throne in the middle with a photo on it. In the center was a huge Buddha statue. The whole room was 3 stories tall, all intricately carved and ornately painted. It was like stepping into a calm and wild kaleidoscope. Dizzying and magnificent and awing at the same time. I felt humbled. I think that's the point.
We went up the dirt road to another temple. This one even had signs in English and was much older. There was very little Tibetan writing on this temple.
In the main room the monks were chanting and praying and offering blessings to people who had come to the monastery. The people were offering gifts to the monks and another woman was prostrating herself. The chanting is so soothing I could have listened for much longer. But I think they were wondering why we just stood outside, looking in, and not doing anything.
After returning to the hostel, my friends headed out to find the mineral pools, which are supposed to be refreshing. I stayed back to write this. While sitting here I've had 2 Tibetan women come in but not talk to me. Then I saw a monk go by the gate and I smiled and went back to my writing. Suddenly I looked up and he was right here, next to me. I was startled and wondered what he wanted. He smiled and said, "Tashi Dalek," which is Tibetan for hello. I responded with a shy smile and a, "Tashi Dalek." Then he looked around briefly and left.
This truly is a magical place.
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