Tibet or not to bet....

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After flying about 5 hours west out of Shanghai, over barren expanses of mountain regions, we touch down in the land of Xizang, Chinese name for Tibet. It's as different from Shanghai as Detroit is from the California coastal region. The thin air at the 12,140' altitude takes our breath away making walking even 1 flight of stairs a lung choking workout. The people are darker with high cheekbones - just like comparing our sun deprived Detroiters to the California beach babes. Yes you can tell the difference between a Tibetan and a Chinese person. We spend a few days in this region to acclimatize before venturing further on our trip to higher alititudes.

Prayer flags are ubiquitous in Tibet. They are in 5 different colors to represent the 5 elements. I didn't want to tell our Tibetan guide that clouds, fire, water, sky, and earth could not be found on the periodic table of elements. To them, their Buddhist beliefs are more real and pertinant than any scientific discovery or characterization. So many geology questions could not be answered. Equally as many political and historical questions could not be answered. Either they simply don't know the answer or "We are not allowed to talk about this". So in retrospect, while we could read up on the region to find the answers to the many questions this tour inspired, in the absence of those resources, our first-person experience has left us with impressions and understanding which could not be gathered from reading a hundred such resources.

Our 10 day itinerary is personalized with a private english speaking guide, driver, and 4WD vehicle. Yet, we wonder if we will find monastery after monastery an interesting tour, as this and the scenery seem to be the main way to experience this culture. Tibet does not disappoint us. Each monastery and each turn in the road brings unbelievable shocks and surprises. In this first blog from our trip, check out our photos and captions and enjoy a little break from your world. Wherever you are reading this from, if it's not Tibet, it's bound to be surprisingly different!

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Photos

Flight to Lhasa
A rare human establishment in an otherwise huge expanse of uninhabited rugged mountains. This view went on for several hours of our flight. Did you know that China had such sparsely inhabited terrain???

Lhasa arrival
Greeted with the white kadack (spelling correct???) to represent purity, we are a bit apprehensive, but ready to see what this remote region has to hold.

Pilgrim
All around Lhasa, the people walk carrying prayer wheels in their right hand and prayer beads in their left. Swinging the prayer wheels clockwise and rubbing the 108 beads (1 for each teaching from Buddah), they are a constant reminder of their Buddhist foundational beliefs. What do they most pray about? Our guide says "whole beings" - not their personal being, but rather all humanity. This is the Buddhist way.

Potala Palace
Otherwise known as "the Dalai Lama's place". Or at least it was for the 5th through 13th Dalai Lama. Presently, us non-Buddhist, non-Tibetan tourists can wander through here, but the 14th Dalai Lama is in exile in India and unable to return. By the way, even at night, pilgrims are walking the large circle route around this palace, twirling their prayer wheels and praying as they go. This palace represents the end of a long journey for many Buddhist pilgrims who travel long distances across Tibet to pray and give offerings here.

Can you believe we climbed all those steps!!
We had to stop more often than I want to admit, but climb them we did. Inside we saw numerous yak butter lamps, monk assembly halls, buddah statues and paintings, tombs of previous Dalai Lamas (dating back as far as the 17th century), a surprisingly noticeable presence of Chinese police, monks, and numerous nomadic pilgrims. This is where we began to learn about the unique form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet.

Inside a monastery
So what's inside a monastery?? Monks, Buddah statues and incense of course. But did you know that in Tibet, there are also numerous yak butter lamps with a very distinctive odor. Visitors will add yak butter to the lamp base as an offering and in this way the lamp will burn forever. Also, be careful, the floors and even the walls are very slippery from all that butter!

Monk Assembly Hall
All monasteries have a place for the monks to gather for prayers. These places always seem dimly lit and peaceful. They have long benches, often covered with Tibetan carpets, and heavy yak wool robes for the monks to wear in cold weather. Needless to say, the winters are quite cold and the comforts of electricity and heat are not available.

Palace Monk
This kind gentleman was happy to pose with visitors for less than a 10 cent donation as he rested on the steps leading up the Potala Palace. He of course is also swinging the prayer wheel. Notice in the background the red "grass" which is used in the construction of many Tibetan monasteries. Interestingly enough, this natural grass, Bmbey, that has been soaked in red clay is original to the palace construction in the 1600's! Can you think of any building material we have today, natural or synthetic, that can stand strong through 400+ years of weathering??

Lhasa
The view back at Tibet's largest city, Lhasa, from the Potala Palace is breathtaking - literally - since you have to climb a long way to get it!

Lhasa street scene
Typical mix of monks, locals, and visitors in this view of the Lhasa market area from our rooftop restaurant.

I wish I could go here again!
This jewelry shop in the market was so well stocked with all sorts of interesting jewelry from the area. I left this city without buying any jewelry as I kept waiting for the "best place". Uggg - if only I could now go back for that $6 yak bone necklace I was debating over......

Prayer flags
Prayer flags are placed everywhere along the countryside in Tibet. This bridge was typical as the Tibetans would use this location in prayer for protection from flooding. We even saw prayer flags clinging high up on mountain sides. How do they get there? The people attach rocks to the flags and hurl them at the mountain wall until they cling to the sides.

Prostrators
This is one grueling way to become enlightened! Look at their faces; dirty and determined. These prostrators pray as they fall to the ground on hands and knees, slide to flat out face down position, stand up where their head lands, take 2 steps, and repeat the process - over and over. The monks in this photo have been traveling over 1200km for 1 year and 20 days doing this process all day! I don't think I could do this for 1 hour without praying for relief from this misery!!! Notice the wood blocks on their hands, likewise they have them on their knees as well.

The sag team
These 2 carts carry all the supplies that 11 prostrators, traveling with the ones in the previous photo, will need on their travel. They eat only Tsamba for sustenance each day. This high calorie, high fiber food consists of roasted barley flour mixed with Tibetan tea, yak butter, and salt. The carts also carry their bedding, tents, and prayer flags. What else could they possibly need??? I ask and am told, yes, they indeed are very excited to be within 20 days of their destination - the Potala Palace.

Barley harvest
The scenery is contradictory to our senses - bleak yet epic and beautiful, harsh yet filled with evidence of community life. Here, a stuppa (house for Gods) accents community harvesting of barley in a typical Tibetan village.

Road to Ganden
Traveling to out of Lhasa up to Ganden monastery was one of my favorite days. Here, we found the trip there just as interesting as the destination. Up switchbacks to the 4500m (14,800 ft) setting, we encountered many interesting Tibetan life experiences. There were speed control "checkpoints", animals of all sorts in the road (dogs, yaks, cows, pigs, donkeys, sheep), farms (radishes, barley, cabbage, potatoes), and even resorts! Yes, that's right, resorts - but surely not what you're imagining. These resorts are fields with gazebo like tents for family picnics.

Ganden Monastery
Established in 1409, before the cultural revolution, this monastery housed over 2000 monks. Now it's home to 200 monks and nuns. This was my favorite monastery visit for many reasons. First, the view from here is oh so awesome! It also was here that we received a blessing of a tap on the head from the real hat of Tsongkapa, the founder of this monastery in 1409. Inside the hat, were the slippers from the 13th Dalai Lama. Now that's a blessing! Also, in this monastery we experienced prayers of monks using vocal sounds we didn't think could emanate from a human being. Deep, reverberating - Ty calls them "devil voices". The whole dimly lit place was eerie yet amazingly peaceful.

Ganden monastery view
Quiet, sweeping, and brisk, I didn't want to leave my vantage point from the rooftop of Ganden monastery.

A tough nun
Don't let her size fool you. This tiny nun had strength and lung capacity perhaps only outdone by her determination and cheerful, kind demeanor. She made countless trips up numerous steep steps (at 4500m altitude!) carrying this dried weed-like incense for use in the monastery.

My big, strong son
Not to be outdone by the cute, little Tibetan nun, Ty offers to help carry a load. With the help of Matt and our guide, and several tries later, Ty is precariously loaded with 2 bags of incense tied around him and he hauls it up enough steps to make all the rest of us breathless.

Tibetan medicine
As if carrying weeds up a steep incline at ridiculous altitudes wasn't enough, next Ty is subjected to a Tibetan cure for his bloody nose. Assisted by Matt and our guide ( Once again, my main job is to wield the camera), Ty holds his head under an ice cold village water spiket. "This is foolishness!" he cries. Nevertheless, after several artery constricting minutes, the blood flow abates and we are soon on our way to view the famous "monk debates" at the nearby Sera Monastery.

Monk debate
So how do those monks become so wise in the ways of Buddhism??? Every day for 1-2 hours, they train each other using an ingenius method of combining mental, physical, and verbal responses. The standing monk asks questions to the sitting monk. The answer is debated until the sitting monk gets it right. At that time, the standing monk takes a high step forward and SMACK, claps his hands to indicate "CORRECT!". The cacophony of a hundred or so monks all loudly talking at the same time along with the smacking hand claps make this courtyard sound a bit like an aviary on steroids. Might this also be an appropriate way to instruct fidgity boys in math, science, and social studies?????