jaundice

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One of the hot spots now is Nam Tso Lake, about 200km north of Lhasa, an organized tour circuit or public buses and some thumbing. I took the latter. It wasn't as easy as in other countries, and i ended up paying for a ride from point B to the lake. Coming down, however, i was extremely lucky and got picked up by a busload of tourists.

The lake: it is about 4700m and is quite beautiful. It holds sacred value, as one of the 3 GREAT lakes in T, and so has become one spot on a list of many. Consequently, you have the one or two day tours, the independent travellers, and the hilarious busloads that leave from Lhasa at 2am, arrive at the lake just pre-dawn, take some Yak and water shots (before it is its most beautiful) and trundle out again to the next spot on the checklist. The scene of all those buses... staggering. I awoke my 1st morning, to walk around the lake at sunrise and was more than a little shocked to see this herd of wild buses (which hadn't been there before), wild tourists pouring out in multi-coloured sportsy outfits, wonderful cameras, and great expectations.

I took a local bus from Lhasa to a nearby town, then negotiated a jeep ride up the mountain, a ride complete with jeep-repair stops, and road-repair stops. That did not mar the trip, nor the scenery. I shared the jeep with 3 Ts I'd met on the bus, 3 brothers of varying ages and humour. They were nice, had me in for tea when we arrived, and let me watch them set up their tent. It resembled my family tent from childhood, except that theirs was waterproof and highly decorated.

The brothers and some of their friends from home spend the tourist months there, vying for tourists' spendings. The offerings: horse riding, yak photos, and strings of prayer flags. These guys were busy at night sewing strings of prayer squares together into long flags, to be strewn between rocks or across crevices, or anywhere slightly windy and auspicious, really. Like anyone catering to tourists, their lives are hard, full of frustrations and demanding tourists. Yet i admired their freedom for a few months, freedom from city peddlings, and freedom to be in such lovely surroundings. Yet, again, cynicism has crept into many of the Ts who spend months there. Some of their words are laced with it, others have it written on their faces. But, as the place becomes more discovered, their income will likely increase... unless regulations are stomped out about who can sell what.

I kick myself (still) for not having rented a tent in town and for not having brought my sleeping bag, as well as a hoard of loved ones and a guitar. However, the year-round tents there were fine for a couple of nights, and mine had a woodstove (burning yak dung) as a bonus. The area was made for walking, walking around the lake's edge, walking around the clifftops, walking around the cliffs and into the caves. I did this. Each time one circles a holy place, it is called a Kora . Because of the scenic routes, the caves and cave dwellings, I did 3 Koras, so i suppose my karma is in good order now.

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Photos

jaundice
Leafing through Kalsang's English book, I came across this incongruous entry.

Comments

[wannabee]

Where did the wind go?
wonderous pictures! The Tibetians are such good looking people. One question - it all looks so calm = the lake is calm the flags are not blowing the people's clothing is not blowing. Is there no wind at that altitude?

[Garlichead]

wind
Hi Wannabe, actually, there is quite a bit of wind, usually, in those places. Up high you get more. By the lake that afternoon it was calmer. But there's enough gusts to ensure that prayers aredelivered to santa claus... i mean, the heavens. --Eva