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Published: October 4th 2006
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9/1-9/11
After a good amount of discussion, Andrew and I decided to embark upon an overland journey (via 4x4 jeep) through Tibet. Admittedly I was hesitant about this venture and some of my concerns proved to be harsh reality once we were on the road, but I wouldn't trade the experience in retrospect. It allowed us to marvel the unique beauty of the region and witness a much different way of life.
The trip included a 9 day ride (with many stops) from Lijiang to Lhasa (the only city in the Tibetan region). We cruised in a 1999 Isuzu jeep, with a driver (Lucky) and our guide (John) who also shared in the driving responsibility. John was basically the only other person we could communicate with during much of our time in Tibet, and let's just say he wasn't entirely fluent in English. And Lucky (our driver) knew about as much English as we Chinese, so we didn't get passed many "hello's" and "thank you's". As one could imagine, by the end of the journey we were in desperate need for conversation with anyone besides each other. Fortunately, the scenery made up for the lack of new conversation. It
was breathtaking each day and we are grateful for the opportunity to see it all.
The most impressive part about Tibet was the breathtaking landscapes. Every road we took, every mountain we climbed past, we saw another absolutely perfect picture scene. The mountains, the rivers, the local villages, and valleys used by herders were the most impressive part of the experience. Every day we took more and more pictures, but truly the pictures don't give proper justice. We did get invited into a few local homes which also made the experience feel more authentic.
The majority of the roads in this part of the country are unpaved, at least the ones we took for more of an authentic feel. Thereby making the car ride a constantly jostling and jumping time. Over the course of the week we managed to get a flat tire, speeding ticket, have a large rock hit the car taking a huge chunk of paint off the door, witness many overturned vehicles including large hauling trucks, road closures and detours due to mountains of rock avalanche where road use to be (frequently townspeople with pickaxes were the ones clearing the roads). Andrew injured his shoulder
from hitting the door and bruised his forehead while I hung on well enough and was mostly just nauseous.
My nausea was not something I felt compelled to overcome and I could be seen eating a great deal of white rice during this period of our travel. I tried to be as adventurous as possible in regards to the cuisine as it is a good way of familiarizing yourself with life in the area, but had some difficulty after the first bite at each meal. Although we did not realize at the start of the trip, all of our meals would be family style, and John would be doing the ordering for us. As a function of John's ordering, Andrew could now be consulted on any of the following foods: chicken feet, pig ears, fish head soup, sheep soup, pig liver soup, duck eggs, yak meat, Tibetan tea (which is salty and made with yak milk) and fried pig intestines (disproving my previous held belief that anything fried is delicious). Apparently John treated us to some fine Tibetan delicacies. Thankfully, dog and snake are not in season until the winter months. I shouldn't make it sound all bad, I
Pilgrim
I am sure we were only a minor interuption during his prayers. found a few delicious (mostly vegetarian) options but rice was really the only thing I could count on.
One day we stopped along the side of the road to purchase some apples from a local woman. Our guide knew her from a previous trip and he relayed that she has 4 husbands, all of which are brothers. We learned that having multiple wives or husbands is accepted in some parts of the region. Her family is a large and prosperous one, having so many incomes to support it and children to work on the farm.
We also witnessed 4 pilgrims along our way who were making their way to Lhasa. It is the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage one can make. In order to complete the experience, the pilgrim must bow to the floor and touch their head to the ground after every single step they make. This often takes years, as it is much slower than just walking, and requiring a special kind of meditation. We stopped to offer some food to one pilgrim and he told us (through John) that he had been on the pilgrimage for 2 years already and expected it to take another 2.
Glacier at Sunrise
It was explained that the Tibetan people circle these Holy Mountains every 12 years, during the year of the ram. It will bring him and his family good fortune.
We usually stopped in a small town (1 to 2 streets with accommodation and restaurants) each night and witnessed the locals. The people seemed very gentle and kind although quite shocked by our appearance. The stunned faces would often draw crowds around us. One night we met some other travellers who were Taiwanese but spoke fluent English. The 4 of us went out to a local night club. Many of the locals put on a small song and dance show, and we learned the Tibetan philosophy, which says if you can talk, you can sing, and if you can walk, you can dance. Andrew took a liking to this ideology, and has been singing me Tibetan tunes since.
We also saw a lot of Tibetans on very decorative motorcycles with cowboy hats. It is a different kind of wild west indeed.
One night we had the pleasure of sleeping in a monastery/nunnery. It was a really interesting experience with the major flaw being that it lacked running water. Therefore, making it the most difficult night's stay but still the most unique. It was a complete trip, when we
We tried to have a nice hike to the glacier
It looks a lot closer than it really is though. arrived, and we brought into the main prayer room. We found about 30 nuns all sitting cross legged, humming a Buddhist prayer in unison. It really felt like we had arrived at one of the most remote places in the world, and had a real insight to what these unique Buddhist's daily life was like. They pray like this twice a day, for 2-3 hours each sitting.
A major part of our daily life in Tibet was overcoming the bathroom conditions. They really are too horrid to describe especially since I have worked hard to block from memory. Suffice it to say I have a profoundly new respect for plumbing at home. Andrew and I had some traumatized looks each time we exited the facilities during the first few days, slowly acceptance set in even though conditions worsened.
On our last morning, John discreetly took us on a trail up the back of a mountain that led to the Platform to Heaven, adjacent to a mountainside monastery. We witnessed a deeply sacred Tibetan Buddhist custom to dispose of the deceased. The practice is said to bring the persons spirit up to heaven. It involves many prayers, and birds
Clearing the Road
Apparently a bus full of people had been stuck here for 18 hours. By the time we arrived they were just about done clearing and we were able to pass within an hour. literally taking pieces of the body up into the sky. Initially our Western views thought this sounded extremely bizarre. After witnessing it, even though it is very different from our culture we could appreciate the peaceful ceremony and be respectful of the circle of live. Our guide explained the sky burial is the most popular among the Tibetans but there are 7 types of resting places in all.
Our tour ended in Lhasa where we spent the next day or two exploring the city. It was surprising to see an actual city after all the deserted mountains, lakes and glaciers. We spent a lot of time walking around and exploring the Jokhang temple. This was the destination of all the pilgrims we encountered on our drive. It was really an incredible sight, very different from the holy mosques, jewish temples, and churches we have seen before. The Buddhists use many colors, drawings along the walls, and statues of there many gods all around. We had seen this in many temples we viewed in Tibet, but this was certainty the most extensive and holy. Observing the Buddhists practice their religion was quite enlightening, and it is nice to see such
a different practice from what we regularly observe back home.
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