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Published: September 28th 2014
After another day of rest next on the agenda was a day titled Tibetan encounter. Craig was suffering from pretty bad food poisoning so he wasn't able to go, so it was just me and the guide Thupten. The Tibetan encounter day was extremely interesting as well as enriching. Apart from what I googled the night before the tour (so as not to seem too ignorant, and so I could ask questions to Thupten to get the best experience) I didn't know a lot about tibet apart from the 'free tibet' signs held my long haired hippies you see and that the Dalai Lama had to flee his own country and cannot return for fear of his life. There are three Tibetan refuge settlements in Pokhara and many more around the world (there are a lot are in india, including where the Dali lama lives). Due to the large amounts of Tibetans living away from their country and the Chinese settling more in Tibet the Tibetans are worried their culture, way of life and identity is being lost. Thupten's tour aims to educate people about Tibetan history, way of life, means of making money, food, schooling, religion, their medicine, family life
and he is at hand to answer any questions you may have. I easily must have talked all day to him, he was such a lovely, gentle person and so well read. His knowledge base was very broad and deep. In order to get the best out of the day Thupten takes you to see different things in the settlements. First stop was a traditional rug making factory,where older women spin wool, which is then hand made by women in the factory. We looked at younger men making bags and wallets which all was sold in the factory shop. There was a bus load of European tourists in the shop buying authentic rugs and they were not cheap! Beautiful though and the money goes back in the he community. This great/traditional skill of rug making pays little to the women who make the rugs and the factories owned by the Nepalese bag most of the profits, Tibeten people have little rights in Nepal making it difficult for them to earn a living and to keep their traditions alive due to the poor amount of money placed on their expertise. This then makes the new generation shy away from this traditional
job for jobs in mines and working abroad in shops, restaurants, factories, manufacturing and IT which pay more money.
Next stop I was taken to a local school, then on to a doctors appointment with a Tibetan doctor. All doctors are trained in Dharmasala in India and are then sent out the Tibetan settlements around the world, once they finish their 7 years training. The medicine is different to western in that it is a system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis, and utilses behaviour and dietary modification, medicines composed of natural materials (eg, herbs and minerals), and physical therapies (eg, Tibetan acupuncture) to treat illness. So not quite the same as visiting your local G.P. The doctor was lovely and we talked for a while about our different jobs and differences/similarities in Western and Tibetan medicine.
We moved onto another settlement where I ate lunch with a local family. I had traditional lunch, which was a take on dahl baht (which consists of steamed rice, lentil soup, seasonal vegetables, a portion of pickle and portion of curry all mixed together in a bowl) and spoke to the family about their
life. The settlements are clean and there were houses with tin roofs, some two story, with a town hall and a playground. The house I went in was well decorated and even had the standard huge television and a top box. It was in a settlement in which there is a noodle factory which isn't to legal. The noodles aren't officially allowed to be sold as the Tibetans have little rights living in a different country, they cannot really work and make money. But they make noodles which they sell to local restaurants with the noodles packaged with no markings so if authorities come they do not know who made them. The Tibetans are in a terrible predicament. The Chinese have said if they returned to Tibet they would be looked after, but lots of Chinese workers have moved to their land and resources are being used and are making the Chinese money with little coming back to Tibetans pockets.
We then went to a local Buddhist monastery. This was a huge complex where very young to young adult monks learn and practice their teachings. I was lucky enough to be allowed into afternoon chanting. They were chanting Buddhas
prays which if spoken non stop can take a couple of months, and it was quite intense, with the sounds and smells and the beautifully decorated temple all coming together, it was quite a mystical experience. There was a huge age range of practicing monks from very young to old. I was told all first boys traditionally become monks with some not enjoying it to begin, but having had a life of being a monk proving to be one they would not change. The living quarters were very basic, and not very inviting, l used the toilet here and was very surprised at how dirty it was but l was more surprised by the huge MONKEY with big teeth who l shared my toilet with.
Near here we went to a Tibetan old peoples home and witnessed their afternoon praying. The home was a project set up by a worldwide charity to take care of elder Tibetans who cannot return home for fear of their lives but have little family in Nepal to care for them as they grow old as they left them when they fled their country. It was a sobering experience and made me very grateful
for the facilities older people have in the Uk and the care which is available by the Government for people who may not be able to pay for it.
The last place we went to was to see a 91 year old gentleman who had been one of the gorillas for the Dali lama and after the Dali lama knew he needed to flee this gentlemen and his comrades helped the Dali lama to escape Tibet through he mountain range safely to India. The elderly man had no major physical or mental problems, he was just rather old and with Thupten translating he told me about how they escaped, how he felt when the Dali lama returned to Tibet to see the Chinese, his views about the Chinese in Tibet and his life in Nepal after he to could not return to Tibet for fear of rebucussions for helping the Dali lama. It was very interesting and spoke with pride and dignity.
At this point Thupten and myself had a huge discussion about Buddhism, reincarnation, the Dali lama and also more about the history of Tibet and the takeover by China. It was very interesting and i feel
l definitely now have a sounding understanding of the situation. It is very complicated and I would need to hear China's side to form a proper opinion. I do hope more people do this tour as it was very interesting and to spend time with someone as knowledgeable and nice as Thupten is an great life experience in itself.
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Momma Toni
non-member comment
Beautiful photos so vivid and colourful.
I love the simplicity of the following of your breath a great gift and to not have any attachments to outcome " some of the gifts from god are sweet some of the gifts from god are bitter but they are all gifts from god" the rugs were a work of art such a shame they cant be owned by the creators! i am so glad i am a pensioner in this country rather than " relying on the kindness of strangers" said in my best Blanche Du Bois southern drawl! I am glad you braved going on your own well done it would have been a shame to miss such a teaching! all my love Antonia xxxxxxx