Buddha Breathes a Sigh of Relief
It’s been far too long between today and my last official blog entry, and I attribute that completely to the fact that I’ve not had a good thirty minutes to sit in front of the computer and ruminate since I came back from Tibet. My friends Spencer and Henry made a pit stop here in China on their grand tour through the sights and tastes of Asia immediately after I returned from Nepal. However, to the chagrin of many of you, I am back and as garrulous as ever, and ready to unleash upon you the details of my spiritual journey through Tibet and Kathmandu, with details of the less mystical but no less fruitful “Chronicles of Spencer in Asia” sprinkled into the mix.
Instead of continuing along the much trodden path of chronologically listing destinations and events from my trip, I’ve decided to summarize the basic itinerary in this short initial passage/entry, and then proceed to single out the best anecdotal nuggets of the journey for more in-depth narration. This way, you can worm your way into my head and have a good feel for what I remember best about the trip before heading over to the picture gallery and looking at postcard-like photographs that have absolutely no personal meaning to any of you.
Our starting point in Tibet was Lhasa. After spending three days there in the capital we hopped into some really old Land Cruisers and headed west toward the Himalayas and Base Camp Everest. To say the area we drove through was grossly underdeveloped is a gross understatement. The land is arid and dry, with very little vegetation; you truly feel like you’re at the end of the world. After Lhasa we overnighted at Gyantse, then Shigatse, then Tingri, which is the smallest town that I have EVER seen in my entire life (there’s a hotel there, a bridge, and four shacks). Next was our night at Everest, before we drove to Zhangmu, an adorable border town between Nepal and China. Then, it was off to Kathmandu, where we were afraid that the political riots and strikes that serendipitously hit the city when we arrived would keep us trapped in Nepal for four or five extra days (turned out to be 1).
There were a good three days there where all we did was drive, with stops for pictures and yak-meat lunches. Some of the sights of Tibet were spectacular while others, especially the poverty of many of the peasants in the rural areas, were sobering. The air everywhere was fantastic, and the sky had to have ranked as one of the bluest I have ever seen (along with New Mexico). I did get a little “monasteried out,” as there is little in Tibet other than monasteries and yaks. Even the nunneries are kept geographically inaccessible, perhaps for fear that the monks would partake in a little co-ed mischief. Mount Everest was disappointing at first, but at sunset and sunrise her majesty becomes startlingly evident.
I won’t soon forget my experiences in Tibet and Nepal, not so much because of the enlightenment factor, but more because the simple purpose of visiting these places is to not forget these strange and wonderful sights. I encourage you all to make the trek one day, and if on this journey through the Tibet hinterlands you stop your car and take a stroll near a sparkling creek in the shadow of a canyon wall that looks like a stovepipe hat, look down and search for a pile of smooth, sandy-colored rocks. If a wildflower with violet petals is blossoming between the cracks of the stones, I hope you think of me…because I seriously fertilized the hell out of it.
Instead of continuing along the much trodden path of chronologically listing destinations and events from my trip, I’ve decided to summarize the basic itinerary in this short initial passage/entry, and then proceed to single out the best anecdotal nuggets of the journey for more in-depth narration. This way, you can worm your way into my head and have a good feel for what I remember best about the trip before heading over to the picture gallery and looking at postcard-like photographs that have absolutely no personal meaning to any of you.
Our starting point in Tibet was Lhasa. After spending three days there in the capital we hopped into some really old Land Cruisers and headed west toward the Himalayas and Base Camp Everest. To say the area we drove through was grossly underdeveloped is a gross understatement. The land is arid and dry, with very little vegetation; you truly feel like you’re at the end of the world. After Lhasa we overnighted at Gyantse, then Shigatse, then Tingri, which is the smallest town that I have EVER seen in my entire life (there’s a hotel there, a bridge, and four shacks). Next was our night at Everest, before we drove to Zhangmu, an adorable border town between Nepal and China. Then, it was off to Kathmandu, where we were afraid that the political riots and strikes that serendipitously hit the city when we arrived would keep us trapped in Nepal for four or five extra days (turned out to be 1).
There were a good three days there where all we did was drive, with stops for pictures and yak-meat lunches. Some of the sights of Tibet were spectacular while others, especially the poverty of many of the peasants in the rural areas, were sobering. The air everywhere was fantastic, and the sky had to have ranked as one of the bluest I have ever seen (along with New Mexico). I did get a little “monasteried out,” as there is little in Tibet other than monasteries and yaks. Even the nunneries are kept geographically inaccessible, perhaps for fear that the monks would partake in a little co-ed mischief. Mount Everest was disappointing at first, but at sunset and sunrise her majesty becomes startlingly evident.
I won’t soon forget my experiences in Tibet and Nepal, not so much because of the enlightenment factor, but more because the simple purpose of visiting these places is to not forget these strange and wonderful sights. I encourage you all to make the trek one day, and if on this journey through the Tibet hinterlands you stop your car and take a stroll near a sparkling creek in the shadow of a canyon wall that looks like a stovepipe hat, look down and search for a pile of smooth, sandy-colored rocks. If a wildflower with violet petals is blossoming between the cracks of the stones, I hope you think of me…because I seriously fertilized the hell out of it.