Photo Link

Hello Readers.

I would like to thank all of you from coming along on Carly and I's adventure in the East. It was a wonderful experience that will color the rest of my life. I have been working on the after-trip portion of the class which is the creation of a group journal containing everyones research topic and place writings as well as some bonus features. I will let everyone know when it is going to the printing press.

I have been posting photos from the trip on-line through google's picasa program. There are photos from everywhere we went and I will be updating them often. I suggest you take a gander. The link is:

picasaweb.google.com/willie.pictograms

Hope you check it out and please leave comments I do read them and I enjoy your input. Thanks again.

Willie

Photos from Chengdu

Chengdu has been full of unique and unforgetable experiances which soon will be illumiated. This is just a batch of photos becasue I found an internet bar fast enough to do the task. Thanks for your paticence , stories coming soon.

Bus Travel: Lanzhou to Linxia

Text coming soon to fil out the photos.

Long Lost Lhasa Photos

POTALA

This is the view from the roof top tea house at our hotel

The Barkor Circuit where pilgrams and souviner hungry tourists circle the Jokang temple

This is an offering fire at the front of the Jokang where I met the No name monk and was introduced to Popo.

Mt. Genyen: God Mountain

Mt. Genyen is home to what is for many the archetypal Tibet scene. The monastery, far flung and strenuous to reach, is set amongst a backdrop of rugged peaks. This for now is not a tourist place since it can only be reached by the truly dedicated. The walk was gorgeous; both visually and physically breath-taking. We set off along a rushing turquoise river through flower dotted meadows beset by piles of inscribed "Mani" stones.







After about two hours of walking on an empty stomach we reached a small village, a good opportunity for a rest and a snack. Dining on peaches and peanuts, Carly and I watched the daily routine that is required to survive in the remote location. Everyone was outside, adults working, children playing, some lounging and talking. The village proved to be a labyrinth, we thought we should just head for the largest mountain but tracking your route by mountain can be confusing since a big mountain is on all sides. We asked the locals where the monastery was and they pointed us in the right direction. An old woman came and opened the gate to the path. Sometimes it seems like the only Tibetan words you really need to know are hello and thank you. Passed the town was a landscape of rolling green hills, ominous dark clouds began to form overhead and just as we made it to the pass and out of the treeless hills as the rain started to pour. We sought refuge under a juniper tree until the worst was over. A Tibetan walking the same route told us "Don't fear the rain."


When the downpour turned into a drizzle we set off through a field of boulders and rejoined the river .

Mountains now towered above us with blue white glaciers visible down to their texture. Signs of the coming monastery first started to appear; prayer flags draped the trees and a white chorten stuck up in the distance under the peaks. We criss-crossed stream after stream as we traversed the valley floor. For the first time on the trip, I could only rely on my own two feet. Out in the visually spectacular place, far away from far, a feeling of contentment padded my steps as the incredible fortune of being able to be present amidst the humbling peaks sunk in. We reached to chorten at the bottom of a pass for another snack at to wait for our peers to catch up. After a mushy peach, some fruit snacks, and cashew we began our assent.

Now the weakness from 4 weeks of physically stationary train, car, and plane travel as well as the previous 12 miles walk started to kick in. We drugged up the pass, myself nearly out of water. My head began to ache, and my lungs strain struggling to fulfill my body with the thin 14,000 foot air. But as in all things movement is driven by putting one foot in front of the other. We were greeted by prayer flags as we reached the top of the pass. Another half mile and the monastery, our final destination, appeared beneath a line of jagged peaks.

We walked along the river and up to the temple at the crest of the hill. I have never been so relieved to take a weight off of my back-walking 14 miles entirely between 13,000 and 14,000 feet will do that. We moved to the monastery kitchen for dinner ( our professor promised tsampa- barley meal) and I needed water. I immediately felt better with the backpack off. We sat along the edges of the darkened room and deliriously watched the monk tend to the wood burning stove. Relaxing on the mats and in a state of euphoria from the soreness we waited for food that would never come. The monk was not making dinner just boiling water. A package of instant noodles made sure we did not go to bed hungry. We sat and slurped noodles and watched to sun go down. Darkness descended at a mellow pace turning the sky from pink to yellow, to blue. At this stage we gathered our trash into a pile, picked up our bags, and made our way to sleep. We had been told that a bed awaited to cradle us to an easy sleep but our bags came down on the wood plan ks of the monastery porch. I set up my sleeping bag, grateful to be on my back mattress or not, an d fell asleep gazing at the psychedelically painted ceiling of the monastery roof

Beauties of the Plateau

I thought it was time to add a few pictures to the blog but the pace at this machine is so slow I could only give a choice few. I'll stick to Mt Genyen, an outstandingly beautiful place that I feel very privlidged to have walked 26 miles at 14,000 feet to witness. And two lakes that we explored, evidence of Tibet's glaciated past and sometimes present. More explainitory text about each place is soon to come. Thanks for reading.

Mt Genyen

Lakes of Tibet

Litang: Sichuan's Wild West

This bustling hive of activity is a welcome change from the rural villages we have been traveling through for the past few weeks. Out in the valleys we are the center of attention. When we pull up in our caravan of land crusiers all the kids and some adults stop where they are doing to observe the spectical of white skinned camara wielding foriegners. What a strange bunch we must be to them.

Litang on the other hand, has its own bustle that keeps the locals occupied beyond the strange foriegners. The main artery is pact with motorcycles, minivans, tracters, SUVs, and mules, the sidewalks are decked with Tibetan goods, rugs, incense and food. The market has a characteristic atmosphere. I welcomed the many varieties fruit trucked up from Chengdu. The elevation of Litang is just over 13,000 feet prompting some to call it the highest city in the world however you wouldnt know it from the abundance of the marketplace. Grapes, watermellon, asian pears, peaches, and plums greet you as you enter the market square. The varieties of foods make me long for a kitchen as the rows of ingredients spread out past what the eyes can see. Yak hangs from the rafters, and fish float in buckets on the ground. Pickled roasted garlic and chillis provide fragrence as I pass. The market- what a beautiful place.

The local monesary is newly rebuilt and two new building house some of the largest gold and copper buddahs in the world. The size imparts a certain awe as the snow lions carved on the base a lifesize. The buddas streach 26 meters tall. While certainly beautiful, the multi-million dollar statues impart more artistic impressivness than religious. As a religious statement it is an expensive way to remind yourself that this would is an illusion.

All and all Litang seems to be a prototype Tibetan town. Filled with hustle and honking horns and set in a backdrop of rolling green hills and jagged peaks. A beautiful monestary and a active lay life. Not to mention the good food. I am happy to be here.