3 August 2005: 0.125 Years In Tibet

http://www.whereismark.fotopic.net/c599365.html
(Weeks 21-23)

Hi folks,

I'm fresh back from Chinese controlled Tibet and am settling back into life in Kathmandu, but I wanted to give you an update before I head back into India again. Crossing into Tibet on the 'Friendship Highway' in a 4wheel drive jeep (in England this would have been called off-roading) it took 5 days to climb from Kathmandu at 1300m up to the capitol Lhasa at 4000m, with two sarcastic Australian lads.

I also took a 'banned' book across the border - "Tears of Blood - a Cry for Tibet by Mary Craig. The main reason it's banned in Tibet is because it contains pictures of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual & political leader of the former Tibet. Tibetans are banned from having his picture. The 11th Panchen Lama is 2nd in spiritual command of Tibet. He is currently 16 & has been in jail in Beijing since he was 6 (the world's youngest political prisoner). So the Tibetans are only allowed to display a picture of the 10th Panchen Lama - who himself spent 15 years in solitary confinement. Whenever a Tibetan asked if I had a picture, they became very excited when I showed them one - although apparently undercover Chinese pose as monks to 'stop' (i.e. expel from the country) visitors trying this. Last month China celebrated 50 years of "peaceful liberation of Tibet". 1.2 million dead Tibetans are being written out of history! Pretty shocking! All bigger monasteries now got attached Chinese police stations, which control all activities inside, using video cameras and spy-monks.

However, on the other side, I met so many very strong Tibetans, deeply rooted into their beliefs and tradition, laughing and smiling all the day about this circumstances. It seems they use all the Chinese perverse performance around them for their meditations, which strengthens their belief even more.

Along the journey into Tibet I've visited Tashilumpo monastery (seat of the Panchen Lama) to see a beautiful giant 'thanka' (tapestry), Gyantse Kumbum (more statues of deities than you can shake a stick at), Yamdrok Tso (Lake - very Scottish looking...) and had a snowball fight at 5000m with the Aussies (I think we did Great Britain proud) on the way to the incredible Nam Tso (a *huge* lake ringed by white mountains).

I've even seen the old Sera monastery (once one of the 3 largest in the world), but it doesn't compare to the new Sera founded in India by the exiles. The monks in India were genuinely happier, the artwork was more beautiful, & the religion appeared more authentic [in the old Tibetan Sera monastery, there were 20 monks debating whilst 50 camera photographed them!] Lhasa itself is a Chinese city now, with the Tibetan areas hidden away behind Chinese restaurants & 24h computer centers. But when you find the Tibetan area, you can eat street food, and play monks at pool. I also met many travellers there & seemed to play most of them at cards!

I rounded up a group (a 'monk', a Dutch nurse, an Israeli girl & Martin) who wanted to go with me & walk round ('kora') the holy of Mt Kailash (6700m) during the full moon, and negotiating the Chinese red-tape [they won't let people go without a guide/minder] to set off on an Odyssey across Western Tibet, which looked a bit like the Wild West. But first, it was to Everest Base Camp (5200m) to hang prayer flags & fly a kite. An amazing place, especially because of the wildlife (lots of bird and marmosets - rodents of unusual size), and the glacier. You can stay in a tent there, though on the last night one burnt down & it was lucky it didn't ignite a large gas cylinder! No one was badly hurt & we had a collection for the distraught owner. Then we drove off to views of Cho Oyu (8201m) & Shisha Pangma (8012m) on the way to the most holy mountain in Asia; Kailash.

Around the mountain, there were many Tibetans & Indians walking around it, prostrating themselves, squeezing trough sin-testing rocks, and passing over 5630m passes... and all with a story of the battle between Bon (pre 7th Century religion) and Buddism illustrated by a magical battle that raged round the mountain between Naro Bonchung & Milerepa (Buddist poet-saint). We took 5 days over the kora (circumambulation) so that I had time to stay at monasteries & walk along the glacier to the North Face ("Gold") of Kailash. At the pass, there was no snow, and in fact a pick-nick atmosphere; it marks the 'rebirth' of Buddist pilgrims so there was lots of singing! A few days later, I managed to find the time to walk the 52km in 12 hours - just as Tibetans do. On the flat I was overtaking everyone, but on the hills 70 year old grannies were powering past me on their 100th kora as I gasped in the thin air!

Afterwards, I had a very peaceful meditation at the Ghost Lake (Rakshas Tal) & bathed some of my sins away at Manasarovar Lake. Then visited the cave-capitol of the Guge Kingdom in Western Tibet (the rain-carved mesas & dry landscape were incredible) and bounced our way back past many breakdowns & floods to arrive in Nepal a few days ago. It's been an amazing journey, one I've wanted to make for more years than I can remember. But now I'm relaxing again in Kathmandu (visiting ancient temples & watching StarWars3 - it's a land of contrasts!) before going to say hello to the Dalai Lama in India.

Hope you're enjoying the updates, and let me know how things are going at your end (although it seems that 50% of you are having babies at the moment). Best wishes,

Mark-in-the-abode-of-snows

Previous Galleries:
Week1 (1st Week in India),
Weeks2-4 (Kerala & Karnataka),
Weeks5-8 (Karnatarka, Goa & Rajasthan),
Weeks9-15 (Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh & Nepal),
Weeks16-20 (Nepal & Tibet).