Gantse Gang (I love the kid with the pimp coat and hat)
Really old castle where the people had to pay thier taxes and which Tyson made me climb all the way to the top... he would eh?
Well we've returned from our outing into the countryside, and let me tell you I like the countryside a lot more than the hussel and bussel of Lhasa. We started off the trip by driving switchback after switchback up the side of the mountian to look at a lake. Unfortunity it was snowing and all fogged in once we reached the top. Despite the cold there were yaks, dogs, kids, and little old ladies trying to sell trinkets and pictures with their beasts, not to mention the kids wanting sweets or money. So after taking some pictures of the clouds we headed back down the mountian as the road by the lake straight to Gantse is under construction. About an hour after I became bored of driving along the main road, bam, a shortcut to Gantse. This shortcut took us over a dirt road that led through a couple of small towns over a sandy pass, and along some agricultural ditches. Although it is still early spring here and most of the wild plants have barely started to grow, the views were very desert like. On closer inspection one could see that even through they say the hills become green (seen in photos) the actually thickness of vegetation is not very much. Even now the little shrubs that were growing were being eaten by hungry yaks and sheep. The mountains are steep but all the valleys for the most part are very wide and flat. In these valleys a system of ditches carries water from the river to all the fields growing what I guess is barley but I'm not 100% sure. So when you look out over a valley the mountians and non-agricultural areas are brown while the valley bottoms are green. Most houses are arranged into small villages around flat areas of land in the valley bottoms. There is an outer courtyard whose walls are covered with drying yak dung and filled with the household's livestock. The house is built around an inner courtyard, and most new constructions are two stories tall, the maximum for the countryside, 4 stories here in Lhasa. In many places there are actual sand dunes, one of which we got the driver to stop so we could climb. The mountains are made from sedimentary rock and are covered higher up by about 2 inches of top soil.
Gantse is a small laid back town that has a large monestary and castle. We arrived and after dinner walked around the streets for about an hour. Lots of kids around as school runs 7-noon and then again from 3-6. Watched the classic game of pogs, slightly modified from the days we use to play. That evening we were treated to watch game four of the suns vs. spurs on tape delay, not that we knew the score previously. I won't go into the details of either the monestary or the castle for fear of boring you with length, or making Sara wait any longer to add her 2 cents.
Shigatse also houses a large monestry which after exploring extensively, I settled down in a small shady square to relax and observe pilgram behaviour. One curious little girl, whose mom was walking circles around three stupas decided to play with me. After playing with her I was treated to some yak butter tea from a thermas, which was delicious, way better then the stuff I've had at any eatery. The next morning I got up early to walk the kora, a pilgrim circuit around the outside of the monestary. I hope never to forget the churring of prayer wheels and the hum of prayers. Near the end of the kora I left the kora path and followed another path up to the top of the ridge behind the monestary. After about an hour of hard climbing I reached a small shrin to find two Tibetian women drinking yak butter tea. I joined them and enjoyed tea and then some Bali or barley beer at 8:30 in the morning. The views out over Shigatse were incredible, and I also learned alot about the right way to do things, ie, don't ever go over any prayer flag even if it is on the ground. I followed the ladies back down and after knocking on a house or two got a pen and paper so I could send them the picture I took of them. I had to almost have to run back to the hotel so as not to miss the Land Cruiser ride back to Lhasa. Lhasa is a lot busier now with tourists, not surprising I guess...
Tyson
Ok.. well now that Tyson has written a novel and could publish it called, "Tysons wonderful excrusion into Tibet", I on the other hand have not enjoyed this part of china as much as Tyson has. Mainly because i am not feeling hundred percent and while tyson eats whatever is thrown at him i am the one who gets sick. While i am not denying that this place is ordinary I am ready to leave China for the smells, the spitting, and the loudness of traffic horns is starting to really get to me. I was tolerant for awhile, but man now i just need to get somewhere else. A quiet beach would be nice! I guess the best part for me has been getting CCTV 5 a chinese sports station, hey you can watch sports in any language and understand what is going on, watching kids play or hassle me, and seeing what type of toast i will get in the morning. I am going to be really sick of toast and rice by the time i get home. I can tell already that Tyson and I are very different in our travelling styles. I cannot keep up with him, he doesn't understand the term "relaxation", where as i don't understand the term, "exploration". I don't know I guess the way I see it is if someone was going through my alley way to my house and they looked funny to me i would be a little mad i think. Sometimes i feel bad for being a "tourist" these people are probably so sick of people looking at thier monastary and not really understanding the true meaning of it all. It is ok though, because Tyson can keep doing his excursion and i am just fine with hanging back and relaxing. For people who think that travelling is a cake walk, i beg to differ!!! Maybe if i was in Western Europe or Australia or something like that then it would be a cake walk. Today i had a bad craving for chedder cheese, pickles, and cereal i know a wierd combination but its the little things you begin to miss and appreciate so much more. Leann I hope you have the fridge stocked in 3.5 months hahaha. Well i think Tyson pretty much explained it all, i just wanted to add my dose of reality for those who dream of magical travelling, its not all rainbows and gold you know! haha. But i really can't complain besides feeling ill, its a once and a life time experience and i get to plan the next trip.. !!!
Sara
Gantse is a small laid back town that has a large monestary and castle. We arrived and after dinner walked around the streets for about an hour. Lots of kids around as school runs 7-noon and then again from 3-6. Watched the classic game of pogs, slightly modified from the days we use to play. That evening we were treated to watch game four of the suns vs. spurs on tape delay, not that we knew the score previously. I won't go into the details of either the monestary or the castle for fear of boring you with length, or making Sara wait any longer to add her 2 cents.
Shigatse also houses a large monestry which after exploring extensively, I settled down in a small shady square to relax and observe pilgram behaviour. One curious little girl, whose mom was walking circles around three stupas decided to play with me. After playing with her I was treated to some yak butter tea from a thermas, which was delicious, way better then the stuff I've had at any eatery. The next morning I got up early to walk the kora, a pilgrim circuit around the outside of the monestary. I hope never to forget the churring of prayer wheels and the hum of prayers. Near the end of the kora I left the kora path and followed another path up to the top of the ridge behind the monestary. After about an hour of hard climbing I reached a small shrin to find two Tibetian women drinking yak butter tea. I joined them and enjoyed tea and then some Bali or barley beer at 8:30 in the morning. The views out over Shigatse were incredible, and I also learned alot about the right way to do things, ie, don't ever go over any prayer flag even if it is on the ground. I followed the ladies back down and after knocking on a house or two got a pen and paper so I could send them the picture I took of them. I had to almost have to run back to the hotel so as not to miss the Land Cruiser ride back to Lhasa. Lhasa is a lot busier now with tourists, not surprising I guess...
Tyson
Ok.. well now that Tyson has written a novel and could publish it called, "Tysons wonderful excrusion into Tibet", I on the other hand have not enjoyed this part of china as much as Tyson has. Mainly because i am not feeling hundred percent and while tyson eats whatever is thrown at him i am the one who gets sick. While i am not denying that this place is ordinary I am ready to leave China for the smells, the spitting, and the loudness of traffic horns is starting to really get to me. I was tolerant for awhile, but man now i just need to get somewhere else. A quiet beach would be nice! I guess the best part for me has been getting CCTV 5 a chinese sports station, hey you can watch sports in any language and understand what is going on, watching kids play or hassle me, and seeing what type of toast i will get in the morning. I am going to be really sick of toast and rice by the time i get home. I can tell already that Tyson and I are very different in our travelling styles. I cannot keep up with him, he doesn't understand the term "relaxation", where as i don't understand the term, "exploration". I don't know I guess the way I see it is if someone was going through my alley way to my house and they looked funny to me i would be a little mad i think. Sometimes i feel bad for being a "tourist" these people are probably so sick of people looking at thier monastary and not really understanding the true meaning of it all. It is ok though, because Tyson can keep doing his excursion and i am just fine with hanging back and relaxing. For people who think that travelling is a cake walk, i beg to differ!!! Maybe if i was in Western Europe or Australia or something like that then it would be a cake walk. Today i had a bad craving for chedder cheese, pickles, and cereal i know a wierd combination but its the little things you begin to miss and appreciate so much more. Leann I hope you have the fridge stocked in 3.5 months hahaha. Well i think Tyson pretty much explained it all, i just wanted to add my dose of reality for those who dream of magical travelling, its not all rainbows and gold you know! haha. But i really can't complain besides feeling ill, its a once and a life time experience and i get to plan the next trip.. !!!
Sara
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