Back for lunch. Leaving for Langmusi at 2pm - a 5 hour coach trip! This province we are in used to belong to Tibet before China took it over - the Tibetans don't seem to have a lot of time for the Chinese, understandably! Most of the people around here are nomads and yesterday we visited a nomad village (have I alrealdy told you that?). Hotel accommodation throughout when we were expecting dorms and guesthouses - much more comfortable so far than I was expecting - and I have my own room. Long periods on the bus can be a bit wearing and nature becomes our bathroom! I won't even talk about the toilets here - you don't want to know, believe me! In the days ahead, we have more monastery visits, a day cycling, a visit to the panda sanctuary and more. In about a week, we arrive in Chengdu, where we can exchange money (no banks here) and there will probably be more internet access. We have a guide called Do-Ja who is Tibetan and very knowledgeable about everything Buddhist. His story is interesting: he has a girlfriend and a baby girl in a nomadic village (where we went to eat yesterday). Her father disapproves of his profession and Western ways and thinks he should live with the extended family and tend the animals. She will not leave her family out of respect for her parents so they spend a lot of time apart. The father will not allow them to marry unless Do-Ja lives with them and works on the land. He is very educated (educated in India) and therefore it would be difficult for him to do that. He used to be a Buddhist monk. I told him I was a Christian and asked if he is a Buddhist. He said no, which surprised me, and said he would describe himself as unreligious at the moment. He is travelling with us over the next few days. Our British guide, Ailsa, is very good. Lunch is about to arrive, so more when I can. Bye for now.