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Tara's Travels
Where is Tibet? This might seem like an easy question, but after much research, it isn't as simple as it might seem. When you look at a map, you might point to Tibet and say, "There’s Tibet. It is bordered by India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, East Turkestan, and China." That area is only a small section of Tibet though. According to the International Tibet Network, “When Tibetans refer to 'Tibet’ they are talking about the entity comprising the three provinces of U-Tsang, Kham and Amdo. The two Tibetan provinces of Kham and Amdo are now largely incorporated into the Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Sichuan [i.e. Sichuan is the province I currently live in]. Tibet’s traditional territory now accounts for one quarter of the landmass of today’s People’s Republic of China. The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), an administrative region created in 1965 [i.e. This is the bordered area that one sees on a map] . . . comprises less than half the total Tibetan lands and contains only a third of the total Tibetan population.” So, the area that most people consider Tibet is really only a small section of actual Tibetan territory. Therefore, even though I only explored the road to the (TAR) from Chengdu (located in Sichuan Province), I can accurately say that I was in Tibet. The border doesn't matter, and after much research online, I read that tourists prefer the provinces, especially Sichuan, because it is more authentic and accessible than Lhasa. We went to the best area one can go to get a real feel of Tibet. Once you enter the Tibet Autonomous Region, the restrictions are tighter, so the “feel” we got while in Tagong would have been impossible there, especially with all of the Chinese police surrounding the area. In case you haven't heard, on May 27th of this year, two Tibetan men lit themselves on fire, so the border into the (TAR) is closed to foreigners. The areas outside of the (TAR) are under special watch, but we didn't see much of anything expect police cars here and there, which was nice. I remember before coming to China my mom told me that I was going to live in a dangerous area because prior to coming here, there had been a few self-immolations in Sichuan Province. I didn't think too much about it, but now that I am here, the situation is quite terrifying. The Chinese government tries to cover up as much as they can, but it is hard to hide bright flames engulfing a human being who is fighting for freedom. Nicole and some other Buckland teachers walked around the Chengdu Tibetan Quarter in March, and Nicole took some pictures of the soldiers and Tibetan people. The authorities followed her and her friends around and eventually asked her to delete her photos. Yep--I would say China is trying VERY hard to keep the turmoil of the Tibetan people at a low. The International Campaign for Tibet has uncovered the following statistics:
I am so glad Scott and Jill from Standley Lake High School came to visit me because without them, I never would have seen Tibet. A lot happened on our 5 day Tibetan adventure, so I will lay out all of the details—not only for my readers but for myself. I want to capture every moment, so I can always remember Tibet—the Land of Snows, the Roof of the World.
Day 1: (6-8)
Scott asked me months prior to our trip to find a good tour guide who could drive us to Tagong. I searched high and low and came across China TAK Tours (http://www.tibetmap.net). I highly recommend this site to anyone planning a tour to Tibet; whether you are traveling to the Tibetan Autonomous Region or the Amdo/Kham region, which overlays the area of the TAR region, Qinghai Province, southeastern Gansu Province, western and northwestern Sichuan Province, and the northern Yunnan Province, this site can help you plan your trip. I am not quite sure how the system on this site works, but I clicked “Contact” and got a quick response from a Chengdu local named Homer. We negotiated price, and he gave me a map of the best route to take. I confirmed everything months before our trip but was still a bit nervous about this guy because I have never hired a tour guide before. Since I was in charge of the trip, if anything went wrong, I would feel horrible. As I have stated many times before, Chinese people are never on time, so I was surprised when Homer arrived early on the morning of June 8th. I told him to meet me at 7:45 am, but he texted me at 7:30, saying he was here. I still wasn’t completely ready, but I threw everything together and ran outside. There he was, a tall, lanky Chinese guy, standing next to his black Ford Explorer. I jumped in, and we headed to pick up Scott and Jill from their nice hotel. We made small talk as we were driving, and Homer told me that he used to be an English teacher; he didn’t like how everything came down to the exams, so he fled from the politics of education and became a tour guide. He said that he prefers this job because he only has to go on 1-2 trips a month to make what he did in a whole month of teaching; plus, he gets to spend more time with his family. He is a pretty crazy driver, and since we were hitting morning traffic, he was driving even crazier. He explained that although the police do not spend time pulling people over in China that there are TONS of cameras, so people still get fined. He also said that he has gotten quite a few tickets, but since he needs a clean driving record, he just takes the points off of his wife’s license. I thought this was pretty funny but also understandable, since his wife doesn’t drive anywhere. Around 8:50, we arrived at Jill and Scott’s hotel, but because Scott had a bloody nose, we had to wait a bit for them to come out. Once Scott’s nose situation was taken care of, we all jumped in the Explorer and headed towards Tibet.
We had lunch in a dinky, small town and then headed towards Kangding (a touristy area for Chinese people but not so much for foreigners). It’s a really nice town with a great vibe, so we enjoyed walking up and down the main street. Around 7 pm, a whole bunch of people started dancing in a huge circle. I have seen a lot of Chinese people dance, but NEVER this many people in one group. To top it off, there were also quite a few Tibetans in this area, so we got a feel of what was to come. We watched the Friday night dance party (as Jill called it) for a little bit and then bought a ton of baked items from this amazing little bakery down the street. Homer told us to stalk up because there wouldn't be very many food places on the way to Tagong. Jill and I bought these dried berries, but they were horrible!!! I spent a good part of my trip, trying to eat them because I didn’t want to throw them away, but by the 3rd day, I gave them to Homer. Jill then tried to give me her bag, but I told her that I wanted NOTHING to do with them and that I didn’t even want to think about them EVER again. I am not exaggerating. They were that BAD!!!!
We had a hard time finding dinner, but we eventually came across a place that had noodles, vegetables, and rice. This was pretty exciting because most hole-in-the-wall, family-owned restaurants serve either noodles and dumplings, or rice and vegetables—not both. Scott’s noodles were amazing, but my vegetables were actually too spicy for my taste. I choked them down and then we headed back to the hotel for the night. After I fell asleep, Homer decided to text me at 11 pm, again at 11:30, and then midnight. Why!!!!!! He wanted me to know that we couldn’t leave until around 9 in the morning because he needed more time to fix a leak in his vehicle; we hit a lot of bumps on the way to Kangding, causing some problems with his power steering. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night, but I was fine the next day because excitement is natural caffeine.
Day 2: (6-9)
We got up and were ready to go around 8 am, but since we weren’t leaving until 9, we walked around the town a bit more. Once Homer was ready to go, we all jumped in and got to explore some pretty bad roads. Homer doesn’t slow down for bumps because if he did, we would NEVER get to our destination. Therefore, we got bumped around quite a bit, but we got a break from the drive when we arrived at Lake Mugecuo, which is a must see according to the online travel guides. We paid 120 yuan a person and then took a bus up to the lake. The best part of Lake Mugecuo was the bus ride up the mountain because we were all over the place; let’s just say it was a good thing I took my motion sickness pill. Jill and I got seats, but Scott had to stand. It was quite hilarious to watch Scott get tossed around as we winded up the mountain. As soon as we came to the lake, every Chinese person on the bus went “OOOOOH, AWE!!!” We looked at each other and said, “Um…this is it? This just looks like Colorado.” All of the Chinese tourists then paid more money to take a boat ride on the lake, but we decided to just walk down the mountain to see what we came across. It was a nice relaxing walk, and Jill and I talked quite a bit about this and that, which was nice. We came across some cool engravings on a mountain, some beautiful flowers, and also some prayer wheels. This was the first time I had seen prayer wheels, so it was pretty exciting. Little did I know that I would be seeing a lot more in Tibet. We walked down a good section of the mountain, found a bus, and then met back up with Homer.
The ride to Tagong was amazing because we saw some beautiful Tibetan mountains and grasslands covered with yaks. We had a great time looking out the window, and the nice thing about having a private driver is you can ask him to stop whenever you want. So, at one point, Scott asked Homer to stop so we could climb a small hill in order to get a better view of an intensely huge, snow covered Tibetan mountain. I had to switch shoes, so they were ahead of me a bit. I then ran to the base of the hill to catch up and then hurried up only a small section of the hill when I realized I couldn’t breathe at all. I knew we were at a high altitude, but I had never experienced altitude sickness before. My hands were tingling, my heart was beating faster than it EVER has, and my head felt like it was going to explode. Jill was waiting for me, so I walked a few more feet but felt like I was going to fall over. Hm…I have been telling everyone that I am in good shape since I have to walk and bike everywhere, but maybe that isn’t true. I don’t think I am going to be climbing a 14er when I get back home because the feeling I had that day was horrible. Scott and Jill told me it was probably just because of the altitude, but I couldn’t even make it up a tiny hill to see the view because each step seemed impossible. I just sat on a rock and tried to gain my composure while they were on top of the hill. I have NEVER felt so pathetic and wimpy in my life, but now I know what altitude sickness feels like.
We made it to Tagong around 5 pm and checked into a pretty cool hostel. For 25 yuan a person, Jill, Scott, and I could share a room. It was a tight fit, but we decided to call it a slumber party. Once we checked in, we walked around the town and saw TONS of Tibetans because…well…..we were technically in Tibet. We had fun sitting on the bridge and watching the Tibetan people walk across. We then went to the prayer wheels on the other side of town, and there was a Tibetan man holding a box. He walked over to me and acted like he was going to show me what was in the box, but he, instead, grabbed my boob. I mean he really grabbed it, squeezing it really hard. I was in shock, so all I could do was shriek and walk away really fast, exclaiming, “Oh my!!! Jill, Scott…this guy just grabbed my boob!!!” I was partly laughing because I was in so much shock, and Jill told me that I should have hit him. I think it is better that I didn’t make a scene, though, because with all of the craziness going on in Tibet right now, it is better to keep a low profile. In fact, Homer thought we might have a hard time getting to Tagong because of the recent self-immolations, but we were lucky and got through. The man who grabbed me had mental problems of some kind I think, so I don’t want it to sound like Tibetans are like this man. In fact, the Tibetan people are very friendly, so we didn’t encounter any problems whatsoever. I have heard of people getting mugged in this region, but we only encountered kind faces. Even the guy who grabbed me had a big smile and seemed quite harmless. Once the sun started to go down, we grabbed some dinner and then headed back to our hostel. Scott hadn’t been feeling very well for the last couple of days but that night he threw up and thought maybe he had food poisoning. On top of that, every dog in town barked ALL night long!!! Our windows wouldn’t close all of the way, so the sound was deafening and impossible to sleep through. Jill was wearing ear plugs, so she got a good nights rest, but Scott and I didn’t get ANY sleep. They stopped barking around 5 am, so I was able to get a break from the annoying dogs. I still couldn’t get to sleep though.
Day 3: (6-11)
When everyone was awake I went on a rant about dogs, barking, no sleep, and how Tibetans should eat dog like the Chinese do. Jill and Scott found this quite humorous and explained how they have experienced this in other countries as well. In some areas, once everyone goes to sleep, the dogs bark all night—without a break. I don’t especially like dogs anymore, so I don’t think I will be getting one any time soon. I wanted to murder them when I woke up that morning. We then had some coffee, walked around the prayer wheels one more time, bought a few trinkets, had some yak yogurt (which is absolutely amazing), and then jumped in for the ride to Danba. Homer took us to a monastery on the edge of town, and we spent quite a bit of time there because it was insane!!! Tons of Tibetans were doing their daily religious ceremony, walking around the prayer wheels and chanting. I bought a handheld prayer wheel weeks ago because I see Tibetans spinning these handheld wheels all the time in Chengdu’s Tibetan Quarter and wanted one for myself. I showed my handheld one to Ryan before coming on this trip, and he started taking it apart. I told him not to, but I am glad he did because we found Tibetan scripture inside. I decided to look into the history of the prayer wheels, and I think this website gives a good overview: www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/prayer-whe el.htm. On the website, Dharma Haven explains, “Tibetan prayer wheels (called Mani wheels by the Tibetans) are devices for spreading spiritual blessings and well being. Rolls of thin paper, imprinted with many, many copies of the mantra (prayer) Om Mani Padme Hum, printed in an ancient Indian script or in Tibetan script, are wound around an axle in a protective container, and spun around and around. Typically, larger decorative versions of the syllables of the mantra are also carved on the outside cover of the wheel. Tibetan Buddhists believe that saying this mantra, out loud or silently to oneself, invokes the powerful benevolent attention and blessings of Chenrezig, the embodiment of compassion.
Viewing a written copy of the mantra is said to have the same effect—and the mantra is carved into stones left in piles near paths where travelers will see them. [We saw these stones everywhere while in Tagong] . . . Mani wheels are found all over Tibet and in areas influenced by Tibetan culture. There are many types of Mani wheels, but small hand-held wheels are the most common by far. Tibetan people carry them around for hours, and even on long pilgrimages, spinning them any time they have a hand free. Larger wheels, which may be several yards (meters) high and one or two yards (meters) in diameter, can contain myriad copies of the mantra, and may also contain sacred texts, up to hundreds of volumes. They can be found mounted in rows next to pathways, to be spun by people entering a shrine, or along the route which people use as they walk slowly around and around a sacred site—a form of spiritual practice called circumambulation.
Wheels are also placed where they can be spun by wind or by flowing water. [We saw this when walking down from Lake Mugecuo; the river was used to spin the prayer wheels]. Smaller mounted wheels can be spun by the heat rising from a flame or by steam from a stove, or placed on a tabletop to be spun by hand. Tibetan Buddhist Mani wheels are always spun clockwise, as viewed from above, for any or all of several reasons: It rotates the syllables of the mantra so that they would pass a viewer in the order that they would be read, it follows the direction of the sun, and it matches the clockwise circumambulation of stupas. . . .
With the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism into the West, new types of Mani wheels have come into being. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said that having the mantra on your computer works the same as a traditional prayer wheel. Since a computer’s hard disk spins hundreds of thousands of times per hour, and can contain many copies of the mantra, anyone who wants to can turn their computer into a prayer wheel.”
Watching the Tibetan people walking around the prayer wheels while chanting is the most fascinating thing I have EVER seen, and I am terrified to think of what technology will do to this ritual. A computer cannot replace something this personal. Let’s hope the future doesn’t find a way to eliminate such religious rituals as these because the prayer wheels, along with the chanting and circling, are impressive expressions of dedication and love.
Once we were done watching the people walk around the prayer wheels, we walked around the village and drove to a different kind of Tibetan religious ceremony. Instead of walking around prayer wheels, these people were sitting on the ground, holding umbrellas, socializing, and praying, while a man chanted. His chanting was really fast and sounded like a man auctioning. At first, I thought maybe we had encountered a Tibetan auction but then I saw people spinning their handheld prayer wheels and praying. This place was off the beaten track, so very few tourists ever get to see such an event. I wish I had taken some video because the experience is hard to explain.
We then hit a few more monasteries and went to one that seemed empty. We walked around, heard some chanting, and followed it to find a small group of Tibetan monks sitting in a circle under a tree, praying. This is the image one searches for, but we didn’t want to invade their ceremony. It was amazing to see this out in the middle of nowhere; we were literally the only tourists there. This is why I am glad I chose Homer to be our guide because he did a great job finding non-touristy sections of Tibet.
We then drove to Danba and went over some really bad roads, but we made it there by 5pm, checked into a hostel near the river, grabbed some dinner, and then went to our rooms because it was raining. The rain stopped, so I suggested that we walk around town. We walked for about 15 minutes and didn’t see anything but dinky roads full of construction and well-off Tibetans, wearing really nice vibrant outfits. Their clothes were much brighter and cleaner, so we decided they must have more money in this area. Scott and Jill didn’t seem impressed, so they decided to go back to the hotel. I really wanted to keep exploring because I read in my Lonely Planet book that Danba has “a heavy Tibetan and Qiang populace in picturesque villages. Rising heavenward around the hamlets are the archaeological wonders of the area–dozens and dozens of ancient stone Qiang watchtowers gracefully aging as they still guard their locals, even after centuries. Not for nothing was this sublime little village rated in 2005 as the ‘Best Village in China’ by none other than Chinese National Geographic.” I read this description months ago, so I knew there had to be a reason it was rated the “Best Village.” I kept walking and came across a road that ran diagonally to the road I was on, so I took a right and saw a nice little shopping area cut off from the main road. There were Tibetans dancing and tons of little shops, so I was in Heaven. I had a great time shopping, buying little trinkets, and taking pictures. I was tempted to run back to the hotel to get Jill and Scott, but I didn’t want to bother them because they were taking showers and relaxing. I really enjoyed my time in this town but got carried away, so I had to walk back to the hotel really fast so as not to be caught walking in the dark. Although the people are nice in this area, muggings still happen, so I booked it back, not realizing how far away I really was. I walked really fast, but the sun went down faster. It then started to rain, so I walked with two Chinese tourists who spoke no English, except for the phrase, “I love you.” The two tourist men kept saying this to me, and I just went with it, hoping they weren’t going to be the ones to mug me. I made it back safe and sound but couldn’t sleep all night because of all of the excitement from the walk in Danba. It was AMAZING.
Day 4: (6-11)
We spent the first part of the day exploring the ancient watchtowers in Danba, which took us to a time in the past. It wasn’t easy getting to the top of a watchtower because we had to climb up these logs that are meant to be climbed sideways. Scott found a way to climb straight up, but Jill and I were more cautious and climbed the way the old Chinese man showed us. Jill then told me that she is scared of heights, so that made it even more interesting. The view from the top was spectacular, so I took a ton of pictures. I am really glad that we got to see the ancient watchtowers because even in Tibet it is hard to find places that haven’t been rebuilt or restructured. In the hills we could see several more watchtowers scattered about, and if we had time, we might have trekked through some of the other ancient villages. According to the World Monuments Fund, there are 250 stone towers “spread throughout Sichuan Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region. These monumental structures were built from a combination of cut stone, brick, and timber, and appear in several forms: square, polygonal, and star-shaped (with 5, 6, 10, 12, or 13 points). There is no existing documentation of the creation or function of the towers, so their role in the region’s history remains a mystery. Chinese and Tibetan scholars have surmised that they were erected between A.D. 200 and 1400 and used as storage, defensive posts, status symbols, and beacons. The towers have survived mostly intact despite centuries of earthquakes because of an earthquake-proofing method employed in their construction: wood planks and beams were interspersed between the stones to absorb the force. This practice is unique to the region and can still be seen today. Through the decades, several of the towers have been subject to vandalism and insensitive reuse, while others have been neglected completely. Many are without roofs, allowing rainwater to enter and destabilize the soil surrounding the foundations.”
The tower we explored definitely looked like it had seen its better days, but it also seemed very strong and stable. After the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, people were surprised to find that only a few of the towers were damaged. Even though they experience much abuse, I believe these towers will stay intact forever.
Once we were done exploring the watchtowers, we got back into the vehicle for what was to be the most intense ride of my life. The roads were insanely bad for most of the drive—potholes everywhere, rock-slides, and shear drop-offs with no guard rails. It was insane!!! In fact, there was a section of the road where the river had taken over, but Homer decided to drive through it anyway. I was certain we were going to be dragged into the river of doom, but we made it through in one piece. The river was a nice distraction because it was an insane river with rapids meant to kill. I asked Homer if people were allowed to raft down the river, and he said no because people would surely die. We also went through a billion different tunnels on our way to Yaan, and these tunnels had intersections!!! Homer told us that there is a tunnel 20 km long not too far away from us. 20 km!!!! We found it strange that there were so many tunnels in an area that doesn’t get much traffic, but maybe China is preparing for a nuclear war in which the tunnels will act as bomb shelters. I am not sure, but it was really cool to see all of the various tunnels inside the tunnel; one could probably get lost in these tunnels because there are so many ways to go. Jill said it felt like some horror movie—the endless tunnel with no escape!!!
After being bumped around all day, driving from tunnel to tunnel and through rivers, we hit a standstill. There were workers removing rocks from the mountain so as to prevent a landslide. We waited around 45 minutes and then drove about 10 minutes before hitting another standstill. Homer said they would let us go through once they were done working for the day, so we probably waited for another 45 minutes. Even after the road opened, the traffic wasn’t moving very fast, so we didn’t get to Yaan until late, around 9:45 pm. We checked in and went to bed as fast as we could because we wanted to get up super early for the pandas. Jill wanted to hold a panda while in China, and we heard it was cheaper to hold a panda in Yaan than in Chengdu, which is why we made a stop in Yaan before heading back.
Day 5: (6-12)
I woke up and had NO water. Great!!! I went ahead and packed everything up and kept messing with the water, and eventually it started to work. Thank goodness!! I then got ready, so we could get an early start. We walked to the ticket office, bought our tickets, and stood in line for the bus. Once we made it to the Panda Reserve, we realized we were a bit early because it didn’t open until 8:30. We stood around for a while and were the first people through the gate, so we had a great time watching the pandas without being surrounded by people. Around 9:30 we looked into the cost of holding a panda and discovered that we had several options, depending on how much Jill wanted to spend. In order to HOLD a small panda, you must pay around 3,500 yuan, which is about 500 US dollars, and you only get 20 seconds to hold the panda by paying this amount. If you pay about 5,000 yuan, you can hold the panda for a minute. In order to sit next to a larger panda for 20 seconds, it costs 1,000 yuan, which is about 140 US dollars. Jill chose this option because it was obviously more reasonable. She had to wear gloves and a blue, plastic hospital gown, so she didn’t actually get to feel the panda. Scott and I were allowed to come in to take pictures, so I got to be really close to a panda, which was awesome!!! I didn’t spend much time looking at the panda, though, because I was too busy snapping pictures for Jill, but it was still really cool to be that close. We literally only had 15 seconds; I am not exaggerating!!! They then said, “Okay. Times up. Let’s go” and rushed us out of the enclosure. The lady asked to see the photos, so Scott showed them to her. She didn’t say anything and handed the camera back. It was pretty weird. We talked about it on the ride back to Chengdu and decided the reason they rushed us out so fast is because a parasite can’t take hold in 20 seconds. They probably follow these tight restrictions to keep the pandas from catching anything, but we think the pandas are probably a lot stronger than people think and can handle an extra 10 seconds with a human. Who knows…at least Jill got her photo taken with a panda.
On our way back to Chengdu, Homer dropped us off at an ancient town, so we could walk around a bit before the drive back. I have already been to two other ancient towns, but Scott and Jill hadn’t been to one yet. I am glad they got to explore one, even though I couldn’t talk them into dressing up in traditional Chinese clothing. They are so lame!!!
We made it back to town, said our goodbyes, and now I am here writing about my amazing trip. The best part of the trip was Tagong for sure. I definitely want to go to Tibet again, so I will have to marry someone who likes to travel because I am in love with traveling and want to share it with someone someday. Jill and Scott travel together all of the time, and I realize now I want something like they have. They both love to travel, take pictures, and document their trips. It was adorable watching them journal each night about what they did for the day and sharing their pictures with each other. Thanks Jill and Scott for an amazing trip to Tibet!!!
More details for those interested:
Here are all of the details from the trip. Homer, our amazing guide, put this together for me because I couldn't remember all of the fine details. Here is the email he sent me:
Hi, TARA:
Here is some information on this trip:
June 8th: Chengdu to Kangding
* lunch at a local shabby restaurant, but, which offer tasty foods, I call it 'Chao Shou'
* visits: no special one, just ErLangShan tunnel
* overnight at Kangding: in Deengba guesthouse
June 9th: Kangding to lake Mugetso to Kangding airport to Tagong
* lunch by yourselves, because you are inside the park
* visits: self touring, lake Mugetso, several temples on the way to Tagong
* dinner at Tagong
* overnight at Tagong, in GyaDroMa guesthouse
June 10th: Tagong to Peace Rally to Bamei to Huiyuan temple to Danba
* lunch by your own, because, by information, the road will be closed for building from 08:00 till 12:00
* visits: Tagong monastery, Muya Pagoda (1 tons of Gold), Peace Rally temple 'He Pin Fa Hui', Huiyuan temple (to 7th Dalai Lama), Yak Tibetan village
* dinner at Danba
* overnight at Danba, In TsaXi Zuo Kang guesthouse
June 11th: Danba to Zhonglu village to Hailuigou to Shimian to Yaan
* lunch at Kongyu, on a narrow, long street
* visits : Zhonglu Tibetan village, local watch towers, Suopo village, driving downstream along rapid Dadu river, which is not good for rafting, passing by Hailuigou glaciers,
* dinner at Shimian, before we took the new express highway 'Chengdu - Yaan - Xichang Highway', which opened April 30th
* overnight at a local basic hotel in Yaan panda center
June 12th: Yaan panda center to Shang Li old town to Chengdu
* lunch at Panda center
* visits: panda center, Shangli old town
* overnight: back to Chengdu
- 38 Tibetans have been confirmed to have self-immolated since February 27, 2009
- 32 men, 6 women
- 29 of the 38 are known to have died following their protest
- 25 of the 38 are from Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province [Once again, this is where I currently live]
- 1 is from Chamdo prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region
- 5 are from Tibetan Autonomous areas in Qinghai province
- 7 of the 38 were monks at Kirti monastery in Ngaba
- 9 of the 38 are former monks at Kirti monastery in Ngaba (It
is currently not known who of the nine chose to disrobe, or were
expelled from the monastery by government authorities) - 2 of the 38 were nuns from Mame Dechen Chokorling nunnery in Ngaba
- 36 of the self-immolations have occurred since March 16, 2011
I am so glad Scott and Jill from Standley Lake High School came to visit me because without them, I never would have seen Tibet. A lot happened on our 5 day Tibetan adventure, so I will lay out all of the details—not only for my readers but for myself. I want to capture every moment, so I can always remember Tibet—the Land of Snows, the Roof of the World.
Day 1: (6-8)
Scott asked me months prior to our trip to find a good tour guide who could drive us to Tagong. I searched high and low and came across China TAK Tours (http://www.tibetmap.net). I highly recommend this site to anyone planning a tour to Tibet; whether you are traveling to the Tibetan Autonomous Region or the Amdo/Kham region, which overlays the area of the TAR region, Qinghai Province, southeastern Gansu Province, western and northwestern Sichuan Province, and the northern Yunnan Province, this site can help you plan your trip. I am not quite sure how the system on this site works, but I clicked “Contact” and got a quick response from a Chengdu local named Homer. We negotiated price, and he gave me a map of the best route to take. I confirmed everything months before our trip but was still a bit nervous about this guy because I have never hired a tour guide before. Since I was in charge of the trip, if anything went wrong, I would feel horrible. As I have stated many times before, Chinese people are never on time, so I was surprised when Homer arrived early on the morning of June 8th. I told him to meet me at 7:45 am, but he texted me at 7:30, saying he was here. I still wasn’t completely ready, but I threw everything together and ran outside. There he was, a tall, lanky Chinese guy, standing next to his black Ford Explorer. I jumped in, and we headed to pick up Scott and Jill from their nice hotel. We made small talk as we were driving, and Homer told me that he used to be an English teacher; he didn’t like how everything came down to the exams, so he fled from the politics of education and became a tour guide. He said that he prefers this job because he only has to go on 1-2 trips a month to make what he did in a whole month of teaching; plus, he gets to spend more time with his family. He is a pretty crazy driver, and since we were hitting morning traffic, he was driving even crazier. He explained that although the police do not spend time pulling people over in China that there are TONS of cameras, so people still get fined. He also said that he has gotten quite a few tickets, but since he needs a clean driving record, he just takes the points off of his wife’s license. I thought this was pretty funny but also understandable, since his wife doesn’t drive anywhere. Around 8:50, we arrived at Jill and Scott’s hotel, but because Scott had a bloody nose, we had to wait a bit for them to come out. Once Scott’s nose situation was taken care of, we all jumped in the Explorer and headed towards Tibet.
We had lunch in a dinky, small town and then headed towards Kangding (a touristy area for Chinese people but not so much for foreigners). It’s a really nice town with a great vibe, so we enjoyed walking up and down the main street. Around 7 pm, a whole bunch of people started dancing in a huge circle. I have seen a lot of Chinese people dance, but NEVER this many people in one group. To top it off, there were also quite a few Tibetans in this area, so we got a feel of what was to come. We watched the Friday night dance party (as Jill called it) for a little bit and then bought a ton of baked items from this amazing little bakery down the street. Homer told us to stalk up because there wouldn't be very many food places on the way to Tagong. Jill and I bought these dried berries, but they were horrible!!! I spent a good part of my trip, trying to eat them because I didn’t want to throw them away, but by the 3rd day, I gave them to Homer. Jill then tried to give me her bag, but I told her that I wanted NOTHING to do with them and that I didn’t even want to think about them EVER again. I am not exaggerating. They were that BAD!!!!
We had a hard time finding dinner, but we eventually came across a place that had noodles, vegetables, and rice. This was pretty exciting because most hole-in-the-wall, family-owned restaurants serve either noodles and dumplings, or rice and vegetables—not both. Scott’s noodles were amazing, but my vegetables were actually too spicy for my taste. I choked them down and then we headed back to the hotel for the night. After I fell asleep, Homer decided to text me at 11 pm, again at 11:30, and then midnight. Why!!!!!! He wanted me to know that we couldn’t leave until around 9 in the morning because he needed more time to fix a leak in his vehicle; we hit a lot of bumps on the way to Kangding, causing some problems with his power steering. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night, but I was fine the next day because excitement is natural caffeine.
Day 2: (6-9)
We got up and were ready to go around 8 am, but since we weren’t leaving until 9, we walked around the town a bit more. Once Homer was ready to go, we all jumped in and got to explore some pretty bad roads. Homer doesn’t slow down for bumps because if he did, we would NEVER get to our destination. Therefore, we got bumped around quite a bit, but we got a break from the drive when we arrived at Lake Mugecuo, which is a must see according to the online travel guides. We paid 120 yuan a person and then took a bus up to the lake. The best part of Lake Mugecuo was the bus ride up the mountain because we were all over the place; let’s just say it was a good thing I took my motion sickness pill. Jill and I got seats, but Scott had to stand. It was quite hilarious to watch Scott get tossed around as we winded up the mountain. As soon as we came to the lake, every Chinese person on the bus went “OOOOOH, AWE!!!” We looked at each other and said, “Um…this is it? This just looks like Colorado.” All of the Chinese tourists then paid more money to take a boat ride on the lake, but we decided to just walk down the mountain to see what we came across. It was a nice relaxing walk, and Jill and I talked quite a bit about this and that, which was nice. We came across some cool engravings on a mountain, some beautiful flowers, and also some prayer wheels. This was the first time I had seen prayer wheels, so it was pretty exciting. Little did I know that I would be seeing a lot more in Tibet. We walked down a good section of the mountain, found a bus, and then met back up with Homer.
The ride to Tagong was amazing because we saw some beautiful Tibetan mountains and grasslands covered with yaks. We had a great time looking out the window, and the nice thing about having a private driver is you can ask him to stop whenever you want. So, at one point, Scott asked Homer to stop so we could climb a small hill in order to get a better view of an intensely huge, snow covered Tibetan mountain. I had to switch shoes, so they were ahead of me a bit. I then ran to the base of the hill to catch up and then hurried up only a small section of the hill when I realized I couldn’t breathe at all. I knew we were at a high altitude, but I had never experienced altitude sickness before. My hands were tingling, my heart was beating faster than it EVER has, and my head felt like it was going to explode. Jill was waiting for me, so I walked a few more feet but felt like I was going to fall over. Hm…I have been telling everyone that I am in good shape since I have to walk and bike everywhere, but maybe that isn’t true. I don’t think I am going to be climbing a 14er when I get back home because the feeling I had that day was horrible. Scott and Jill told me it was probably just because of the altitude, but I couldn’t even make it up a tiny hill to see the view because each step seemed impossible. I just sat on a rock and tried to gain my composure while they were on top of the hill. I have NEVER felt so pathetic and wimpy in my life, but now I know what altitude sickness feels like.
We made it to Tagong around 5 pm and checked into a pretty cool hostel. For 25 yuan a person, Jill, Scott, and I could share a room. It was a tight fit, but we decided to call it a slumber party. Once we checked in, we walked around the town and saw TONS of Tibetans because…well…..we were technically in Tibet. We had fun sitting on the bridge and watching the Tibetan people walk across. We then went to the prayer wheels on the other side of town, and there was a Tibetan man holding a box. He walked over to me and acted like he was going to show me what was in the box, but he, instead, grabbed my boob. I mean he really grabbed it, squeezing it really hard. I was in shock, so all I could do was shriek and walk away really fast, exclaiming, “Oh my!!! Jill, Scott…this guy just grabbed my boob!!!” I was partly laughing because I was in so much shock, and Jill told me that I should have hit him. I think it is better that I didn’t make a scene, though, because with all of the craziness going on in Tibet right now, it is better to keep a low profile. In fact, Homer thought we might have a hard time getting to Tagong because of the recent self-immolations, but we were lucky and got through. The man who grabbed me had mental problems of some kind I think, so I don’t want it to sound like Tibetans are like this man. In fact, the Tibetan people are very friendly, so we didn’t encounter any problems whatsoever. I have heard of people getting mugged in this region, but we only encountered kind faces. Even the guy who grabbed me had a big smile and seemed quite harmless. Once the sun started to go down, we grabbed some dinner and then headed back to our hostel. Scott hadn’t been feeling very well for the last couple of days but that night he threw up and thought maybe he had food poisoning. On top of that, every dog in town barked ALL night long!!! Our windows wouldn’t close all of the way, so the sound was deafening and impossible to sleep through. Jill was wearing ear plugs, so she got a good nights rest, but Scott and I didn’t get ANY sleep. They stopped barking around 5 am, so I was able to get a break from the annoying dogs. I still couldn’t get to sleep though.
Day 3: (6-11)
When everyone was awake I went on a rant about dogs, barking, no sleep, and how Tibetans should eat dog like the Chinese do. Jill and Scott found this quite humorous and explained how they have experienced this in other countries as well. In some areas, once everyone goes to sleep, the dogs bark all night—without a break. I don’t especially like dogs anymore, so I don’t think I will be getting one any time soon. I wanted to murder them when I woke up that morning. We then had some coffee, walked around the prayer wheels one more time, bought a few trinkets, had some yak yogurt (which is absolutely amazing), and then jumped in for the ride to Danba. Homer took us to a monastery on the edge of town, and we spent quite a bit of time there because it was insane!!! Tons of Tibetans were doing their daily religious ceremony, walking around the prayer wheels and chanting. I bought a handheld prayer wheel weeks ago because I see Tibetans spinning these handheld wheels all the time in Chengdu’s Tibetan Quarter and wanted one for myself. I showed my handheld one to Ryan before coming on this trip, and he started taking it apart. I told him not to, but I am glad he did because we found Tibetan scripture inside. I decided to look into the history of the prayer wheels, and I think this website gives a good overview: www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/prayer-whe el.htm. On the website, Dharma Haven explains, “Tibetan prayer wheels (called Mani wheels by the Tibetans) are devices for spreading spiritual blessings and well being. Rolls of thin paper, imprinted with many, many copies of the mantra (prayer) Om Mani Padme Hum, printed in an ancient Indian script or in Tibetan script, are wound around an axle in a protective container, and spun around and around. Typically, larger decorative versions of the syllables of the mantra are also carved on the outside cover of the wheel. Tibetan Buddhists believe that saying this mantra, out loud or silently to oneself, invokes the powerful benevolent attention and blessings of Chenrezig, the embodiment of compassion.
Viewing a written copy of the mantra is said to have the same effect—and the mantra is carved into stones left in piles near paths where travelers will see them. [We saw these stones everywhere while in Tagong] . . . Mani wheels are found all over Tibet and in areas influenced by Tibetan culture. There are many types of Mani wheels, but small hand-held wheels are the most common by far. Tibetan people carry them around for hours, and even on long pilgrimages, spinning them any time they have a hand free. Larger wheels, which may be several yards (meters) high and one or two yards (meters) in diameter, can contain myriad copies of the mantra, and may also contain sacred texts, up to hundreds of volumes. They can be found mounted in rows next to pathways, to be spun by people entering a shrine, or along the route which people use as they walk slowly around and around a sacred site—a form of spiritual practice called circumambulation.
Wheels are also placed where they can be spun by wind or by flowing water. [We saw this when walking down from Lake Mugecuo; the river was used to spin the prayer wheels]. Smaller mounted wheels can be spun by the heat rising from a flame or by steam from a stove, or placed on a tabletop to be spun by hand. Tibetan Buddhist Mani wheels are always spun clockwise, as viewed from above, for any or all of several reasons: It rotates the syllables of the mantra so that they would pass a viewer in the order that they would be read, it follows the direction of the sun, and it matches the clockwise circumambulation of stupas. . . .
With the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism into the West, new types of Mani wheels have come into being. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said that having the mantra on your computer works the same as a traditional prayer wheel. Since a computer’s hard disk spins hundreds of thousands of times per hour, and can contain many copies of the mantra, anyone who wants to can turn their computer into a prayer wheel.”
Watching the Tibetan people walking around the prayer wheels while chanting is the most fascinating thing I have EVER seen, and I am terrified to think of what technology will do to this ritual. A computer cannot replace something this personal. Let’s hope the future doesn’t find a way to eliminate such religious rituals as these because the prayer wheels, along with the chanting and circling, are impressive expressions of dedication and love.
Once we were done watching the people walk around the prayer wheels, we walked around the village and drove to a different kind of Tibetan religious ceremony. Instead of walking around prayer wheels, these people were sitting on the ground, holding umbrellas, socializing, and praying, while a man chanted. His chanting was really fast and sounded like a man auctioning. At first, I thought maybe we had encountered a Tibetan auction but then I saw people spinning their handheld prayer wheels and praying. This place was off the beaten track, so very few tourists ever get to see such an event. I wish I had taken some video because the experience is hard to explain.
We then hit a few more monasteries and went to one that seemed empty. We walked around, heard some chanting, and followed it to find a small group of Tibetan monks sitting in a circle under a tree, praying. This is the image one searches for, but we didn’t want to invade their ceremony. It was amazing to see this out in the middle of nowhere; we were literally the only tourists there. This is why I am glad I chose Homer to be our guide because he did a great job finding non-touristy sections of Tibet.
We then drove to Danba and went over some really bad roads, but we made it there by 5pm, checked into a hostel near the river, grabbed some dinner, and then went to our rooms because it was raining. The rain stopped, so I suggested that we walk around town. We walked for about 15 minutes and didn’t see anything but dinky roads full of construction and well-off Tibetans, wearing really nice vibrant outfits. Their clothes were much brighter and cleaner, so we decided they must have more money in this area. Scott and Jill didn’t seem impressed, so they decided to go back to the hotel. I really wanted to keep exploring because I read in my Lonely Planet book that Danba has “a heavy Tibetan and Qiang populace in picturesque villages. Rising heavenward around the hamlets are the archaeological wonders of the area–dozens and dozens of ancient stone Qiang watchtowers gracefully aging as they still guard their locals, even after centuries. Not for nothing was this sublime little village rated in 2005 as the ‘Best Village in China’ by none other than Chinese National Geographic.” I read this description months ago, so I knew there had to be a reason it was rated the “Best Village.” I kept walking and came across a road that ran diagonally to the road I was on, so I took a right and saw a nice little shopping area cut off from the main road. There were Tibetans dancing and tons of little shops, so I was in Heaven. I had a great time shopping, buying little trinkets, and taking pictures. I was tempted to run back to the hotel to get Jill and Scott, but I didn’t want to bother them because they were taking showers and relaxing. I really enjoyed my time in this town but got carried away, so I had to walk back to the hotel really fast so as not to be caught walking in the dark. Although the people are nice in this area, muggings still happen, so I booked it back, not realizing how far away I really was. I walked really fast, but the sun went down faster. It then started to rain, so I walked with two Chinese tourists who spoke no English, except for the phrase, “I love you.” The two tourist men kept saying this to me, and I just went with it, hoping they weren’t going to be the ones to mug me. I made it back safe and sound but couldn’t sleep all night because of all of the excitement from the walk in Danba. It was AMAZING.
Day 4: (6-11)
We spent the first part of the day exploring the ancient watchtowers in Danba, which took us to a time in the past. It wasn’t easy getting to the top of a watchtower because we had to climb up these logs that are meant to be climbed sideways. Scott found a way to climb straight up, but Jill and I were more cautious and climbed the way the old Chinese man showed us. Jill then told me that she is scared of heights, so that made it even more interesting. The view from the top was spectacular, so I took a ton of pictures. I am really glad that we got to see the ancient watchtowers because even in Tibet it is hard to find places that haven’t been rebuilt or restructured. In the hills we could see several more watchtowers scattered about, and if we had time, we might have trekked through some of the other ancient villages. According to the World Monuments Fund, there are 250 stone towers “spread throughout Sichuan Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region. These monumental structures were built from a combination of cut stone, brick, and timber, and appear in several forms: square, polygonal, and star-shaped (with 5, 6, 10, 12, or 13 points). There is no existing documentation of the creation or function of the towers, so their role in the region’s history remains a mystery. Chinese and Tibetan scholars have surmised that they were erected between A.D. 200 and 1400 and used as storage, defensive posts, status symbols, and beacons. The towers have survived mostly intact despite centuries of earthquakes because of an earthquake-proofing method employed in their construction: wood planks and beams were interspersed between the stones to absorb the force. This practice is unique to the region and can still be seen today. Through the decades, several of the towers have been subject to vandalism and insensitive reuse, while others have been neglected completely. Many are without roofs, allowing rainwater to enter and destabilize the soil surrounding the foundations.”
The tower we explored definitely looked like it had seen its better days, but it also seemed very strong and stable. After the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, people were surprised to find that only a few of the towers were damaged. Even though they experience much abuse, I believe these towers will stay intact forever.
Once we were done exploring the watchtowers, we got back into the vehicle for what was to be the most intense ride of my life. The roads were insanely bad for most of the drive—potholes everywhere, rock-slides, and shear drop-offs with no guard rails. It was insane!!! In fact, there was a section of the road where the river had taken over, but Homer decided to drive through it anyway. I was certain we were going to be dragged into the river of doom, but we made it through in one piece. The river was a nice distraction because it was an insane river with rapids meant to kill. I asked Homer if people were allowed to raft down the river, and he said no because people would surely die. We also went through a billion different tunnels on our way to Yaan, and these tunnels had intersections!!! Homer told us that there is a tunnel 20 km long not too far away from us. 20 km!!!! We found it strange that there were so many tunnels in an area that doesn’t get much traffic, but maybe China is preparing for a nuclear war in which the tunnels will act as bomb shelters. I am not sure, but it was really cool to see all of the various tunnels inside the tunnel; one could probably get lost in these tunnels because there are so many ways to go. Jill said it felt like some horror movie—the endless tunnel with no escape!!!
After being bumped around all day, driving from tunnel to tunnel and through rivers, we hit a standstill. There were workers removing rocks from the mountain so as to prevent a landslide. We waited around 45 minutes and then drove about 10 minutes before hitting another standstill. Homer said they would let us go through once they were done working for the day, so we probably waited for another 45 minutes. Even after the road opened, the traffic wasn’t moving very fast, so we didn’t get to Yaan until late, around 9:45 pm. We checked in and went to bed as fast as we could because we wanted to get up super early for the pandas. Jill wanted to hold a panda while in China, and we heard it was cheaper to hold a panda in Yaan than in Chengdu, which is why we made a stop in Yaan before heading back.
Day 5: (6-12)
I woke up and had NO water. Great!!! I went ahead and packed everything up and kept messing with the water, and eventually it started to work. Thank goodness!! I then got ready, so we could get an early start. We walked to the ticket office, bought our tickets, and stood in line for the bus. Once we made it to the Panda Reserve, we realized we were a bit early because it didn’t open until 8:30. We stood around for a while and were the first people through the gate, so we had a great time watching the pandas without being surrounded by people. Around 9:30 we looked into the cost of holding a panda and discovered that we had several options, depending on how much Jill wanted to spend. In order to HOLD a small panda, you must pay around 3,500 yuan, which is about 500 US dollars, and you only get 20 seconds to hold the panda by paying this amount. If you pay about 5,000 yuan, you can hold the panda for a minute. In order to sit next to a larger panda for 20 seconds, it costs 1,000 yuan, which is about 140 US dollars. Jill chose this option because it was obviously more reasonable. She had to wear gloves and a blue, plastic hospital gown, so she didn’t actually get to feel the panda. Scott and I were allowed to come in to take pictures, so I got to be really close to a panda, which was awesome!!! I didn’t spend much time looking at the panda, though, because I was too busy snapping pictures for Jill, but it was still really cool to be that close. We literally only had 15 seconds; I am not exaggerating!!! They then said, “Okay. Times up. Let’s go” and rushed us out of the enclosure. The lady asked to see the photos, so Scott showed them to her. She didn’t say anything and handed the camera back. It was pretty weird. We talked about it on the ride back to Chengdu and decided the reason they rushed us out so fast is because a parasite can’t take hold in 20 seconds. They probably follow these tight restrictions to keep the pandas from catching anything, but we think the pandas are probably a lot stronger than people think and can handle an extra 10 seconds with a human. Who knows…at least Jill got her photo taken with a panda.
On our way back to Chengdu, Homer dropped us off at an ancient town, so we could walk around a bit before the drive back. I have already been to two other ancient towns, but Scott and Jill hadn’t been to one yet. I am glad they got to explore one, even though I couldn’t talk them into dressing up in traditional Chinese clothing. They are so lame!!!
We made it back to town, said our goodbyes, and now I am here writing about my amazing trip. The best part of the trip was Tagong for sure. I definitely want to go to Tibet again, so I will have to marry someone who likes to travel because I am in love with traveling and want to share it with someone someday. Jill and Scott travel together all of the time, and I realize now I want something like they have. They both love to travel, take pictures, and document their trips. It was adorable watching them journal each night about what they did for the day and sharing their pictures with each other. Thanks Jill and Scott for an amazing trip to Tibet!!!
More details for those interested:
Here are all of the details from the trip. Homer, our amazing guide, put this together for me because I couldn't remember all of the fine details. Here is the email he sent me:
Hi, TARA:
Here is some information on this trip:
June 8th: Chengdu to Kangding
* lunch at a local shabby restaurant, but, which offer tasty foods, I call it 'Chao Shou'
* visits: no special one, just ErLangShan tunnel
* overnight at Kangding: in Deengba guesthouse
June 9th: Kangding to lake Mugetso to Kangding airport to Tagong
* lunch by yourselves, because you are inside the park
* visits: self touring, lake Mugetso, several temples on the way to Tagong
* dinner at Tagong
* overnight at Tagong, in GyaDroMa guesthouse
June 10th: Tagong to Peace Rally to Bamei to Huiyuan temple to Danba
* lunch by your own, because, by information, the road will be closed for building from 08:00 till 12:00
* visits: Tagong monastery, Muya Pagoda (1 tons of Gold), Peace Rally temple 'He Pin Fa Hui', Huiyuan temple (to 7th Dalai Lama), Yak Tibetan village
* dinner at Danba
* overnight at Danba, In TsaXi Zuo Kang guesthouse
June 11th: Danba to Zhonglu village to Hailuigou to Shimian to Yaan
* lunch at Kongyu, on a narrow, long street
* visits : Zhonglu Tibetan village, local watch towers, Suopo village, driving downstream along rapid Dadu river, which is not good for rafting, passing by Hailuigou glaciers,
* dinner at Shimian, before we took the new express highway 'Chengdu - Yaan - Xichang Highway', which opened April 30th
* overnight at a local basic hotel in Yaan panda center
June 12th: Yaan panda center to Shang Li old town to Chengdu
* lunch at Panda center
* visits: panda center, Shangli old town
* overnight: back to Chengdu
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