Gangjian Zhangmu Hotel Xigaze

... of the<br>table is a huge pot heated by a kerosene tank underneath. A broth is<br>poured in and then whatever you want is added to the pot to cook: yak<br>meat; sheep meat; shrimp; greens; tofu; squid&#8212;you name it&#8212;we<br>cooked it! We feasted. Allan is a very nice guy and he paid for<br>the entire meal so that the drivers and guides wouldn't have to pay<br>anything. Extremely generous. So of course that made the meal even<br>better!<br><br><br><br>

... tambien tengo que andar muy lenta cuando me bajo del coche, porque me falta a veces la respiracion. Hay algunas personas poniendose malita, en fin nos acostumbraremos poco a poco. Las vistas son increibles y la verdad es que no me extrana es que esta parte del mundo ha sido y sigue siendo tan mistica, y tan espiritual. Es normal que aqui la gente pueda meditar en estos templos tan increibles, y que el ambiente se presta ...

... bike to another out-of-service bank, a local businessman finally manages to point us to a branch of the Bank of China that still has cash in the ATM. Saved! We can eat. In the centre of town we opt for a little Tibetan eatery. There are only 3 tables, and we join 2 men who are drinking beer and shots of what appears to be iced green tea. I have an innocent dish - 3 delicacies soup, with spinach, egg and tomato. But soon after we leave the place ...

... pick up. the problem with buses is that the chinese government doesn't want foreign tourists using them so often it's impossible to buy tickets from a bus station because the ticket sellers don't want to get into trouble, and on the private buses the operators may not want to pick you up for the same reason or will overcharge to make the risk worth their while. we had heard from a number of sources that minibuses would leave at around 6:30 or 7 am from just east of the yak ...

... of the himalayan range, with white snowy peaks covering the horizon. Shegar itself was a horrible little town. Being on the tourist trail has turned it into a town of beggars, where u get hordes of kids coming up to u with outstretched arms. The only three words they knew were 'hello', 'money' and 'fossil' (which was what they called the ****** little rocks they were trying to sell). We didn't have electricity for most of the day in the hotel.

... preparati e conoscere qualcosa della loro religione (non come la sottoscritta, che ancora arranca tra nomi in sanscrito e tibetano dei vari buddha, bodhisattva e divinità varie...). Ma la cosa che mi fa morire di loro è che hanno una gestualità tutta partcolare! Ad esempio, se qualcuno vi fa una linguaccia non è per prendervi per il culo, bensì per mostrarvi il suo rispetto (alcuni dicono sia per mostarvi che non sono ...

... the trip promised. Nor had he been to many places in Tibet. So he mainly hung back with the driver whenever we stopped, which suited us just fine. Not that Tenpa wasn't useful. He was great a schmoozing the People's Liberation Army and Public Security Bureau officials at all of the checkpoints ("Look at that face! Of course you can pass through our secure military zone. And take a cookie!"), but the one time he actually accompanied us to a monastery, the most he ...

... of the Monastery and palace. The palace is all lit up at night so its quite the sight. The only thing is the constant honking of the drivers. They are as bad as Indian drivers - consistently honking! Its not road rage, its more of a warning thing - and that they like using their horn. I had just enough time to grab something to eat before it got dark. I decided on eating at a Nepali/Tibetan restaurant and had Yak noodles. If i hadn't mentioned ...

... as this monastery would have been his home. http://www.tashilhunpo.org/panchen.htm Our visit to Ta Shi Lhun Po is colored by our knowledge of this tragic story, and we realize how heavy our hearts have become since visiting our first monastery in Old Tibet. We try our best to allow the ancient walls to envelope us with its vibrant colors and its floors, worn smooth by thousands of monks, to embrace us. We open our ears to hear the monks' soft chanting, and our nostrils to ...