In the viscinity of Tsetang

  Tsetang, Tibet, China
Thursday, July 27, 2006

Back, without incident, in Lhasa, we set about our next adventure. We were back at the Yak Hotel, this time in a triple room, conveniently prepaid for our return. Nate and I rented sleeping bags because we hoped to be able to do a short trek to a place called Lhamo Latso, or Lhamo La Lake that was a day's journey southeast of Lhasa. The lake is the place where the next Dalai Lama is (or was) chosen. Transportation in Tibet can often be relatively hard to figure out, and this was no exception. There were frequent buses to Tsetang, about 3 hours away, but after that, we weren't sure how we would get to our ultimate destination. On our arrival in Tsetang, we asked taxi drivers, truck drivers, and at the bus station. We also asked a very accommodating Tibetan who was guiding three Swiss tourists. The answers were confusing. There were no buses that could take us all the way to our destination. There were drivers who could take us, but it was unclear if they understood where we actually needed to go. The guide informed us that there was a newly constructed paved road that took you all the way to Lhamo La (the pass), which I must admit, took a little away from the allure of the trek.

In the end, we decided that it was too risky for Nate and I, with the four days we had remaining in Tibet. We could probably get to the lake without incident, but returning to Lhasa was a complete unknown. We decided to stay in Tsetang and explore the surrounding area, which contained some interesting historic sights.

The first afternoon in Tsetang, we hired a taxi to take us out to Lumbu Lakhang, which was the first castle of the first king of Tibet. The first King, Nyakhri Tsanpo, is said to have descended from heaven (or from India, depending on who's telling the story) on the spot in the second century BC. The castle has probably been destroyed and rebuilt many times over the 2200 years of its existence, and it's latest incarnation is as a small monastery. We spent the afternoon exploring the monastery, its temples, and the surrounding hills and fields. The afternoon clouds made for some dramatic photos at the end of our visit.

The following day, we visited Samye monastery. We had been told by the helpful ladies at the hotel that there was only one bus per day, in the morning, and the trip somehow involved a ferry crossing of the Brahmaputra River, which flows into India and Bangladesh. Sounded like an adventure. In the morning, we got up and made our way to the 'fei ma' (flying horse statue) in the middle of town. I would have been baffled by this departure location, but Lloyd had encountered a 'fei ma' before, living in Zhongdian. This is apparently a potent Tibetan symbol. We boarded the bus, full of Tibetan pilgrims, made our way over the new bridge (surprise, no ferry) and after an hour and a half of winding gravel road, arrived at Samye Monastery. Samye was the first monastery in Tibet, built soon after Buddhism had been introduced, in 779 AD. The monastery is undergoing a massive restoration / reconstruction, and as a result, the grounds were a mess. The monastery is laid out in the shape of the universe, with a sun and a moon temple, four stupas of different design and color, and the central 5-story temple. One of the more interesting aspects of the main temple was the presence of 'secret' passageways - darkened, narrow passages around the main temple areas. We enjoyed using Lloyd's headlamp to check out the fantastic murals depicting Buddhas and other deities and Buddhist stories.

We had been informed by the ladies at the hotel, that the return bus left the monastery at 4PM. Luckily, we thought to ask the driver on our arrival - 2:30PM! After lunch at the monastery, and more lucky still, we walked outside around 2PM and asked about the return bus. Turns out it was full and ready to leave, so we just barely avoided having to spend the night out at the monastery. There were no more seats on the bus, so we sat up front with a few others on a platform specially constructed to accommodate overflow passengers.

Our second full day in Tsetang, we decided to devote to some hiking. I had been itching to climb to the top of something since we had arrived in Tibet, and finally felt like I could do so without having a heart attack. We chose Zodeng Gonpori, a sacred mountain containing a cave said to be birthplace of the 6 (or 5?) clans of Tibet through the coupling of a monkey and a demonic ogress. What relatives! We began the hike around 11AM, snaking up through the old town with its milk cows tied out and traditional Tibetan homes. The route was in stark contrast to most of Tsetang, which appeared to have been uprooted and relocated from somewhere in boom-town China. We made our way up, past a nunnery and began the slow slog from 12,000 feet to nearly 15,000. About halfway up, we came to the cave which was little more than a crevice in the side of the mountain. Lloyd re-lit some unburnt incense and we imagined a monkey and a demonic ogress going at it.

We continued up the ridge with the summit in sight, but a long way off. Pilgrims came whooping down the mountain after their predawn ascent, giving us curious looks. In all, it took us almost 5 hours to climb up, with many stops. We celebrated our arrival by taking a short snooze on the summit.

That night, we pigged out at the restaurant next door to the hotel. We were becoming regulars and ate our weights in Tibetan yak meat dumplings washed down with Lhasa beer for the grownups. Yummm.

The morning of the 30th, it was time to say goodbye to Tsetang and head back to Lhasa to catch our flight the next day. I had trouble deciding when to head back, but ultimately settled on one last foray into the surrounding valleys. We hired a taxi for 3 hours to drive us up the 'valley of the kings' which contains, reputedly, 22 tombs of Tibet's Kings (16 identified), including the largest and one of the most important to Tibetans, that of Songtsen Gampo. He was the 33rd king of Tibet, reigning in the 7th century. He is famed for unifying Tibet under one throne and for marrying princesses from Nepal and China who brought with them Buddhism and various technological advances. The tombs themselves are fairly nondescript. They are large, square earthen platforms, some more than 100m on a side. Songtsen Gampo's has a small temple built on top, formerly the residence of the tomb guardians. Most of the tombs were apparently robbed of their treasures in the 1800's.

On the way back to Tsetang, we made one last stop at a ruined castle perched on a hill. I'm not sure what the story is with this castle, but it is another revered stop on the pilgrimage circuit, with an enormous stupa in front.

After another dumpling meal, we made our way to the bus station where we caught the 2PM bus (minivan) to Lhasa, and said goodbye to Lloyd. He was going to continue further afield from Tsetang and hopefully do a week-long trek, if he could figure out some transportation issues.