Archive for November, 2007
Everest…Not!
By Tony on November 30, 2007 | No Comments »
As we approached the Pang-La Pass 5,120 meters (16,900 feet), Thomas, Dimitri, Irina and I were keeping our fingers crossed hoping for clear weather to see what is considered one of Tibet’s most phenomenal Himalayan views featuring the king of them all – Everest.
Losang smiled and indicated that we were about to reach the view point just as our car wound around the last corner and the stunning panorama came into view. Wow!
I jumped out of the car with my camera and immediately started climbing up the ridge to my left to find and even better vantage point. Oohing and aahing my way upwards, I snapped dozens of pictures of Everest simply stunned by the incredible mammoth.
Twenty minutes later – still snapping away – as Thomas and I were discussing nature’s masterpiece, a Chinese man who obviously understood our conversation looked over and said, “Excuse me, you are not photographing Everest » Continue reading this post »
Xigatse
By Tony on November 29, 2007 | No Comments »
Xigatse, the second biggest city in Tibet, resembles Lhasa in many ways.
Most importantly it is the location of the Tashilunpo Monastery, traditionally home to the Panchen Lama. The massive monastery is second only to the Potala in gold covered Buddhas, jeweled burial stupas, colorful frescos… art everywhere. It also contains what is supposedly the largest gilded Buddha in the world. I don’t know if it is the biggest, but it was certainly the most awe-inspiring Buddha I have ever seen. (I kept going back to the chapel to look at it again.) Once more, no pictures of the interior due to the most extortionate photo permits known to mankind.
Not surprisingly, there were not nearly as many pilgrims at Tashilunpo as in other major monasteries. Certainly, its importance as a pilgrimage site has declined since the Chinese abducted the real Panchen Lama in 1995 and replaced him with » Continue reading this post »
The Most Beautiful Smile
By Tony on November 28, 2007 | 1 Comment »
When I’m old and grey, people will ask me about which of my photographs I love the best. This one will definitely be in the top 10.
Gyantse
By Thomas on November 27, 2007 | No Comments »
Gyantse is easily the most beautiful and atmospheric town in Tibet. There was so much to see. I could have easily stayed a week – but, unfortunately, we only had one day, now that we are on a tour schedule.
To fully take advantage of our single day, we started early – even before sunrise. This may sound terribly early, but the sun doesn’t come up before 8 AM in Tibet – China can’t be bothered to introduce time zones. As we walked over to the Gyantse Dzong, a fortress high on top of a hill in the middle of town, » Continue reading this post »
Our Pilgrimage Begins!!!
By Tony on November 26, 2007 | 4 Comments »
I can’t believe my dream of doing the Kailash kora is going to become a reality. We finally got the permits! After all the paperwork in Xining and Lhasa, the stress of arranging transportation, and the challenge of finding people to split costs, everything seems to have miraculously fallen into place.
Dimitri and Irina showed up with a huge apple pie, which they had specially ordered to celebrate our departure. Can you believe that? An apple pie in Lhasa!!! We are so lucky to have found such cool people to go with.
In addition to a driver, the Chinese government has just recently started requiring that an official guide accompany travelers outside of Lhasa. We were warned » Continue reading this post »
