Finally Home!

This will be the last post for travelingthefareast! Thanks to all who followed our adventures for this long, what had intended to be 12 months so easily turned to 15 and we couldn’t be happier with the travels we’ve had. The end of our trip was amazing. I have individual posts on Nepal and Egypt below, forgive me for being late with them. We are now back home in San Francisco, after spending a great holiday with our families. We had an apartment waiting for us in our old building, easing the stress of finding an apartment in the city. We are busy seeing friends and eating foods that we’ve missed. People ask if it’s strange to be home and if we were ready to come back. We definitely have a bit of culture shock and miss traveling but it’s nice to be “home” and unpacked for a while. It seems appropriate that we ended the trip as we started, in an empty apartment, our hopes and dreams for future events at their peak and drinking wine out of plastic cups.

Bahrain and Egypt

Our flight from Delhi took us first to Bahrain, in the Persion Gulf. What struck us immediately upon arrival was the over the top Christmas display, complete with moving Santa’s and snowmen. Men and women wearing traditional muslim dress taking pictures of Santa. We had a 12 hour layover so we were able to get a 24 hour visa and the airline put us up in a hotel with meal vouchers, it was a leisurely day.

We arrived in Cairo before sundown. We were staying in one of the busiest areas of the city, a street full of shopping and eateries. We spent our first day exploring the city and eating, such a great selection of food there, meat cooking in windows and shawarma’s being made on the street. Matt blended in almost too well, people would automatically speak to him in Arabic thinking he was Egyptian. We always received local price though, which was great!

The next day we arranged for a guide to take us to the Sakkara and Giza pyramids. He explained to us that he had to say we were Canadian. He said “if I tell the guards I have Americans in the car, they’ll make us ride with a security guard and I don’t really like having men carrying guns with me.” It was completely understandable and seems that the security detail would only call attention to us. We went inside the pyramids of Sakkara, walking down a long, narrow passageway about 4 ft high until we reached the bottom. The hieroglyfics on the wall are still perfectly in tact. Then we were off to the Giza pyramids. It’s impossible not to be blown away by them, we didn’t have a lot of time so we decided to go back the following day. The next day at the pyramids was much nicer, blue skies and not a lot of wind. We encountered a few characters while we were there. A camel guide really had his pitch down and before we knew it we had scarves wrapped around our heads and were sitting on a camel. He wanted a ridiculous sum of money for it after, as usual, but a price of $4 was reached. We also ran into some police officers who wanted some photos with us and a little baksheesh (tip). We walked every inch of the place and then headed out into the desert to see the pyramids from afar. It’s a beautiful site to see, the pyramids laid out before you.

The following day we went to the Egyptian Museum. It contains over 120,000 artifacts and less than half are on display. The most famous exhibit at the Cairo Egyptian Museum is the Gold Room that holds the treasures from the Tomb of Tutankhamen including the funerary mask, throne and second/inner coffins. We spent most of the day there and probably only saw 50%.

We went to the khan al khalili bazaar a couple of times, one of the largest markets in the Arab world and on an ancient trade route that dates back to the 1300’s. There are tons of Egyptian goods for sale; rugs, hookah pipes, shisha, souvenirs, etc. We’ve been to many markets throughout Asia but this one was different. People want to talk to you, eventually to make a sale but either way, the vendors want you to sit down, have a cup of tea and talk. It isn’t for hagglers who want a quick purchase, if you want a good price in the Khan, you need to spend some time. We were in the market for perfume oils so we found a shop and sat down for tea. Two cups of tea and over an hour later, we all agreed on a price. The Market vendors are always saying things as you pass, sometimes it’s the common, “where are you from?” while other’s try to make you laugh by saying things like, “welcome, please let me take your money”. It’s great fun to walk around and a place to mingle with the locals.

The last day we were there was the end of Hajj, the largest annual pilgrimage in the world to Mecca. Everyone in Cairo was preparing for the big feast. People perform animal sacrifices, to symbolize God having mercy on Abraham and replacing his son with a ram, which Abraham then sacrificed. After the sacrifice, the animal is divided into three parts, one for the family, the second for neighbors and friends and a third to feel the poor. We witnessed sheep and goats being pulled out of the trunks of cars, blood smeared in the street and butcher’s walking around covered in red. The elevator to our hotel was being fixed so we took the stairs up the 8 floors. On the 4th floor we came upon a large cow tied to the elevator door. It was strange to see such a large animal on the 4th floor of a hotel in such a busy part of town but we just figured he was for the feast and kept walking. When we walked back down about an hour later, the floor was covered in blood and the cow was being quartered. We did not expect to see that!!

We spent our next days just walking around the city and taking in the rest of the sites. Cairo is a city that lives by a different clock. Restaurants and shops stay open and the streets are full of people until about 5am, in the morning the city is deserted until about 11am when people start coming out.

We had a great week, it went by much too fast but we’ll be coming back to Egypt some other time. It’s time to finally go home!

Nepal: Kathmandu and Pokhara

We arrived in Kathmandu and decided as a group to stay in Boudhanath. It’s a peaceful area of Buddhist monasteries and temples and 6 km away from the craziness of Kathmandu city. We stayed at a guesthouse run by the Tharlam Monasterym which was founded by a late Tibetan Lama who fled Tibet in 1959 with the Dalai Lama. For just $4 per night we had a beautiful room with a hot water shower overlooking the area. The monks who ran the guesthouse were so nice to us.

The streets are full of locals, tourists, monks, children and students studying at the various Buddhist colleges in the area. At the center of the village is the Boudhanath Stupa, one of the largest in the world. It was refreshing to see people performing the chora in peace with no presence of military. Many Tibetan refugees fleeing China on their way to Dharamsala, India end up living in this area. Over 5o Tibetan Gompas (Monasteries) have been built in the area due to the influx of large populations of Tibetans from China. It’s also refreshing to see people use their freedom of speech, free Tibet messages are everywhere.

We heard from our friend Yonten shortly after we arrived. Yonten is a friend we met in Dharamsala almost 1 year prior…the one with the 8 children at the TCV. He was in Nepal with Aashish, another friend we met in India. We arranged to meet and ended up spending the next week together. It was great seeing Yonten again, his English had improved so we were able to communicate much better. It was funny to walk around with him, we couldn’t walk more than 5 yards before someone recognized him and wanted to stop and chat. We were stopped by foreigners, Nepalis, Tibetans and monks, all of greeting Yonten warmly. We introduced Yonten and Aashish to everyone in our Tibet group and went out to explore Kathmandu together.

One of the first places we went to was Dakshinkali, on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Dakshinkali is a Hindu temple dedicated to Kali, the Goddess of Death and Destruction. Hundreds of men, women and children come here every Tuesday and Saturday to make a sacrifice to Kali, in an attempt to feed her eternally insatiable stomach. The Kali Temple arranges Nepal’s largest number of animal sacrifices, totaling tens of thousands every year. Nepali people believe that the death of the animal will give it the chance to be reborn as a higher life form. The marble floor is smudged with fresh blood. The pilgrims, in single-file, pass the gate into the shrine with bare feet, carrying their sacrificial animals, which must all be un-castrated males. Three young men in dirty blood stained rags, wielding long, curved knifes await the pilgrims. These men are called Kassi and they are Kali’s executioners. When an animal is about to be sacrificed, the bells start ringing softly at first, then poeple in the crowd start ringing bells louder and louder as the anticipation grows. Then the bells stop, the animal is sacrificed quickly, the blood smeared on the statue of Kali and the animal is taken to be cleaned and given back to the pilgrim. Many people don’t take the animal home. Instead, they picnic in the forest next to the shrine, roasting their meals on campfires while the slitting and hacking continues below amid the clanging of bells and shouts of prayer. We stayed until Aashish made a sacrifice for his family while David (a vegetarian) and Yonten (a Buddhist) waited at a nearby restaurant. Neither one could be a part of it, Yonten said he didn’t understand why an animal had to die for some goddess. He said "Hindu’s have so many gods, so many temples, me, I just have one Buddha." He was respectful of Aashish and his religious beliefs but you could tell he didn’t want to understand them. We then went to Patan Durbur Square, with tons of temples scattered around the complex.

We had a great week with everyone but soon had to part ways. Sara and Maria were headed to India, Aashish was going back to Dharamsala, Ryusuke was headed to Thailand and we were going to Pokhara with Laurin and Alex.

The ride to Pokhara was long, almost 8 hours, but passing beautiful scenery along the way. We found a great questhouse with views of the mountains. Pokhara is a small village surrounding a lake, with the annapurna mountain range as a backdrop. We went with Laurin and Alex for a boat ride. We intended to get a boat man but since none were available, Matt and Laurin were more than happy to row us around. We had fun, talking to people on other boats (who sometimes wanted you to come close enough just so they could splash you!). The holy Barahi Mandir temple is on an island in the middle of the lake and many pilgrims were being shuttled back and forth.

We had every intention of trekking to Annapurna Base Camp, a 7 day trek over 80 km but we opted out. I think we are starting to get lazy during our last weeks of travel! We relaxed in Pokhara for a few more nights before heading back to Kathmandu. We’ve met a lot of people who have said to just stay a couple of nights in Kathmandu but we really love the city, it’s an easy place to stay.

Yonten was still in Nepal so we were able to spend a little more time before we were off to India. He helped us to our taxi and gave us scarves and gifts before we said goodbye. We only had a week left before our flight out of Delhi. We may have decided to just stay close to the city since travel in India takes time. We had promised to deliver books for our Tibetan guide though and had donations from him for the Dalai Lama. We had to get there. Since train travel takes over 24 hours to get to Dharamsala, we decided to shorten the trip by taking a flight halfway to Chandigarh. We then hired a driver to take us the final 8 hours to McLeod Ganj.

It felt great to be back, going to a place you’ve been before seems to give an at home feeling. We took care of the delivery of books and donations straight away and even had time to get some business suits made. The rest of the time was just spent relaxing, the best thing to do in McLeod Ganj. The days went fast and we found ourselves back in Delhi waiting for our flight to Egypt, the last stop on our itinerary.

On the Roof of the World

Our permit to travel Tibet was mailed from Lhasa the day before we were to leave and the wait was painful. We had decided to arrange our trip through a local Tibetan guide living in Lhasa, rather than supporting the government travel agency. The cost would be substantially less than the agency and we were promised to use only Tibetan-run hotels and restaurants. He seemed very nice over the phone but had a relaxed approach to the process, telling us our permit would definitely arrive on time...maybe...if not the next day. Our train was due to leave at 8:30 and by 7pm we were still waiting for our envelope to arrive, bags packed and ready to go. We were all worried, we would lose the money we spent on the tickets and the next train wouldn't leave for 2 days; worst of all the permit would no longer be valid for our itinerary and some people had visas expiring before we would leave the country. The manager of our guesthouse was great, tracking down the envelope to a bike courier (who had an accident) and then to a van driver's cell phone who was stuck in traffic. Only in China could you track down the individual carrying your letter! The envelope arrived at 7:30 and we were in a mad rush to get to the train station. Since there were a shortage of cabs, 5 of us crammed into one with all of our bags unable to move during the 20 minutes to the station! We arrived just in time, the police taking photos of each of our passports with the permit before allowing us to board. We were on our way; Alex and Laurin, a couple from Switzerland, Sara and Maria, swedish girls on break, David, a soft-spoken English man from London and Ryusuke, a quiet and shy Japanese man. We all rushed to board the train and settled in for the 48 hour ride.

The train was comfortable with 6 beds in each cabin, a dining car just a short walk away. We celebrated the arrival of our permit and had a great night drinking beers and playing cards. Then we awoke at 4am to a little girl in our cabin belting out songs. It was difficult to be angry, she was so adorable, but her cuteness quickly wore off as the hours passed and we tried our best to fall back asleep. We saw an incredible sunrise as the train headed into the mountains, then put in earplugs and drifted back to sleep. Sometimes sleep is the best way to pass a long train journey. We woke up in the morning to a changing landscape, we were getting closer to Tibet. After breakfast we just watched the scenery pass by; mountain landscapes, people working in the fields waving and herds of yaks everywhere. On the second night everyone was given an oxygen supply as we were heading to higher elevations. It was fun taking pictures with them but the lack of oxygen was noticed early into the evening (shortness of breath/headaches) and we plugged into the oxygen supply above our beds. We arrived in Lhasa to find our guide waiting, welcomed each of us with a white scarf (a common welcome in Tibet).

Our hotel in Lhasa was close to the Jokhane Temple and in a maze of picturesque cobblestone streets called the Barkhor. We were really here! He walked with us around the city, catching sunset over the mountains of Lhasa. That evening our guide told us the story of his life. He grew up in a nomadic family moving from place to place as many Tibetans do. When he was 6 years old his parents decided to send him to the monastery so he could receive a proper education. He studied to be a monk for 10 years before leaving the monastery to pursue work instead. He fell in love with a girl but unfortunately her parents did not give him their blessing. At the time he was working odd jobs and could only speak the Tibetan language so they felt he would not be able to provide for their daughter. He decided to move to Lhasa to study for his tour guide license. He studied chinese and english language; receiving his license just a few years ago. We were actually his first solo group outside of a travel agency. We woke up in the morning to our guide happily putting out breakfast. We were trying "duma" and "samba", a traditional Tibetan breakfast dish. It's made with barley flour, dried female yak cheese and yak butter, mixed and eaten with one finger. The duma has a consistency of oatmeal while samba can be molded into a ball, sometimes adding a bit of sugar. It fills you up and stays with you for hours! Then we were off to explore Lhasa.

Lhasa is a magical city and its impossible not to be drawn into the spiritual beauty. The men and woman doing their daily chora, spinning prayer wheels and thumbing beads as they walk in a clockwise circle around the city praying. Some people perform 50+ choras each day, repeating mantras as they walk the circle. We followed the devoted around the city, watching people throw incense and sage into burning urns as an offering to the gods. You see pilgrims performing their prostrations coming from far off distances in Tibet. It's truly a serene experience to witness. Then we had our first encounter with the Red Army, marching through the same street with guns ready to fire, walking in a counter-clockwise direction against the flow of people; offensive to the Buddhist faith. It's a horrific site to see the devoted moving around them, completely intimidated by their power.

We came to the Jokhane temple, the holiest monastery in the Tibetan Buddhist world, to see hundreds of people performing prostrations at the entrance. The king built the Jokhane in the seventh century to house the dowry brought by his Nepalese bride. As the story goes, the King had a vision while meditating that beneath the land of Tibet lay a huge, sleeping demoness with her head in the east, feet to the west and heart beneath Lhasa. It was decided that monasteries would be built on suitable points to pin her to the earth. The king commissioned to have 12 monasteries built, four around Lhasa to pin her at hips and shoulders, a set of four further away to pin her at elbows and knees and four even more distant to pin her hands and feet. When those were finished, construction of the Jokhane began, to pin her heart. Although photographs are not allowed, the temple is beautiful inside; from the roof we could see the entire square and as far as the Potala Palace but it's sad to see the army presence; men on the roof performing military exercises, snipers perched on opposite buildings while men with guns roamed the streets, able to shoot anyone without provocation. We were warned ahead of time to not take any photos of military, it was very important, but from the roof we were able to get some shots of the military presence.

After leaving the Jokhane Temple, we went for lunch at a local restaurant and walked a bit of the market. We went to the Drepung Monastery in the afternoon; a beautiful place but sadly housing very few monks since since the March protests, and most of the monastery has been closed by the government. There are still over 1,000 protesters unaccounted for in Tibet-including 80 monks from the Drepung Monastery. This monastery used to be one of the largest in Tibet, once housing 10,000 monks and now it seems to be just a shell; only a few monks walking the grounds. Amnesty International reports that close to 100 people have been arrested in recent house searches; police looking for those who may have participated in the protests or who have pictures of the Dalai Lama in their home. Many monks have simply disappeared, executed or placed into work camps while many have been sentenced to 3-9 years imprisonment for discussing lack of freedom in Tibet and the Dalai Lama. Currently there is a government-imposed campaign which forces monks to write denunciations of the Dalai Lama. One well known monk named Jigme Guri was dragged from his home after the March protests, tortured and held for 2 months, then re-arrested for discussing his ordeal with foreign media. The whole situation is depressing and difficult to comprehend why.

Once we left the Drepung Monastery, we went back to the hotel for a relaxing evening, getting momos and french fries on the street and having an early dinner. Although you are advised to not drink alcohol when you are acclimatizing to the higher elevations, it was Laurin's birthday so we had to go out and celebrate. Our guide doesn't drink but came along anyway. The streets are deserted at night with the exception of military and he wanted to make sure they didn't give us any problems. Our guide took us to a local bar which had traditional Tibetan dance and songs. When that bar was closing, our guide woke up his friend so we could continue to party at his place. We had a great night out.

The next morning, Matt went to the nunnery while I walked around Lhasa. David and I walked around Lhasa and it's surprising to see how many cameras are installed all over the city; even in the small alleys there are cameras and sound bugs. No wonder so many signs in restaurants say "No Whispering". If you are caught speaking about Tibet issues or the Dalai Lama, it could mean a long jail sentence or execution. While Matt was waiting in the square with the rest of the group, he watched military police seize a monk and an old woman with a baby on her back; guns aimed at everyone, even the baby. They were soon surrounded by military and dragged off down a side alley, everyone standing there helpless to prevent it. It put a damper on everyone's day, you read about these things happening but to actually witness it is heartbreaking.

We left for the Potala Palace, once the winter home of the Dalai Lama. Although we had seen it from a distance we were blown away standing in front. We walked with pilgrims up the many steps leading to the top; everyone out of breath from the altitude. There are over 1,000 rooms but most of the palace is off limits. In fact, the Red Army stays here now, and every room has cameras and sound bugs - as do all Tibetan monasteries (paid for with part of a UNESCO World Heritage Grant). Although photographs are not allowed inside, it's beautiful, pilgrims moving from altar to altar with offerings of scarves, money and yak butter; unfortunately, the caretaker monks are not allowed to wear their robes. We were informed ahead of time to not discuss anything regarding Tibet as the Potala is heavily monitored, you could see a 360 degree camera in every room and corridor. After our tour, when we were away from prying eyes, our guide asked us if we wanted to see the only picture left in Lhasa of the Dalai Lama. Of course we all wanted to see this secret photo, it seems absurd that no photographs of him are allowed. He told us we would have to look closely for it as it is barely noticeable and brought us into a Chinese souvenir shop. We walked through many rooms of jewelry, art, rugs, following the staircase down to the exit and there he was. A big picture of a high lama and in the background, far in the corner of the lama's wall, was a portrait of His Holiness. No one had noticed it yet so it has not been confiscated. Our guide was very proud of his discovery and excited to have just that little picture to look at.

After the Potala Palace, we went to the Norbulingka; the summer palace of the Dalai Lama, which is set within a picturesque park. We had a nice walk and then went back to the hotel for an early night. We were leaving for Namtso Lake in the morning; a 4 hour drive from Lhasa. When we returned to the hotel, we sat down and talked with the hotel manager. He's from Lhasa but went to school in the US and England, receiving his master's in Tibetan Studies. He only returned to Lhasa to run the family hotel after talking to his Mother, she said something disturbing to him and out of her character, "Come home. Let's just burn together". Since the March protests, China cutoff Tibet from the outside world; access to television, internet and telephone disabled. It has only been since June that the Chinese government has started to open up communications but the military presence has only worsened. The attitude among the younger generation is changing as well, tired of the heavy military presence and the lack of freedom. Tibetan's aren't allowed to have passports unless they spend 3 years in a Chinese school which is basically a brainwashing program. He showed us the camera's that he is being forced to install on each floor of his hotel along with an RFID scanner that he now has to use. It was still safe to talk frankly in his establishment, although not for long. We told him about what happened with the monk and woman and asked him if anything had happened that day. He said that there was a roundup of about 60 people in Lhasa, undocumented pilgrims and monks, while 10 hotels were closed. He said the woman would more than likely be set free but the monk would likely be executed. He then turned off the outside lights to the hotel, he still had one family there on a pilgrimage without proper identity cards and decided to appear closed. We stayed up for another couple of hours talking and went upstairs to sleep. It was hard to sleep thinking about all that we had seen, unable to understand why it had to be this way.

The drive to Namtso Lake was memorable, we had two land cruisers and stopped above the lake to enjoy the view while a snow fight ensued. We took some group pictures and then turned down the snow covered road to the lake. The roads weren't great but our driver was able to maneuver through it. The other driver, however, didn't quite know how to use 4WD. He had to be pushed out 8 times, at one point needing a tow. What was frustrating was, while the group pushed he would either be driving or just looking at his tires, and when the vehicle started moving he would drive far up the road making everyone walk to the car. When the guys offered advice for turning on 4WD he would arrogantly ignore them. Ryusuke, always very sweet and soft spoken, surprised us all when he yelled at the driver not to drive off and leave them again, then mumbling some japanese words! It was really cold out there and at a much higher elevation than Lhasa, everyone was cold, out of breath and exhausted. At one point they discussed turning around but we pushed them to move forward; there was no reason land cruisers could not make this drive. We pressed on and arrived at the lake 2 hours later. At the base we were all exhausted and hungry and ate at the small restaurant near the lake. The owners were sweet, putting out bread and tea for us. Namtso (sky lake) is amazing, it's at 4700m and the second largest lake in Tibet. The lake is turquoise and protected by 2 large boulders; prayer flags swaying in the wind. We all took a well deserved rest along the shore. After a few hours it was time to go and we slowly walked back to our cars. On the way back, we came upon a man in distress. He was part of a small tour group going to the lake but their car had broken down. They had been waiting for close to 5 hours for road assistance and one man had altitude sickness, on his last canister of oxygen, We offered to take him with us to the nearest hospital but the driver flatly refused. He would not risk driving to a military checkpoint with someone not on his permit, even refusing to drop him off before the military checkpoint. As we were arguing over taking the man, another jeep drove up and agreed to get him to a hospital. It was the final straw for driver number 2, and we discussed with our guide that evening about finding a replacement. No one seemed to like this man, even our guide and the other driver.

We were exhausted by the time we arrived back to the hotel, eating dinner and going straight to bed. The next morning, we found out that we had a new driver and we were on our way. It snowed in Lhasa the night before and everything was covered in white. We took the longer, scenic route 260 km south to Gyantse, stopping along the way at Yamdrok Tso. We didn't know what to expect as we climbed the cliff but at the top was the most breathtaking lake we've ever seen; turquoise water in a backdrop of mountains. After about 5 more hours of driving we arrived in Gyantse; a small, relaxed village. We walked up to the fortress for sunrise and went to the famous Gyantse Kumbum (meaning "a Hundred Thousand Images"). The Kumbum has 8 levels with narrow steps and small doorways along each floor. I hit my head hard on one low doorway and our guide said I was blessed by Buddha. We stayed in Gyantse for the night, celebrating the election results! We only had about 2 minutes of coverage on CCTV but it was great to see. We left the following morning for Shigatse, home to the Panchen Lama and the second largest city in Tibet. There is a beautiful market to walk through with everything from prayer beads and incense to meat and yak butter. Although the town is nice, the monastery is a sad reminder of the kidnapping of the Panchen Lama by the Chinese government just over 10 years ago.

The next morning we went to Sakya and visited the monastery there. The building is mongol-style and you can walk along the surrounding walls with beautiful scenery all around. On one side was a school, and it was interesting to see children as young as 10 years old with pick-axes digging out rocks in the school yard, the Chinese flag floating high. We stopped in Sakya for just a few hours and kept driving to Shekar, a small town at the base of the Himalayas. We passed from one military checkpoint to another, sometimes being required to exit the car and give passports. At many of them, children would come running from the nearby village to meet us, hair disheveled, faces covered in dirt and beautiful. We arrived in Shekar which was just one small street at the edge of the Himalayan plateau. The best thing about Shekar was the food; great yak burgers, momos, potatoes, soups.

We left Shekar at 5am and stopped at an incredible viewpoint for sunrise. We could see 5 of the highest mountains in the world, Mount Everest towering in the center. It was breathtaking to see for the first time, all of us ecstatic to finally catch a glimpse of the mountain. We then drove another 4 hours to Rongbuk Monastery, at 4,980m it's the highest monastery in the world and Mount Everest Base Camp was just 8km away. We stayed at a guesthouse run by the monastery and although the accommodation was limited, the views of Everest were amazing. We were staying four people to a room and the bathroom was in an outside shed with a hole dug in the ground. It was fine though, just for one night. We sat on rocks in the warm sun, looking at the mountain taking it all in. For Tibetans, Choomalooma (Mount Everest) is sacred and has a heart and mind of her own. Our guide told us Choomalooma must be happy with us, many times she covers her face in a blanket of clouds, unable to be seen. He said about 50% that come never see the mountain, so she must like us very much. The next morning we left for Everest Base Camp (5150m), climbing a hill of prayer flags and scarves. We found comfortable spots amongst the rocks and just stared at the mountain, set before a deep blue sky and not a cloud in site. It's a serene experience to be there, so quiet and peaceful. We stayed for a few hours before saying goodbye and going back to the monastery.

We still had a long way to go before we would reach Nepal, The roads are rough, mainly dirt and rock passes through near desolate countryside. We had a flat tire along the way, with nothing around but some sheep and a couple of herders. Two of the herders came to the car, not really to help but to see what happened. We waited for the tire to be changed and shared some snacks with them. The only motorist who passed was on a horse, stopping for just a moment to see what was going on. We were soon back on the road to Tingri, a small village about 5 hours drive away. It was a bumpy ride getting there but beautiful countryside. After checking into our hotel, we explored the village; just one dusty street but so many things to see; a small market, a sheep getting butchered, bull drawn carts carrying people and the locals were all welcoming. The hotel offered a shower, we all desperately wanted to take one after going for 3 days without. It was an outside shower and they had to turn on the generator to heat up the water first. There was just a small spicket of water coming from the ceiling but it was great!

The next morning we were off to Zhangmu, a town close to the Nepalese border. We drove along the Friendship Highway but there is honestly nothing friendly about it. It winds along dirt paths, carved out of the mountains. At times we went over rickety wooden bridges covering 1,000 ft drops, sharp turns with no room for oncoming cars and no guardrails at the edge. At one point we drove under a waterfall, water hitting the roof through wooden planks unable to fully divert it from the road. There was beautiful scenery, a mountain gorge with waterfalls dotting the green landscape. The climate changed as well, from high altitudes and cold to warm, oxygen rich air. There is almost a reverse side effect after you have acclimatized to the higher elevations. It makes you feel a bit dizzy to suddenly have an abundance of oxygen. After 5 hours of driving and praying, we reached Zhangmu. It's a bit seedy, as many border towns are, but it's impossible not to see the beauty; the town literally clinging to the mountainside. We went out for our last dinner in Tibet, and our guide wouldn't allow us to pick up the check. He told us how happy he was with the trip and said that although he could not leave with us, the scarves could, and handed us each a white scarf. He gave two extra scarves to Matt and I, since we were traveling to Dharamsala; the yellow scarf was to be given to the Dalai Lama and the white scarf to the Tibetan Government in Exile, both filled with money. Since it was our last night together, we went out for some KTV (karaoke). We walked into a small nightclub and although we weren't sure about it at first, we were soon drinking with the locals at the next table and participating in some local dances. Our guide took the stage and sang some beautiful songs and then the shyest guy in the group, David from England, was soon singing as well; people in the club draping white scarves over him. It was a great night out, one that will not be forgotten!

We left early in the morning for the border, just 10 km away but along the same Friendship Highway. The border to Nepal is often closed, not only during political tensions but also because large sections of the highway wash away every year. The road will forever be under construction. We arrived at the border, going through security scanners and customs checks. Once we received our exit stamp, we said our goodbyes to our guide and then walked over the bridge, the river underneath separating China from Nepal. Immigration was a much more relaxed process on the Nepal side, we walked into an office, men smoking cigarettes as they process applications and then walked the form into another office to be signed by one man reading the newspaper. We then walked over the border to the Nepal side and negotiated to have a jeep take us the 2 hours to Kathmandu. We were warned ahead of time that the drive could be longer, many times there are accidents along the highway and you have to drive along dirt roads through the countryside. We came upon an accident and so had to turn down the dirt road. We passed beautiful countryside, endless rice fields with the Annapurna mountains seeming to rise from the clouds. We hugged the edge of the road when buses started coming from the opposite direction while men with clipboards stood at forks in the road, accepting money for route information. It's hard to imagine this rock and dirt single-lane road is the highway detour. Along the way we stopped for food, had the best Nepali thali (rice, dal, veggies, chutney, spinach, raita and papad) for just $1 each. After being in China for so long, unable to speak what is on your mind, we were all talking a mile a minute about things that we saw and experienced in Tibet. It felt like we had been stifled for so long that it was nice to finally be able to talk frankly about China. After lunch, we were back in the jeep and all had sore bottoms when we arrived in Kathmandu 5 hours later. I think we were all thankful though for taking the long detour, being able to see the countryside and way of life in Nepal. We'll post soon about Kathmandu.

Datong, Xian and Chengdu

Datong was a nice detour on our China travel itinerary and a cultural experience for both of us. We arrived at the train station thankful that we had the hotel name written down in Chinese for the taxi driver. Checking in at our hotel was the first of our challenges, no one at reception could speak English but they ended up tracking down one girl who could help us. Little did she know she would become our interpretor for the next few days! The hotel had 3 restaurants so we entered one and sat down for the next challenge…the paper they gave us to order food was all Chinese characters. We walked out of the restaurant a bit embarrassed and really hungry, trying to figure out what we should do for food. The waitresses hurried off and found the girl who helped us at reception and brought us back to the restaurant. We were getting our first hot pot so she asked us what types of things we like…we ended up getting beef, mutton, vegetables, mushrooms and fish. They bring out a big pot with oil based broth and hot peppers, along with all of the uncooked ingredients. They put the pot to boil in the middle of the table and you add the ingredients and cook to your liking. It was a great meal.

We wanted to see the two main historical sites in Datong, the Hanging Monasery and Yungang Grottos. The Hanging Monastery is about 2 hours from Datong City and was built in 491 AD. The monastery clings to the edge of the cliffs, more than 50 meters from the ground. It’s amazing that this place has remained intact for as long as it has. People hanging from ropes on the cliff built the monastery, crossbeams were half-inserted into the rock as the foundation. Inside the monastery are symbols from Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. It is so peaceful inside.

Afterward we went to the Yungang Grottos, 53 caves with over 51,000 Buddhist statues carved into the sandstone. The Buddha statues range in size from 2 cm to 17 meters high and took some 40,000 people to complete over 50 years (built in 453AD). The Yungang Grottos have survived war, natural disasters and the Cultural Revolution with only some damage. It’s a beautiful site to see and you can walk through all of the different caves.

We left Datong by train to Xian (only 16 hours) and went to see the Terracotta Warriors. The Terracotta warriors date from 210 BC and were only discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well. There are over 8,000 soldiers and 700 horses, each soldier representing a single man, with the site still being excavated today. We enjoyed Xian for the short amount of time that we spent there. We stayed in the Muslim quarter, which has a series of small streets with souvenir shops and food vendors. The food is incredible and the possibilities are endless, you can just walk down the street and eat small bits from different vendors along the way.

After 2 nights in Xian and left for Chengdu, another 16 hour train ride. We decided to travel China completely overland so we’re starting to get used to the long train/bus rides! We went to see the Giant Buddha in Leshan, a 71 meter high Buddha carved into the cliff (built in 713 AD). Other than that we have been enjoying the Sichuan food, known for being very spicy. We discovered the Sichuan pepper, which numbs your entire mouth, allowing you to tolerate the spicy dishes. Our main purpose for coming to Chengdu was to get to Tibet. Unfortunately, the process is difficult and expensive. The only way to get into Tibet is by obtaining a permit, a full itinerary is required outlining each days activities and you must have a guide with you everywhere, sites, dinners, drinks, hotel. The guide holds your permit and if you are found without him you will be promptly deported. It wasn’t the way we had wanted to travel Tibet; we rarely even make hotel bookings so drawing up a full 10 day itinerary just isn’t our style. I guess we can’t do anything about it though. We found some people to travel with to lessen the expense of the guided trip and plan on traveling for 10 days through Tibet including an overnight trip to Mount Everest. We are currently waiting for our permit to arrive and if all goes well, we will be boarding a train tonight, which should take about 48 hours to arrive in Lhasa! We’ll post again from Tibet.

Beijing

The train from Shenzhen was long (29 hours) but really comfortable. We had a cabin to ourselves, dining car next door and comfy beds. We watched movies, played a few hands of cards and watched the scenery pass by. Before we knew it we were in Beijing and in the mass exodus of people scurrying out of the station. We're staying in a great spot, an old "hutong" which is basically a small courtyard of houses in the city (many were unfortunately razed during construction for the olympics). The rooms are set around a quiet courtyard where the staff have a pet duck, an unusual sight in a city known for peking duck.

We spent our first day visiting Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen square is most recognized for the events of 1989, but it was here in 1949 where Mao Zedong declared the foundation of the People’s Republic of China to an audience of one million revolutionaries and it was here that he lead the mass rallies of Cultural Revolution. In the center is Mao's Mausoleum with a line of devotees wrapped around the square. We crossed the street to the entrance of the Forbidden City which houses the ancient imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties (built 1406-1420). At the entrance is the famous portrait of Mao along with the words "Long Live the People's Republic of China". You walk through the Gate of Heavenly Peace and then pass through the Meridian Gate to a courtyard of restaurants and souvenir stalls and then over one of 5 bridges through the Gate of Supreme Harmony. We walked around the grounds feeling like little ants. There are three big halls to walk through before you exit through the Gate of Divine Prowess opening to a bridge over a moat. After a few hours of walking through the city we went home exhausted.

The next day we went to the Great Wall. We decided to go to a section of the wall that isn't as touristed (or rebuilt), so we chose Simatai. It's a 4 hour drive to the drop-off location in Jinshanling, from there we took a cable car up to the wall. We trekked 10 km on the wall, passing through 32 watchtowers before arriving at our pick-up location in Simatai. It was amazing, from start to finish, completely breathtaking. There were sections that were falling apart and some sections which were in good condition and great views from every angle (especially with the fall colors). At times, it felt like we had the entire wall to ourselves. It was one of the biggest highlights of our trip, an absolutely incredible experience.

We were both a bit worn out from our day yesterday so today we went to see Bird's Nest Stadium and then out to try Beijing's signature dish, it was a great meal! We're leaving tomorrow for Datong, near the Great Wall pass to Inner Mongolia. It was a spontaneous decision to go there since train tickets to Xian were sold out. We'll post again soon!

Yangshuo and Guilin

We took a sleeper bus from Shenzhen to Yangshuo, about 10 hours by road. The bus wasn’t quite built for westerners, it had 3 levels with 3 rows of beds small beds (Josh and Matt didn’t quite fit). Although it was a bit claustrophobic we all managed to get some sleep on the journey and arrived at sunrise in Yangshuo. It was a bit early to check in at our hotel so we left our bags with reception and wandered the streets of the town. It’s hard not to be awestruck by the setting, quaint cobblestone streets lined with shops and cafes surrounded by endless karst peaks.

We walked along the Li River and saw a cormorant fisherman. It’s a long tradition that locals have used these birds as they have the ability to dive underwater for lengths of time looking for fish. The bird grabs the fish and brings it to the surface in its beak before eating it. The fisherman keep a string tied around the birds neck which prevents them from swallowing their catch and empty their fish in a basket. Although it’s an old tradition, you can’t help but feel sorry for the birds who are doing all of the work.

In the evening we had a great dinner and started a game of dominos. While we were playing we met Joe, a 10 year old boy from Shanghai. He asked if he could practice his English and after the initial ‘what’s your name’, ‘where are you from’, etc we asked if he wanted to sit down and learn dominos. Joe’s English was perfect, even knowing slang and jokes. We ended up hanging out with him for the next couple hours playing dominos and talking. It brought some attention to our table and soon locals were coming over and watching the game, taking pictures. That’s when we met David Chin, a man from Guilin, just 1 hour from Yangshuo. He joined our group and then some guys from the US and Hong Kong stopped by to hang out. What was going to be an early night turned into a late one. The Chinese have a saying “Ganbei!” which literally means “bottoms-up”, you cannot refuse to finish your drink if said. Many hours later we said our goodbyes and promised to meet up with David Chin when we traveled to Guilin in the coming days.

The time in Yangshuo was relaxing. We took a long bike ride through the karst landscape, crossing rivers and passing through villages. We stopped to climb River as it’s stage and the backdrop is anGreen Lotus Peak and Moon Hill taking in the views from above. We arrived back at our hotel with just enough time to get ready for the “Light Show”. The show uses the Li endless karst backdrop lit by lights. The entire show is performed on bamboo rafts and perfectly choreographed to the music. The show highlights the traditional customs of the local community and was beautiful to see.

We went to bed early as we were getting on a bamboo raft at 7am for a tour down the Li River. The area where we board the raft is the setting on the back of the 20 Yuan bill so we took a photo. We boarded a small raft which took us along the river, passing karst mountains, local fisherman, water buffalo and villages.


We left for Guilin the following day and arrived in the early afternoon. We called David Chin when we reached our hotel and he came by to take us for a walk around the city. Although much larger than Yangshuo, Guilin is very picturesque. The city is surrounded by a river which encloses the city in a circle. There are small walking bridges crossing the river throughout the city. We stopped at a noodle stand for some food, David had planned for us to go to his friend’s birthday dinner so he didn’t want us to eat very much. We walked to a restaurant which looked like a banquet hall, but the tables were separated into individual serviced rooms. We sat down at a large round table with about 12 other Chinese guests. No one spoke English so we communicated as best we could, through David. The stories that came up were funny, one man was saying his son doesn’t like America because of the war, Josh changed the subject and told him that his father fought against the Japanese and they all clapped, laughed and cheered. Then the food started coming…and coming…and didn’t stop. It was endless amounts of food, spicy vegetables, rabbit, beef, baby pork ribs, ducks feet, dumplings, soups, things we couldn’t even identify. It was a great dinner and then came the drinks. Large bottles of beer, wine and baiju (the local rice liquor). Now, we’ve had rice wines throughout south-east asia but baiju is definitely the hardest to drink. It’s over 50% alcohol and the Chinese love the stuff. If one person stood up and leaned there glass to you saying “Ganbei!”, you both had to finish what you were drinking. At one point in the night they wanted Josh to sing an American song, Josh refused and they would not let up on him so he asked if he could dance instead. This is one of those moments that you are really thankful to have brought a camera. The video is below. By the end of the night we were all great friends and it took about 10 minutes of saying goodbyes before we could walk out. We told David we would stop by his home to meet his wife and young son. It was a short visit over tea and we took a taxi back to our hotel, a great introduction to Guilin.

Josh had to fly back to Shenzhen for work but we went back to Yangshuo for an extra night before heading back to Shenzhen on the sleeper bus. We are now back in Shenzhen and booked our rail ticket to Beijing. The train will take about 24 hours to reach Beijing and will traverse through six of China’s provinces. We’ll post again from Beijing.