Lhasa, Tibet

I think I am having a serious case of monastery overdose today. I went for a visit to the Drepung Monastery outside Lhasa, what was supposed to be two hour visit, turns into a eight hour stay. The monastery have maybe 40-50 temples of all sizes inside, it is like a maze(It used to be the largest monastery in the world). My friend who came with me, gave up on me after a couple of hours and went to have his tea. I stayed long enough to watch the daily "scripture discussions", where like a hundred monks of all ages gather at the court yard arguing over their interpretation of the scripture. It was pretty amazing. Oh... These guys were actually pretty friendly, not as rude as some travelers said they are.

Traveling to or in Tibet is really a pain in the ass. Just to buy a ticket to come in here, requires you to pay something like $Y1500 for a permit, and then there is the airplane ticket.....

Once U get here, You need to rent a 4WD to go anywhere, which cost a bundle. And once again, U need permits, and permits.... Which means money, and money .... I think I spend what I used to spend in a month in just a little over a week here. But it still worth it.

Anyway, just managed to organized a week long trip to the Everest Base Camp, and the Nepal-Chinese border with a couple of people. Will be seeing a lot more monasteries, and amazing landscapes, and nice people too.

Will be leaving in a couple hours. Catch-up with U guys later.

The Chinese Hair Cut

Well, finally got my hair cut today. Getting a hair cut can be difficult here, because some of these so call Barber shop are just more like brothels. So when I spotted this mom-n-pop Barber shop in SongPan, I knew they are the one. They charge a lot less (half) than the other quotes I got from shops elsewhere in the country as well, probably because they don't offer that complementary neck rub.

This reminded me of this conversation I had with this very shady "entertainment manager" of the hotel I stayed in. Feel like an idiot now for opening the door, when this guy came knocking in the night. It is so funny, because you get to watch him trying so hard to subtlety hint at all these services, like "room services" and a fun fill night at the Karaoke bar with the "ladies".

From what I heard (from other travelers), things are not so subtle in Russian. Every night, you get these calls with guy asking "You speak English? Yes? Do you want beautiful Prussian woman? beautiful woman?" O.K. For the full comedic effect, you got to say this out loud with a thick Russian accent, and in broken English. If not, add a few beers.

Anyway... aside from my hair cut:

After and 12 hrs bus ride through the Sichuan Highlands, I arrives at "JuiJieGou" in northern Sichuan and spend a total of three days in there. The place is just beautiful. They got some of the most pristine lakes and forests and waterfalls in China I ever saw. They have lakes so clear, you can count all the fishes in them. Some of the lakes reportedly have seven colors. Wish I was here for autumns, when all the foliage change colors, and that is supposedly the best time to see the places. Staying in the park, was very nice as well. The little hotels are right in these little villages, its quite peaceful.

After JiuZheGou, I took the bus to SongPan and jointed one of the horse trekking trip to see the Ice Mountain. The area is populated with a lot of minority groups, where raising yaks (hairy cows) and goats are the main part of the economy. The horse trekking trip was a lot of fun. Aside from meeting some fellow travelers from around the world, and visiting some of the Tibetan temples and villages you also get to know these very interesting trekking guides as well. Of the four minority/majority groups that live around SongPan, we had three of them in the group (Han, Tibetan, and Muslin).

You got to give it to these guys, they can really sing (sober, or drunk). They sang just about every kind of songs out there, everything from love ballads to dirty songs that involved nuns sleeping with monks. Not exactly the image I had for these folks. I think some of of them, being the friendly lot, tries to invite me to joint them on a night of "Karaoke" with some "lady" friends. I think they are just joking, but ...

Well... the trip was wonderful, glacier covered peaks, ice cold alpine lakes, and beautiful tundra landscapes. Oh... yes, we did get to enjoy a rather funny show of the nutty fellow American who decided to do a skinny dipping in the alpine lake. Not exactly blend well with the landscape, but....

Anyhow, taking a day of rest @ SongPan B4 I go back to ChengDu, really aren't looking forward to go back to that hot, humid, and mosquito infested place. The weather here is just so nice and dry, and the people here are so friendly. Really wish they had an airport here to take me to Tibet. So..., what if I am a spoiled Californian.

The Three Gorges

Well ....the highlight of the week is probably the time i spend watching all the KongFu movies that were played in the buses. Hahah... , but it is very funny to watch them in its original form, instead of the Spanish versions that I am used to back in the states. ;-)

After 12 hours on a bus, i am desperate for anything that doesn't have any KongFu, or guns in it.

I left Wuhan for YiChang and took a boat up the Yangtze River the next morning. Spend the entire next 12 hours with an retired couple on a almost completely empty deck taking pictures, getting a tan, and just enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Three Gorges. The river is a lot tamer than I expected, with many of the obstruction and rapids removed years ago for navigation. It is sad to see it turn in to a lake, after the Three-Gorges Dam is finished. The imposing mountain and valley scenery will probably change little, but without the rapids , it just isn't going to be the same.

The river serve as a drainage way for much of the high lands up west, sadly, it is also a sewage transport system in someway. I got the strange looks from the crews for using the trash can in the entertainment deck, I know, they'll prob. empty it into the river later anyway....

There is quit a bit of stuff that get throw into the river, everything from foam cups, plastic bags, to discarded shoes, we even saw a dead body floated by. Well. I think I saw everything in this trip....

I arrive at the town of WuShan @ night and spend the hours walking through the "old town", the part that were destain to be submerged. Build on the side of a river valley, the town is full of stairs. Buses and cars are all miniaturized to go through the narrow streets. Part of the town are already torn down, and all but a few street lights remained, but night markets, food stalls, and even the red light district can still be found.

Well.... If U come here.... be carefull.

I came to Wushan to see the Little 3-Gorges, and the Little, Little 3-Gorges. I was not disappointed. The one date trip, just make the big 3-Gorges pale in comparison. With its narrow water ways, steep valleys, tall cliffs, crystal clear water and white rapids, the trip is well worth its money. For the last part of the trip through the "Little, Little 3-Gorges" you actually get on a wooden boat and get pulled, pushed, and yanked up the little rapids by three local boatmen. Well, there is no words to describe the beautiful scenery to ya, and I don't think my camera with its wide lens could either. I could spend weeks here, if I could. (I think I will on my next trip too, which have to be quick, before the water level rise too high to drown out the rapids and swallow up the pebble beaches).

Well...I think this is getting a little long. To make the story short, took the boat up to WanZhou(10 hrs), and then bus(12 hrs) to ChengDou, SiChun, all in one stroke. Skipped ChongChing, as I orig. planned. On my 2nd day here, and I realized that SiChun alone may need more than a few month to explore. Will be taking another 12 hr. bus ride up Northern SiChun tomorrow morning, hope the scenery is good (I am sure it is), because I really can't stand all that much KongFu movies.

How the worst thing that came out of Taiwan make its way here, i have no idea.