Drokpa Journal

After spending a couple of months at my dad’s place in Montana I made my way back to China, with a brief layover in Denver to catch up with my sisters. I arrived in Chengdu, China, on February 26th, where I met up with my Australian friend and fellow leader – Rhona. Early on the 27th we caught a bumpy flight from the gray gloom of Chengdu into the brilliant blue skies of Lhasa.

We were in Tibet primarily to be part of Losar, or the Tibetan New Year, which this year began on February 28th. It’s a great time to be in Tibet, as long as you can deal with the interruptions to normal service – most Tibetan shops and restaurants are closed for up to two weeks for the festivities.

The first day we simply wandered around, caught up with some local friends (and a French friend who was also in town), and scoped out what was meant to be happening during the upcoming days. The following day was the actual start of Losar, so we headed down to the Barkhor to watch the Tibetans walk the kora – out to see and be seen. We ended up sitting on the vacant shop tables amongst a throng of poor rural villagers, who themselves were accepting money from some of the more affluent Tibetans passing by. We enjoyed our time interacting with the young kids among them, until I had the bright idea of buying them a box of oranges. I thought the feeding frenzy at the Tibetan sky burials was something to behold! It had nothing on the quick little filthy hands darting into the box of oranges and grabbing as many as possible. We finally conceded that there was no way we were going to impose order, and so let them run off with as many as they could grab, safe in the knowledge that even those with a handful of oranges were probably only going to actually eat one of them and share the rest.

It was great to sit there and watch the kora walkers, as even Tibetans who dress more modern most of the year can be found in the traditional chuba during the first days of Losar. However, a difference I’d noticed compared to my previous Losar visit was that the chubas didn’t seem to be as ornate, or contain as much ermine fur along the hems. I later learned from several locals that the Dalai Lama had stated that it wasn’t good to be killing the animals simply to make fashionable clothing, and so the Tibetans had gone back to a more basic design.

Later that day we were invited into the home of a friend of mine. The first day of Losar is typically spent with family, so it was great that we were invited in to get a more intimate look at Losar. As is standard this time of year, we first went to an altar and made three quick offerings with tsampa, or roasted barley flour. After admiring the other traditional Losar offerings – breads, cakes, candies, barley plant, ceramic sheeps head, and various butter offerings, we sat down to some serious pampering. Anytime you visit Tibetans they are overly hospitable, and this is only heightened at Losar. As soon as you sip your butter tea or chang (barley beer), it’s topped up. If you haven’t nibbled on a snack in the previous minute, you’re offered the plate of goodies – or a plate of dried meat and a large knife, and told to dig in. Suffice it to say that you never feel neglected, and never leave hungry! We enjoyed the afternoon of chang drinking and playing sho (a traditional Tibetan dice game), until one of us realized they’d had too much chang (and no, it wasn’t Rhona – next guess?!?). My statement that “chang doesn’t effect me” no longer holds much weight in some circles, and so it turned into an early night.

The big event the following day was the infamous free food and chang at one of the restaurants, Tashi II. You soon realize there are several more foreigners in town than you’d imagined when they’re concentrated in one small room. As always the food was good and the chang was flowing freely. The only disappointment was when they came to the singing and drinking. Normally a group of 3 or 4 Tibetans, typically women, will approach you with a large bowl of chang. After they sing you a song you’re obliged to drink the chang – a sip and it’s refilled, a sip and it’s refilled, a sip and it’s refilled, and then you drink the entire large bowl. This still happened, but the guy singing possessed an off-key, less-than-angelic voice. Oh well.

We spent a total of 6 days in Lhasa – acclimatizing; enjoying the New Year celebrations; meeting with other friends in their homes; and taking in the standard sites of the Potala and Jokhang, among others. We also managed to arrange a 5-day LandCruiser trip – not easy with all the closures and agents/guides either away from Lhasa or disinclined to leave Lhasa during Losar. We also managed to round up two other passengers – a French woman and a Spanish man, to fill up the LandCruiser.

We left Lhasa on the morning of March 5th and headed towards Sakya. We actually drove the true friendship highway, which we normally bypass with groups. The newly paved road between Lhasa and Shigatse made quick work of that section, but the unpaved section between Shigatse and Sakya still had us bouncing off the roof. In Sakya we wandered around the Tibetan quarters and up to the nearby nunnery, before descending, grabbing dinner, and playing sho the rest of the night.

From Sakya we actually drove directly to basecamp. As had been the case since our arrival in Tibet, the sky was a brilliant blue, with only a few scattered white clouds to add a bit of character. Being the off-season we were able to drive all the way to basecamp. We spent time admiring the view from the small hill, and wandering about a bit, before descending to the village of Tashi Dzom to sleep for the night. In the setting sun we wandered about the small village, where we were accosted by children who wanted to have their picture taken. I always like Tashi Dzom.

The next morning we retraced our path over the pass – admiring the range of Himalayan giants one last time, before making our way to Shigatse. We wandered around a bit that night, and visited Tashilhunpo Monastery the following morning. I always enjoy the monastery, but even more so in the off-season when more chapels are opened to the pilgrims. After the monastery visit and a quick meal of noodles we drove the short distance to Gyantse – our base for our last night of the trip.

As we stayed in the same hotel we use during the season, the owner wanted to renew old acquaintances, which required Rhona and me to have a few quick beers before we could actually go check out the sites. We still managed to visit the monastery and unique kumbum, but the gates were already closed by the time we walked up the hill in the center of town to admire the views from the fort. That left us no option but to return to our hotel and be plied with free beer the rest of the night while we were playing sho. It’s a tough life, but somebody has to do it!

The following morning we left Gyantse and drove the scenic route back to Lhasa, via the turquoise waters of Yamdrok Tso – one of Tibet’s four holy lakes.

Back in Lhasa on March 9th we had a few days to do a bit of shopping, we visited Sera Monastery, and we were able to have a nice evening with some of my local friends. It was a nice way to finish off the trip.

In all it was a great trip, as I always enjoying showing what Tibet has to offer, and to see it for myself during the various seasons.

I flew to Beijing on March 11th, had a few days to get organized, and then started my first trip of the season on the 13th. I have 10 passengers and so far they seem like an excellent group. We’re currently in Xian, though we’re catching a train tonight at 10:30 to Lanzhou and then a bus ride into the Tibetan Grasslands of Amdo. I should be back in Lhasa on March 24th, and this trip will finish in Kathmandu on April 9th.

And with that, you’re up to date. I hope all is going well in your part of the world, and I’ll catch you from somewhere down the road.

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