Shangri-la part 2

Absolutely nothing on the agenda today! I went down for breakfast and they told me I would have to pay for yesterday and today's breakfast. I told the woman breakfast was included and that my guide mentioned that when I checked in. There was no way on earth I would have paid for that stupid ham sandwich yesterday. I told her I wouldn't be eating here today.

I left and went looking for street food. The flatbread is more chewy here but immense. It probably cooks differently because of the altitude. I went back to the guesthouse and grabbed some tea leaves and hung out with my breakfast there. I was in no rush.

I met a woman from Holland that just arrived yesterday. She was heading to the monastery today. She was taking the rest of the summer off, but was heading to Yangshou soon. There she would be teaching English until the fall. She went to graduate school at SF State and after school worked at the Dutch Embassy for a short while. She loved San Francisco and would love to get back there. I told her I was walking to the temple. She said she was there yesterday. She said there are some exhibit buildings nearby that I should check out. I told her I might rent a bike and go to the hot springs if I felt ambitious later. She said that sounded good and maybe she would join. I also told her where I got the flatbread. It was on the way to the main street where she was going to catch the bus for the monastery. It was right on the corner and she wouldn't miss it. She said she might have a little honey in her room. I was jealous!

I took off shortly for the temple. It was such a short walk. I went in the exhibition halls first. They included some Tibetan history but were all in Chinese. There were a few interesting paintings as you walked up the stairs. The exhibits also included small rooms that replicated the inside of Tibetan temples. That was actually nice since you are not allowed to take pictures in Tibetan temples.

I headed for the temples next. I walked up the steps. I just assumed you would have to pay something to enter. But you didn't. There were two temples, one higher up the hill. Typically in these temples there are prayer wheels. You walk by them and turn the wheel clock-wise. At this temple, there was just one prayer wheel but was golden and higher than the height of the temple. In order to turn the wheel, you had to manually circle around the bottom physically pushing the wheel. You were supposed to go around three times. Every time I went up there I saw groups of teenagers goofing around and trying to make the wheel go as fast as possible so you would have to run. There was a great view of old town and the entire city. When I looked straight ahead from the temple, I saw a stupa sandwiched in between two mountain peaks. I was wondering how far it would be to walk over there?

I had to walk back to the guesthouse and change clothes. It had gotten really warm out as it was just noon. I notice that at around 11 it warms up and you can literally go from pants to shorts and a t-shirt. But at around 4:30 you better have warm clothes with you or, you are in trouble.

I ran into the Dutch woman again. She said she checked into going to the hot springs and it sounded like a full day's activity. She said she was off to book her trekking trip. I told her I might try to find that stupa.

I was so thrilled to change my clothes. As always, I carry a rain jacket, umbrella, gloves, and a sweater with me in this climate. I headed off away from the security of the pedestrian area in old town. It was a relatively small city. I grabbed some more flatbread and a banana. There were some beautiful gompas in town. They all had gold roofs. I also found a Bank of China. Some banks still don't accept non-Chinese ATM withdrawals, but if you can find a Bank of China you are good.

I crossed the street and there was a small river or stream going through town. There were walking paths on both sides of it. And this was the direction I wanted to go. So I sat for a while having a snack. Then continued along the stream. As I was looking up ahead, it looked like at some point I would have to cross a three lane highway. I was hoping that there was a bridge over it or some sort of underpass by this stream.

As I got closer, I noticed cows were grazing along the stream on the other side. You could pass underneath this highway, but it was a narrow ledge. I saw a guy climb up to cross the highway. I figured I'll check it out too. The highway was not really busy and there were places to do u-turns with crosswalks, so I headed for the closest one.

When I crossed I noticed a large building beneath the stupa. Also, I had seen a path to get to the top from the temple. I was hoping there was a road too, but I didn't see one.

I noticed that the large building was Gyalthang Dzong Hotel. It looked really nice as I got closer. The dirt path went around their property and very steeply up the hill. I probably got 1/3 the way up and it started pouring out. I was looking at the clouds to try to see which way the wind was blowing. It seemed like it might clear up, but in the mountains, I could see two rain storms in different directions.

I thought I could go for a tea at the hotel and wait it out. If the weather didn't clear up, I could always get a taxi back. The hotel was deserted. The only person around was the concierge. He said the restaurant was not open. But he could have them open it for me. I told him I was trying to go up to the stupa. But maybe it would stop raining.

We both looked outside. It had let up some. He said it rains here a lot and the weather is unpredictable. I kept remembering the first day I arrived when it rained heavily most of the afternoon and evening. Was this an ominous sign? He thought it would stop raining soon and probably not rain the rest of the day. I hoped he was right. I told him I would be back in an hour for some tea.

So I went back to the path and climbed to where I was last time then I heard a grand crack of thunder. It was still raining lightly. I kept going. It seemed pretty far away. Now the path wasn't as steep and it went through a lot of rocks. I heard a second crack. Still no lightening. I could see just over the mountain that it looked like it was raining. But it didn't look like the wind and clouds were blowing directly this way. Ok, the third crack. Usually this would mean turning around for me. But for some reason I didn't. The rain had stopped. I needed to do something I wanted on my own in China, without a tour group following me or someone telling me to go there. I think I just needed to get away and find some peace and quiet. I kept going. At this point I heard a fourth crack but it was a muffled sound in the distance. I was almost to the top anyway. Once I got there I was extremely happy. I was rewarded with a view that most tourists probably don't see. It was peaceful. I don't know much about the Buddhist religion but prayed anyway.

I didn't stay up there too long. If the weather had been a little bit better I could have climbed higher. There were prayer flags all around in different directions. So I hiked down and definitely deserved that tea now. Along the way down, I was greeting by a herd of sheep. I kept hearing the baaaahhs but didn't know where the sound was coming from.

Alas, back at the hotel I asked again about the tea. This time a woman was also there. I asked what type of tea they had. When they got to puerh, I said I'll have a pot of that. The woman asked if I wanted green or black and I said green.

So she stayed to talk with me. Meanwhile the concierge went to see about my tea. She was originally from Tibet. Her family had left and moved to India when she was young. She went to school and college in India which explained her perfect English.

Then in 1997 she moved back to China. For the first several years she was a tourguide and travelled quite a bit. But now she was managing this very beautiful boutique hotel.

She told me she was involved in an Eco-tourism program with Columbia University and had recently been to the US. The program was sponsored by the Chinese government and she had been selected. It was a sharing of information between Chinese and US ecotourist hotels. The Chinese are trying to improve and understand what tourism around the world is like. They want their standards to be higher and more competitive so westerners will be more comfortable here.

She told me she went to NY, Washington DC, and then they went to the University of Colorado, Boulder. She was so funny. She said they got stuck in a snowstorm so she felt right at home. Then she went to the Four Corners, Monument Valley, Mexican Hat, cliff dwellings, and Navaho and Anasazi lands.

It sounded like an amazing trip. These were all some of my favorite spots in the US too. She thought the native american culture was very similar to hers in many ways. They were both around and thriving at about the same time and they both did drawings and paintings on walls. She said after visiting the US she said that we were lucky to have areas preserved that wouldn't be ruined or destroyed. In China, she didn't believe that the government protected the land enough. They could have mining and then right next to it, a national treasure.

I agreed. I thank presidents like Teddy Roosevelt who preserved land for future generations.

She told me she thought China has a lot to learn from the west especially in tourism. I told her that maybe that is true but moderation in my opinion is the key. Take only the best parts of the western cultures as China continues to develop. Learn from the mistakes we have made. Try not to lose the Chinese culture, values, and way of life in the process of developing.

She also took a class on global warming when she was in Boulder. She says since 1997, she has noticed the changes in Shangri-la. The winters are definitely becoming milder. I told her I never thought global warming would affect my generation but it certainly has.

I really enjoyed speaking with her. She was so knowledgeable and we had a lot in common. Her hotel did all sorts of eco-tours including hiking, trekking, horseback riding, you name it. You could go at different comfort levels from camping to luxurious guesthouses with local food and guides along the way.

Meanwhile, this whole time I was drinking my puerh and it even came with a cookie like in India! She wanted to know my plans for the rest of my stay in China. I told her I was on my way to Xishuagnbanna next. I told her I had guides a couple of days but somehow, I had to get to see the big tea trees. She said don't worry, if you get close enough, someone will show you where it is. We exchanged information because you never know when you will be back!

I left the hotel and headed back to the guesthouse. I tried the more direct route this time and didn't go along the river/stream. I definitely walked through residential areas and a lot of new construction. It was actually quite fast this way and in no time at all, I was back in old town.

When I got back to the large square by the guesthouse, it seemed all the food and jewelry vendors were starting to clear out. All of a sudden the place transformed. The music came on, women started walking towards the square from their shops and houses. Some men joined in as well. The dancing had begun.

I watched them all dance in a circle for about 1/2 hour. Everyone was enjoying themselves. I don't know who kept changing the music. Sometimes the music was faster. The dances varied a little bit too.

I had to leave to get dinner. I was really hungry. I went to the same place for the third night in a row. This time the waitress recommended that I try the curried potatoes with the Indian style flatbread. She said I should get two. I went with it an knew I would be happy.

As I was waiting for my food, my guide was walking down the street and saw me in the restaurant. He said he had just been at my guesthouse. He had left me message regarding tomorrow. He said he was sorry about the mix-up for breakfast. For some reason the breakfast should be included but the guesthouse thought I should pay. He told me that he would reimburse me for my breakfast this morning. And that tomorrow I could get whatever I wanted. He said maybe I should get the potato curry from this place. He said no problem, consider it done. Alright, it would sure beat the ham sandwich!

He left, I finished eating and felt like I needed to walk off my meal. I walked by the square and they were all still dancing. I wanted to get some photos of the temple at night so I headed over there. To my surprise, that square also had a big group dancing in a circle. This square was much larger. I took some photos and climbed to the top of the temple again. I wanted to move the prayer wheel but there were so many people at this time of night.

I walked back down. I was getting tired. So I thought it was time to go back to the guesthouse. I walked to the smaller square and they were still dancing. They had been going at it for 2 full hours already. The three women that were out there first were older women of at least 70 and were still there dancing. I watched a little longer and then left. I still had more than 1/2 a bottle of that Tibetan wine from yesterday and was really hoping it had gotten a little better.

I brought it to the community area at the guesthouse and sat down and caught up on email and my journal. I was there about two hours but couldn't finish it. I still had about 1/3 left. The owner and two coworkers (or family members, I never managed to figure that out) were there drinking wine.

They weren't friendly or helpful at all and she was the one making and trying to charge me for the ham sandwiches. Just as I was leaving, I gave her the rest of my wine. I said, I see you are drinking Tibetan wine. When you finish your bottle, please enjoy this one as well. In the morning, I saw the two wine bottles in the trash.