O.K, admittedly, the title of this blog entry is a re-mastered steal from the incredible musical genius of Mr. Stevie Wonder. About midway through the roughly 7 minute, 20 seconds of Wonder's "Living for the City" is a narrated portion that includes the line, "Wow, New York, just like I pictured it. Sky scrapers and everything." When Gary McCue told us about a client (Texan) on one of his trips who pronounced Tibet "Ty-bet," we got on a riff with the lines. Not coincidentally perhaps, but the higher we trekked, the funnier we thought we were (must have been that oxygen-deprived brain thing . . .).
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| Tsurphu Assembly Hall |
Good bye Lhasa, hello training wheels hike. Cliff and I call the first (warm-up) hike of any group outing the training wheels hike. We generally see the purpose of this relatively short hike as the guide(s)' opportunity to assess the fitness/readiness of group members. And so our van headed north from Lhasa toward the Nyenchen Thanglha Range, stopping at the Tsurphu Monastery, where a brief and cursory monastery visit quickly transitioned to that first hike along the Tsurphu Kora. The walk was just about 4 km -- but chock full of interesting sites and across a rise of about 150 meters (I know, 500 feet is a piece of cake . . . but at 14,500 feet, we were getting a little perspective/reminder of the business of walking in thin air). Luckily, there was a fascinating assortment of sites/distractions along the way:
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| Mani Wall at Tsurphu |
Straight away leaving the monastery to join the kora, we passed an impressive mani wall. This wall included the expected main stones -- many inscribed in Tibetan with Om Mani Padme Hum (traditional Buddhist mantra for enlightenment), along with yak horns, sheep horns, detailed art with long script and many images.
At the end of the mani wall, Gary began to describe wildlife which we may or may not see (over the entire trek) -- and eerily (I really don't think he anticipated this) things started to show up. Almost immediately we saw blue sheep (really kind of a grey blue), many of them ewes with kids. Pika and marmot darted to their burrows. Birds Gary described showed themselves almost as announced -- but perhaps none was so eerie as the Tibetan Griffon Vulture -- a large and rather hideous looking bird. The true notoriety of this bird is its role in the Tibetan tradition of sky burial. And our kora took us right through a sky burial site.
The Tibetan custom of sky burial may actually be considered an efficient way of disposing of the human body after the soul has begun its journey of rebirth (as digging in the rocky mountainous terrain of Tibet is all but impossible and there are few trees for wood for cremation) . The sky burial generally occurs 72 hours after a individual dies (time for prayers by the local lama and the soul's journey through the 49 levels between death and rebirth). It is the duty of a close friend or relative to carry the body to a sky burial site, where the "body-breaker" chops the body into pieces and exposes it for the Griffon Vulture (disposal and a final act of compassion to the birds). Foreigners are restricted from these funeral ceremonies -- and the Chinese (described as embarrassed by the practice) will fine and/or arrest foreigners who dare attend (invited or not). When we passed the sky burial site, the tools of the body-breakers lay in place. The presence of a griffon vulture feather next to bone shards was somber -- and a little otherworldly.
Then it was up, up, past and through prayer flags (so many here given the monastery and the sky burial site). Following Gary's laid-back trekking approach, when we reached the high point of the kora, we took a break. Looking down at Tsurphu (a-bustle with new building), the valley and stream below and catching my breath, I reflect on my very tiny place in this big, magnificent world. I am so grateful to be here, in this moment.
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| A moment of reflection on the Tsurphu Kora |
Along the high points of the Tsurphu Kora we began to see the huts of the "anis" (nun in Tibetan is ani) and from a distance the Samtenling hermitage for monks (used for a three-year, three-month, three-day retreat). We also drank from a sacred spring -- using the dipper and pouring a generous amount of the cool spring water over our heads as is the custom. And we saw a most intriguing (and very effective) solar-fired kettle. Our guide, Tinsley, even stopped to adjust the pot and promptly got a full boil started.
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| The solar-fired kettle |
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| The web of prayer flag along the Tsurphu Kora |
Finally we head back down to the monastery and our awaiting transport, which will take us to Campsite One. For the next two weeks our tent will be our home, our sleeping bags our beds, our feet our primary mode of transportation, our meals loaded with carbs (for energy and to assist in oxygen efficiency at high altitude -- some sports performance nutritionists recommend 70% of all calories at high altitude come from carbs*), our clock the sun (up with the rise, down with the set) . . . and our showers -- well, non-existent. I've said it before, it is life distilled to its simplest and best: Walk, eat, sleep, repeat! It's a TeamBoltz dream come true!
*At the end of the trek, we are obsessing about a real meat burger!!
Good bye Lhasa, hello training wheels hike. Cliff and I call the first (warm-up) hike of any group outing the training wheels hike. We generally see the purpose of this relatively short hike as the guide(s)' opportunity to assess the fitness/readiness of group members. And so our van headed north from Lhasa toward the Nyenchen Thanglha Range, stopping at the Tsurphu Monastery, where a brief and cursory monastery visit quickly transitioned to that first hike along the Tsurphu Kora. The walk was just about 4 km -- but chock full of interesting sites and across a rise of about 150 meters (I know, 500 feet is a piece of cake . . . but at 14,500 feet, we were getting a little perspective/reminder of the business of walking in thin air). Luckily, there was a fascinating assortment of sites/distractions along the way:
The Tibetan custom of sky burial may actually be considered an efficient way of disposing of the human body after the soul has begun its journey of rebirth (as digging in the rocky mountainous terrain of Tibet is all but impossible and there are few trees for wood for cremation) . The sky burial generally occurs 72 hours after a individual dies (time for prayers by the local lama and the soul's journey through the 49 levels between death and rebirth). It is the duty of a close friend or relative to carry the body to a sky burial site, where the "body-breaker" chops the body into pieces and exposes it for the Griffon Vulture (disposal and a final act of compassion to the birds). Foreigners are restricted from these funeral ceremonies -- and the Chinese (described as embarrassed by the practice) will fine and/or arrest foreigners who dare attend (invited or not). When we passed the sky burial site, the tools of the body-breakers lay in place. The presence of a griffon vulture feather next to bone shards was somber -- and a little otherworldly.
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