I'm afraid that if I don't type it now, I'll not do it.
So, we arrived in Kandze yesterday after a strenuous 13 hrs drive
from Dartsedo/Kandze. The drive was bumpy most of the time but we
were all able to sleep a little bit. I must say that the girls were
very brave and didn't complain a single time. I'm also very happy
that until now they don't seem to suffer much from the altitude.
Altitude sickness was probably my biggest fear concerning their
travel to Kham. Let's hope it is going to continue like that.
I will not be able to describe the drive and all the things we saw
but what I can say is that as soon as you cross the pass just after
Dartsedo, you are in Tibet. Yacks, stupas (chorten in Tibetan) and
monks and nuns are everywhere to be seen. The valleys are very green
and with a lot of flowers.
So it was around 7 p.m. when we reached Kandze. We were lucky enough
to find beds in the LungTa guest house were I usually stay. It's
simple and cheap but very clean. The owner was very happy to see me
again and to meet my daughters and he offered us tea and tsampa. He
is from Kandze but he also speaks the Lhasa dialect so both Tenzin
and I are able to communicate easily with him.
On the way to the hotel I was able to find a car to drive us to Rigul
tomorrow. Rigul being such a small village/monastery, I had to
explain him the way. I asked him to come to pick us up at 5 a.m. It
is quite early but then we should arrive in Rigul around noon
allowing us to still enjoy a full afternoon there. The only little
worry I have is that I didn't see our driver's car yet and I hope
that it will be big enough to fit the four of us and our luggage. If
not I think we will have to wait 6 or 7 a.m. to find another car.
After enjoying the tsampa in our room, we went to visit the town. We
bought some fresh vegetables and fruits to bring to Rigul as they
don't have much there. We also gave a few phone calls before leaving
for Rigul and being unable to communicate for 5 days. We called
Yangchen in Chengdu. She got her permit for Tibet and will fly to
Lhasa on the 7th. We also called my mother and Zoe's father.
We then had dinner and went beck to the guest house and went to bed
after a small talk. I'm very pleased with the atmosphere among the
four of us. Everybody is relaxed and happy.
What about the weather? Well we had a clear sky went we left Dartsedo
at dawn. It was a little bit cold but we all had enough layer. Then
as the day went on and with a bright sun shining, the temperature
raised and it was rather warm. Clouds appeared when we came closer to
Kandze, it even rained a little bit but nothing too bad.
The significant points of today's drive are Manigango (see http://
jamyang.wordpress.com ), the Muri-la pass (4600 meters), Dzogchen and
Sechen monasteries. Both these monasteries are very important in the
Nyingma lineage of Tibetan buddhism.
Well, I think that I will leave you here for this time and lay in bed
for 30 minutes before getting ready for our departure. I hope to be
able to connect to the Internet and publish this post and others
when we return here in Kandze next friday.
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