On a yak and a prayer

On Sunday we left Lhasa in  a very comfortable, air conditioned bus on the start of our overland journey back to Kathmandu.

The trip to Gyantse normally takes 8 hours but our fancy bus broke down – gear box or clutch problems I think and the trip took 10 hours.

We had to travel over three huge mountain passes, 4,600mts, 5,050 and 4,200 mts respectively. On the first pass we were met by the yak photo-op sellers ( not as intense as the Fez carpet sellers) but with the incredible turquoise-blue lake and snow-capped mountains for a backdrop, we couldn’t refuse.

The bus died just as we got to the top of the second and highest pass so we had to spend some time chilling in the cool mountain air checking out the amazing glacier right beside the road while the driver tinkered in the back of the bus.

I developed an almost instant headache and nausea, my first sign of altitude sickness, had to grab some Panadol and drink lots of water and hope to be heading downhill soon.

More good preparation for Everest Base Camp apparently.

The bus problem was not fixable but we were able to limp very slowly for the last half of the trip mostly downhill without needing too many gears, luckily the magnificent scenery was a good distraction.

My head was fixed quicker than the bus which required parts to be set from Lhasa overnight.

Tuesday morning we visited yet another very important monastery in the freezing cold sleet coming straight off that glacier. (Still more good preparation for Everest Base camp aka EBC)

We completed yet another kora with the donation-giving, prayer-wheel twirling, praying, prostrating pilgrims.

The good karma must be building by now.

The Tibetans are amazing in their generosity, (and another way of gaining more good karma).

They bring offerings to the monasteries each day in the form of yak butter for the lamps, food or mostly money which they stuff in every available nook and cranny .

Each monastery has numerous chapels containing huge effigies of various buddhas, lamas, past kings and their entourages.  The maos (currency notes) are poked everywhere; in the edge of  the glass frames, under lamps, on tables, chairs etc with much of it ending up littering the floor.

Just as well the buddhas and co are inside glass or wire cages or they would be putting it in their orifices.

No one ever helps themselves to all this available money, they only ever seem to help themselves to change and shuffle the notes occasionally.

Not surprising, the monasteries have most of Tibet’s wealth. They also own much of the real estate, a bit like the old English fifedom where the locals pay rent to the monastery – along with all that generosity, it appears the monasteries are on a good thing.