so all i am now in the second biggest town in tibet called shigatze.....predominantely chinese unfortunately, but gives us a bit of a pit stop before some fairly heavy travel days.....
over the last couple days we've travelled here from lhasa in a convoy of landcruisers, we stayed in a monestary/climed a mountain (no showers etc.....very smelly toilets) then yesterday we had 10 hours of driving through the mountains to arrive at gantze. the views were totally amazing .....ended up at a 5000m pass over looking the most beautiful sapphire blue lake...later we did a little off roading and in doing so past many little houses and people working on the fields and on the edge of the track. it truely astounds me how friendly, inquisitive and happy these people seem to be even though they have nothing....absolutely nothing (especially not showers!!). one thing that's really georgeous is that every body hugs each other as they walk down the street, they're very affectionate..
hmmm, nothing much else to tell.....just loving being here and understanding the culture here an the political things that have gone on over the last 50 years.
do tell me what you're up to people.....feeling rather disconnected from the world. hope you're all well ..
love kim xx
Friday, June 22, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Lhasa
Hi Folks
Sorry its been a long time since I've posted. At certain places in China they don't seem to allow this site.....censorship and all that I guess.
Well I've come along way since then...we are now in Lhasa the main city in Tibet. Very isolated but the Potala palace and general city vibe are great. I'm about to have a Tibetean language lesson to help us through the rest of the trip and we're going to see people painting Thankas (pictures of buddas etc).
Since I last wrote we've since been to a bunch of Amdo Tibetean monestaries and had fun meeting the people.....they're so inquisitive, they come up and poke certain bits of you to see if you're the same as them. We have this guy Tom in our group who is about 6ft7 and they're all facinated by him....he's a real celebrity. We also stayed with a Nomad family in their winterhouse (2 very small rooms) on the grasslands near Langmusi....it was great....no electricity and all the meals they made we're on a Yak dung fire....amazing....such hard workers but characters all the same. We also went into a school near there and met some kids and spoke english with them. So much poverty....on average a family earns approx. $250 USD a year. Despite that they seem extremely happy and content with their way of life.....i guess cause they know no other life. Also.....have been eating Yak...mainly in the form of burgers....very tasty!
Well my lessons are nearly about to begin so I must run. If you need to contact me remember my hotmail address......kim_e_ward@hotmail.com.
I'll update you before we leave Lhasa for the road to Kathmandu!
Kim xx
Sorry its been a long time since I've posted. At certain places in China they don't seem to allow this site.....censorship and all that I guess.
Well I've come along way since then...we are now in Lhasa the main city in Tibet. Very isolated but the Potala palace and general city vibe are great. I'm about to have a Tibetean language lesson to help us through the rest of the trip and we're going to see people painting Thankas (pictures of buddas etc).
Since I last wrote we've since been to a bunch of Amdo Tibetean monestaries and had fun meeting the people.....they're so inquisitive, they come up and poke certain bits of you to see if you're the same as them. We have this guy Tom in our group who is about 6ft7 and they're all facinated by him....he's a real celebrity. We also stayed with a Nomad family in their winterhouse (2 very small rooms) on the grasslands near Langmusi....it was great....no electricity and all the meals they made we're on a Yak dung fire....amazing....such hard workers but characters all the same. We also went into a school near there and met some kids and spoke english with them. So much poverty....on average a family earns approx. $250 USD a year. Despite that they seem extremely happy and content with their way of life.....i guess cause they know no other life. Also.....have been eating Yak...mainly in the form of burgers....very tasty!
Well my lessons are nearly about to begin so I must run. If you need to contact me remember my hotmail address......kim_e_ward@hotmail.com.
I'll update you before we leave Lhasa for the road to Kathmandu!
Kim xx
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Xi'an
so folks....just a short note to say hello! today I'm in Labrang, home of the 2nd biggest monestery in the world, we've just finished a 5 hour drive after a night on the train. the countryside is truly spectacular.....the fields all seem carved out of the mountain. have seen a few yaks and goat and unfortunately entered a number of ghastly toilets....apparently they only get worse from here on out! ;-) joy
we're now at altitude so have to drink a bunch of water....3 litres at least a day in order to help prevent altitude sickness.
last couple of days were spent in Xi'an, an old historic city in central china and home to the terracotta warriors....very cool to see...also the city has a full city wall that you can bike around and catch the views...very cool. you should see some of the places we've eaten at.....can't quite believe it! no yet sick so that's a bonus....hopefully it stays that way. other point to add is that xi'an had the worst pollution...just a thick heavy haze in the air constantly....that's why it's really great to now be in the countryside with clear skies.
well must run....keep in touch with what's going on in the real world
kim
we're now at altitude so have to drink a bunch of water....3 litres at least a day in order to help prevent altitude sickness.
last couple of days were spent in Xi'an, an old historic city in central china and home to the terracotta warriors....very cool to see...also the city has a full city wall that you can bike around and catch the views...very cool. you should see some of the places we've eaten at.....can't quite believe it! no yet sick so that's a bonus....hopefully it stays that way. other point to add is that xi'an had the worst pollution...just a thick heavy haze in the air constantly....that's why it's really great to now be in the countryside with clear skies.
well must run....keep in touch with what's going on in the real world
kim
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Ni Hao China!
Hi Everyone!
So I've now been in China 3 days....first time connected to the world and it feels great! The flight was great we flew over the north pole..so could look out at the ice flows and stuff....got 5 hours sleep so I can't complain. Beijing is pretty stinky although I think i'm now used to it......
The first day Helen and I went to the Summer Place where the Emperors and Empresses hung out in ...you guessed it summer. Quite amazing...this GIANT man made lake. It's very cute.....european people are pretty rare here, so chinese people will point at us and get there kids to say "hello"....very cute! The women here are hilarious, dressed up to the nines with heels and everything...whilst trekking up and down hills and for miles at a time. I'll have to explain the craziness of their foot stocking fetish and the use of parisoles..... After the Summer Place we headed to the Hutongs, basically local traditional housing networks....where we hitched a ride on a rickshaw and then had a beer on a rooftop. Is quite surreal sometimes being in foreign lands chilling out!
Must say....language is a struggle...not many speak english at all. Helen and I were in a taxi the other day and we couldn't get him to stop! It's quite hilarious thinking about it....we were yelling he was yelling....we worked it out in the end and then had to walk half a km back to where we wanted to be.
Yesterday we went to the Great Wall....very cool....killer hike up there but got to luge down from the top! After that we hit the markets where helen picked up a 70L pack for lik US$10! She's a definate hard arse in the bargining department!
Today the tour hit Tianimen Square (forgive the spelling) and the Forbidden City.......quite spectacular! You'll see photo's later I'm sure.
Tonight is the first of our night train and tomorrow we drive 6 hours to the terracotta warriors......things are not all fun!
Also! Have heard that sometimes....we'll have to share toilets no walls and no sense of space woman are lined up to use the toilet and there are no DOORS....this is NOT good...problem is that at altitude you have to drink a lot not to get sick.....YUXCK YUCK YCUK....more to come
hope you're all well....talk soon
So I've now been in China 3 days....first time connected to the world and it feels great! The flight was great we flew over the north pole..so could look out at the ice flows and stuff....got 5 hours sleep so I can't complain. Beijing is pretty stinky although I think i'm now used to it......
The first day Helen and I went to the Summer Place where the Emperors and Empresses hung out in ...you guessed it summer. Quite amazing...this GIANT man made lake. It's very cute.....european people are pretty rare here, so chinese people will point at us and get there kids to say "hello"....very cute! The women here are hilarious, dressed up to the nines with heels and everything...whilst trekking up and down hills and for miles at a time. I'll have to explain the craziness of their foot stocking fetish and the use of parisoles..... After the Summer Place we headed to the Hutongs, basically local traditional housing networks....where we hitched a ride on a rickshaw and then had a beer on a rooftop. Is quite surreal sometimes being in foreign lands chilling out!
Must say....language is a struggle...not many speak english at all. Helen and I were in a taxi the other day and we couldn't get him to stop! It's quite hilarious thinking about it....we were yelling he was yelling....we worked it out in the end and then had to walk half a km back to where we wanted to be.
Yesterday we went to the Great Wall....very cool....killer hike up there but got to luge down from the top! After that we hit the markets where helen picked up a 70L pack for lik US$10! She's a definate hard arse in the bargining department!
Today the tour hit Tianimen Square (forgive the spelling) and the Forbidden City.......quite spectacular! You'll see photo's later I'm sure.
Tonight is the first of our night train and tomorrow we drive 6 hours to the terracotta warriors......things are not all fun!
Also! Have heard that sometimes....we'll have to share toilets no walls and no sense of space woman are lined up to use the toilet and there are no DOORS....this is NOT good...problem is that at altitude you have to drink a lot not to get sick.....YUXCK YUCK YCUK....more to come
hope you're all well....talk soon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
