Its 2.18 a.m. right now and i have an exam in a couple hours. But just wanted to say that i was away for Thanksgiving, a very 'fulfilling' American tradition, in the Durnan residence and spent some time up in Phoenix hanging out with a couple good friends of mine. It was really fun and i took lots of videos which i will be editing and posting in due course. But for now, i'll just post the videos of the farewell video i made for my Eller College Student Council. Once a Councillor, Always a Councillor.
Journey to the Motherland part 8.2 - Tibet, Back to Lhasa
So we had another day in Lhasa before we embark on the pilgrimage to Everest. So we rented bicycles and decided to visit the monasteries just outside Lhasa.
Starting out at the square opposite the Potala Palace
First stop was Sera monastery.
Enjoying the shade after the ride up to Sera
As you can see, the typical tibetian style of architecture is full of vibrant and lively colours.
Rich colours of the Tibetian Sera Monastery
As you may recall in my earlier post, i hated Jokhang temple for its excessive tourists crowds and flood of human bodies. Sera in contrast was much quieter and feel much more peaceful. Gone with the throngs of excessive commercial exploitation and serenity takes it rightful place in such a wonderful environment. You really can clear your thoughts and recollect yourself in such a place.
Prayer wheels in Sera
This courtyard was really one of my favourite scenes of my entire trip.. just so nice
Below is a edited and complied video of Sera Monastery, if looking at it makes u feel peaceful (the second part) then can you imagine how it was to be there?
Along the way, we met Tashi and we started chatting and he offered to bring us around the place. We hit it off immediately and he explained the significance of different deities depicted. He was very nice and a rather intelligent chap. He is currently studying traditional medicine and he told us that few days after we met, he would have to go on 3 week (maybe less can't remember for sure) expedition to search for herbs for common sickness. How cool is that?
Tashi our tibetian friend we met in Sera Monastery
Tibetian Deities
After Sera, we had a couple of hours left and we decided to rush for Drepung Monastery. Although, it would be about to close when we arrive, we decided to go for it anyway. The ride up to Drepung.. is punishing if anyway. It was at least two or three kilometers of steep uphill ascend and being at such high altitudes.. it was really a challenge. Its took quite a bit of determination and we were both looking forward to the presumbly fun descend after the visit... or so we thought.
Actually arriving just before it closes turned out to be a very good decision as there was literally no one there except for us and the Lama looking after the place.
Tired after the climb up Drepung
I commentated a lot in the videos.. so the stories basically captured inside the videos and i added some basic effects and editing. So if you dun have the software to watch them, download it!!!
Looking out from Drepung Monastery
So.. after a long and hard day of biking, it was time for us to cycle back to the city. And yes it was time for the downward trip through the steep and curving '90 degree turns' roads. So my dear companion.. being the risk taker and dare devil that he is... decided that since we have put in so much effort to come all the way up here... we might as well 'reward' ourselves and race down to the bottom of the hill. I won't go into details.. but basically we crashed and i torn a hole in my favourite shirt... so sad..
The Crash
The injuries... damn it.. i still look so happy.
The wounds were pretty deep and i had to bandage myself up pretty good. Tanwee sustained some injuries as well.. and we both 'enjoyed' cleaning up the wound with alcohol. Our french roommates were game enough to take a video of us squirming like little girls in pain. Ah such memories.. right brother?
Next i will finally start on the trip towards Everest.
Journey to the Motherland part 8.1 - Tibet, Back to Lhasa
Let me do the introductions, the one in pink is Ye Zi ( Leaf in chinese) and Zhao Shuo is the name of the other girl.
Its actually pretty interesting how we met. Tanwee and i were having lunch in a french /tibetian restaurant (go figure) and out of the window Tanwee spotted two girls peddling trinkets and ornaments on the street. It look strange cos among the street of native tibetians offering such goods for sales, they stood out loudly as they obviously looked like foreigns here for travel. Intrigued, we went to their makeshift stall (which is a piece of cloth laid on the ground) and somehow managed to sit their and help them peddle their wares. Before long, we got to know each other and found out that they were university students from Guizhou (somewhere in southwest China) and have been here for some time on vacation.
What amazes both Tanwee and I, was that these two brave girls set out for Tibet with only 500 yuan (SGD$100, USD$70), with 250 yuan going to the train ticket. At the point when we had met them, they have already been in Tibet for almost a month, for food and lodging they basically survived on the income from the resale of goods they bought somewhere else. Now Thats really being a traveler, just placing yourself in a situation and figuring things out as they come. Needless to say we were mightily impressed.
So we got to know each other and we hit it off immediately. They were fun to hang out with and had tons of energy. So somehow, we clicked and become rather good friends. We would just wander around the streets of Lhasa, talking rubbish and making nuisances of ourselves, in the meantime having lots of mischief and fun of course. We would gather around a circle the square facing the Potala Palace at night and just talk about... nothing.. haha its the feeling you get when you chill out with a couple of your old friends... just having fun... rambling about nothing in particular.. a real comfortable feeing.
So after we got back from Namtso Lake, we were pretty recovering from the altitude sickness and waiting to start the long pilgrimage to Mount Everest. So in the meantime, we pretty much hung out with them and played winning eleven in the LAN shops.. ( i know.. lame.. but hey i kicked Tanwee's ass! haha)
So on of the days we hung out, we decide to go the outlying areas of Lhasa and just take a bus to whereever it goes... Unfortunately, Ye Zi was not feeling well that day, so after lunch she did not join us. So leaving Tanwee and I to torment the poor little Zhao Shuo. BBWWWHHAHAHAHAHA
Me getting Zhao Shuo to pose for the camera. I was trying to do the scene from Jacky Cheung's Goodbye Kiss video... in the process embarrassing her a whole bunch.. haha the old man looked amused.
So the bus took us quite a distance.. and basically to no where in particular.. but Tanwee and I were having so much fun disturbing Zhao Shuo.. we didn't really care. We wandered around the countryside... went into factories.. had cows and sheep curiously staring at us... while farmers amused by our presence. Oh yes and then we need to go to the bathroom...........
I had promised some of my friends that i would take videos of the conditions of the chinese toilets.. to be honest.. it really has improved a lot over the years... So you can imagine.. if it is like this now... what was it before? Enjoy.
So being the mischievous little devils that Tanwee (..ok and me too) was, we decided to play a game of bluff with the stack of cards we had. The loser of the game would then have to go into the bathroom and stay there for 1 minute.... haha its obvious who won right? haha here is the evidence of our dastardly deeds.
After that whole thing, we realised that it was not really that easy to catch a bus back to Lhasa from where we were.. so we tried hitchhiking... Fortunately, Tibetians are really nice people and we found a vehicle at the petrol station willing to give us a ride. See below
You see.. i love it when i meet people like that, its really the goodness of their hearts and the true nature of human beings... yes i am a believer in the natural goodness of mankind. Sometimes the more educated and 'civilized' you become.. the less of a human you resemble... but i digress. So anyway, we got back before nightfall and we continued to hang out. Ye Zi and Zhao Shuo were to be our travel companions for some time but more of that in future entries.
Journey to the Motherland Part 7 - Tibet, Namtso Lake
After a couple days of sightseeing and acclimatization to the altitude in Lhasa, we set off to our first destination outside Lhasa. As with everything in Tibet, things here just seems to be that much nicer... The children.. The grass.. The yaks.. The mountains.. The sky.. So I wasn't surprised that the road to Namtso Lake was just a feast for the eyes.
Road to Namtso
Tibetian women beside prayer flags
Saw Nomadic herdsmen with their Yaks grazing along the way to Namtso
Saw this tibetian man in the middle of nowhere.. either he was a herdsman or he likes nature that much
Ah i love this picture.. the road winding amongst Tibetian sentients protecting the vast ocean of blue
Just before we got a view of the lake, the van had to climb a steep mountain pass. But once we got over the top of the pass.... i took my first glance at Namtso Lake from afar. Despite the high altitude, strong winds and considerably cold temperatures, both Tanwee and i were just overcome with excitement and satisfaction. This is another one of those moments that we had anticipated and it definitely lived up to our expectations. :)
Prayer flags on the mountain pass
View from the mountain pass
On the mountain pass
Brothers sharing the moment
After coming down from the pass, the view of snow peaked mountains awaited us
One interesting thing that we observed is that when we reached the camp grounds, the local tibetians were all playing 8 ball. For some queer reason, that seems to be their favorite pastime while being in remote lake Namtso. There wasn't only one table but at least 7 or 8 tables around the camp. Really goes to show the extent of globalisation even here in Lake Namtso.
Being the highest lake in the world and an obvious natural abnormality, the lake is sacred and revered by tibetians, thus prayer flags were wrapped around the cliff near the lake shore. Apparently, the view from the top of the cliff is amazing, but both of us were hit by altitude sickness. Every step taken was a chore.. maybe its because of the 4800 metre altitude or maybe its just because we were weak. But for every 2- 3 steps taken we had to stop to catch our breath before being able to walk further... so the climb up the cliff was out of the question for two out of shape singaporeans.
The prayer flag wrapped cliff provides the background for tanwee
Standing in the middle of the lake.. ahha the gotex army boots really comes in handy
Explanation of how the lake was formed
There were plenty of tibetians around the lake trying to make a quick buck from the boom of tourism and one of the services provided was horseback riding. They initially quoted us a price of 100 yuan per hour (SGD$20 or US$13.50), but being business students we quickly figured out that we could probably get a much better price. So after much haggling and a pretty heated argument with one unscrupulous vendor.. we finally managed to rent two horses with attendants for one hour by paying just 30 yuan.. (SGD$6 or US$4) Haha i love it when i get a good bargain. and these six bucks really was one of the most well spent 6 dollars.
Tanwee and his horse attendant
The horseboy and I
Riding on horseback by the Lakeside was just amazing, the crystal clear waters reflecting the blue skies surrounded by lush green plateau with towering mountains in the distance.. wah.. just orgasmic.
Sorry for the bad footage.. i was after all on a horse
Stacks of stones piled up as a form of prayer offering
Views while on horseback
Still on horseback
Beautiful isn't it?
After that unforgettable experience, the throbbing headache from the altitude sickness was getting to me and i had to go back and rest in our accommodations.. and i didn't really come out till dinner time.
Being at such a high altitude, there weren't many clouds obscuring the sky and when i stepped out of the cookhouse after dinner.. the sparkling of the stars really took me aback.. this is probably the best star-lit sky i have experienced. The skies was literally covered with stars... and being in an remote area without light pollution.. the stars really stood out... i never knew there were so so many stars in the sky. It was so clear that i could make out the milky way from its white milky band of stars across the sky. So we went down to the shore laid down by the beach, listening to the gentle waves hitting the shore with the cinema of lights above us... damn.. what an feeling!!
The next day we walked around and got last views of this wonderful place..
Its really fortunate for us to be able to come to this place and experience its magic ourselves in person. Also to be able to do with my brother.. really something to share with my grandchildren.. haha or maybe just ask them to read the blog.
I actually wanted to end the blog by being sentimental.. with tanwee looking into the horizon, pondering about whatever was in his head.... But i am not really in that sentimental mood now... So just enjoy looking at tanwee being sentimental. :)
Some of you might not know, but i have been involved in this club called the Ramblers. It is basically a hiking club and organises hiking trips or other outdoor activities. So when i heard that there was going to be a kayaking trip, i signed up immediately!
Arizona is a desert so finding a place to kayak is quite impossible, but someone had the great idea of making an artificial lake and voila.. thus Lake Patagonia was born.
The dock
Retriving the Kayaks
Heading out
It was a glorious day out, the warmth from the sun and the coolness of the waters made for a perfect contrast. Finally, i get to be near a body of water other than the lame duckpond we have in school.
Going to a small inlet
One of the birds we spotted
For some weird reason, there were cows there as well
It was just a perfect day to get out and just relax in the outdoors. Being on a kayak and having the soothing waves push you along just made it so much better.
Lounging
Lunch Time
Taking a break
Going on shore
On one of the landings we made along the way, a couple of my fellow ramblers were intriguted by a big rock overlooking seemingly deep waters. Big Rock + Deep Waters = ?? To normal people, it meant a picture opportunty. To adventurous ramblers, it meant .... Geronimo!!!
Scoping out the jump
The actual jump
Looking on the cold jumpers soaked in icy waters
It was just an awesome way to spend a saturday afternoon, chill, relaxed and enjoying the beautiful weather that nature has decided to give us yesterday. We were further rewarded on our way back with stunning views of the tundra desert landscape. Just marvelous i tell you.
I realised that i will be leaving Tucson in about 6 weeks.. So i think i should quicken my pace and finish the Journey to the Motherland series before i get out of here and start a new life.
But before i start back on the next installment, Singaporean Halloween!!
Ok so with my anticipated departure in about 1.5 months.... i realised no more big cookouts like the ones i have organised for the past 4 years.. So this time, i wanted to cook.. and cook a lot and feed lots of ppl and since its near halloween.. so it was a singaporean cookout/ halloween party!!!
Look at the mountain of raw chicken sliced!
Obviously, i could not handle such a big party on my own so i enlisted some help.
Upal my roomate, Lalitha, Mark, Zhenlin were all roped in to help
Menu for the night was Char siew, Roast Pork, Chicken Curry, Sayur Lodeh and Kung Pao Chicken.
A normal favourite, char siew
I had invited lots of people.. people i knew from everywhere since it was going to be a big cookout! The people from my student council got here first so i am glad to give them a lil bit of a culture excursion.
Melissa thought it was fried lotus leaf... but it was fried chicken skin
The early birds, the Eller College Student Council!!
So despite the councillors being early and i was not ready for them yet.. they brought me a gift which i still have on my table!
Its a pumpkin carving of me!!! Look at the small slit asian eyes.. thats me!! dunno whats the tongue about.. i dun stick my tongue out that much do i? All in good fun though.
As the party started in full swing.. so many people came to the party.. i estimated about 50 ppl came.. and the rate at which they finished the food.. man.. amazing.. which is a good thing.. that tells me that they liked it.
So ya.. it was supposed to be a halloween party.. but not everybody dressed up. But for those who did.. it was fun times.. ( haha i know i play cheat.. just use my work clothes.. haha)
The ladies!
Kim looks like some anime character hor? chio right?
Catherine being a cat. haha so cute
Min dressed as a french maid... and you guys ask me how is life in Tucson.. GREAT!! haha just joking
Stabbing my neighbour with Rex, Jenny and Cat behind us.
You know my name tag is SM Tang.. so i had to live up to the reputation.
then everyone turned against me
Even the help betrayed me...!
But i showed her who is boss..
until the devil decided to take things into his own hands..
Ah good times good times... food, friends and fun.. what more can a person ask for.. Its really times like these that make so much memories. Thanks to Zhenlin, Mark, Bailey, Upal , Lalitha for helping me prep and cook the food. :)
The night finally ended with us doing the japanese school girl pose.. look at Teewei.. the one in red.. he cracks me up.. such a funny guy, its his idea too haha
