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October 2003 - August 2004

Tibet, part III

Brett Voegele
2005-11-19 14:02:35

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6. I'd seen cham dancing before - in Ladakh, and as before found myself dividing my attention between the performers onstage and watching the pilgrims in attendance.

As had been the case the previous night, the monks were practicing on their horns until 1:30. I had to get up at 3:45, which meant I didn't get a lot of sleep. Why was I up so early? To check out the hermitage of Chimpuk. After a standard fiasco - loading into one truck, waiting, and then reloading into another, at 4:30 we were ready to leave. We were packed like standing sardines into the back of a large truck, but at least the body heat kept the chill off. Only a few of us were actually tall enough to grab the overhead bars for support - the rest simply 'sloshed' with the movement of the truck over the rough dirt track. It got tiring trying to hold back the tidal crush of shorter Tibetans. Still, not all were appreciative of my efforts. As the bodies would pile into me and force me onto some poor little woman, I'd hear her grunt and then utter something, which would invariably contain the word 'chigay', or foreigner. I was happy the ride only lasted an hour. At the end of the line we set out hiking up a mountain dotted with caves, temples, retreats, and prayer flags. I decided to escape the crowds and climb to the top of the peak, and was rewarded with some spectacular views. On the way down I opted for a cross-country direct descent - scaring the hell out of a nun in retreat. Guess she didn't expect company from above.

After walking all the way back to Samye I packed and jumped on a bus - destination Lhasa. And there I sat...for almost 2 hours while the driver tried to round up enough people so we could leave. Continuing my perfect run that trip (I'd paid the local price for the bus to Samye, was never checked for the required permit, secured a place to sleep, and enjoyed the genuine festival) I was again charged the local ...