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October 2003 - August 2004

Tibet, part III

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

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local price, and even though I didn't have the necessary permits I was allowed to go see Trandruk Monastery, with its famous thangka made from 29,000 pearls. We also visited Yumbulagang - Tibet's first building. I was pleased to be able to visit both, as travelers sans permit are usually kicked off the bus in the town of Tsetang. The bus goes to the aforementioned sites without them and then picks them up on the way back through town headed towards Lhasa.

Drigung Powa Chemo

Another early start in Lhasa, as this time I was on a bus at 3:30 in the morning. Unfortunately the bus was only 3/4 full, and because there were many buses, we spent the next 1 1/2 hours cruising the streets looking to fill the remaining seats. Why was I up so early, and why were there so many buses? The Powa Chemo at Drigung Til Monastery - a teaching that happens once every 12 years. It took us 3 1/2 hours to get there, and I arrived to an amazing scene. The valley floor was filled with tents, and more people were arriving all the time via bus, car, pilgrim truck, tractor, and horse. I initially opted to climb the hill up to the monastery and do the kora with many pilgrims. As I'd see throughout the event, there were people from all over Tibet in their regions traditional dress. From the hill it was amazing to see the valley floor as a sea of white tents. I could also see that they'd hung a large thangka in the compound below, so I descended to check that out. The atmosphere was like a Tibetan Woodstock - rain, mud, and tens of thousands of people, but with monks instead of musicians. I wandered through the tent village, saw all the tents selling various goods, and saw long lines of people waiting to enter various monk tents to be blessed. I really enjoyed mucking through the mud to take it all in, and then sitting on a small hill for hours for an overall perspective. Everybody I met was very happy and friendly - it ...