Heading Home

Well, yesterday was quite a day. We awoke to news that the San Diego fires were very close to home. Through the day our limited access to information provided quite a roller coaster. When we finally got internet access the signonsandiego web site showed the burn zone had rolled over the house. Kids and pets were OK. Then within minutes we recieved a call that mother, Barabar Pipp, passed away. We were busied with calls to loved ones and attempts to support others hit by the fire and to determine the fate of our own possessions. Long story short: we are ending our trip and heading back on the next flight out. We will be offering support to our family and others ravaged by the fires. Once settled we will post more here. As of now the house still stands, slightly singed. Once we are back we will start support for those less fortunate than us.

Mt Everest and Himalayas

Bhutan: Tiger's Nest Temple

The Tiger's Nest temple is the epitome of Buddhist temples for me. The story goes that a monk flew from the valley on the back of a tiger to the cliffs above the Paro Valley in Bhutan. There he meditated in a cave for years. Ellen and I rode horses up through the valley until even they were stopped due to the steepness of the cliffs. The monestary is at an elevation of 10,000 feet and the valley floor is at 7,000. Once we arrived at the top we were greeted by the head monk and given a ceremony that celebrated our love and offered blessings to my ailing mother. While walking though the temple I came across a door that lead to a cave!! Yes - I was able to do some caving in the middle of this 3,000 foot cliff.

Paro, Bhutan: Beauty and grace emaculate

Bhutan: What a gem! We flew from Kathmandu this morning and after a 45 minute flight by Mt. Everest and many other Himalayan peaks we landed in the Paro Valley. This is a unique and very special place. The people are all gracious, kind, warm and welcoming. The landscape is stunning: forested mountains, crystal clear river waters and green valleys that are a patchwork of rice patties and straw. In Bhutan it is illegal to hunt. All meats are farmed. That level of conservation is reflected in the unspoiled countryside. The houses are all reminiscent of Swiss chalets, each kept clean and manicured. You can feel the sense of respect these people offer their belongings and their land. This evening we had dinner with the Bhutan Rimpoche Datong Tulku: a reincarnate of the original Buddha. He is the spiritual leader of Bhutan. Ellen and I sat and shared stories and were delighted in his easy humor, and amazing mix of business savvy and religious acumen. He is in the process of rebuilding a temple and we spoke of having him visit USA.

Mongolia: Dinosaur bones and camel rides

From the urban bustle of Ulaanbaatar to the rural expanses of the Gobi Desert. We left from the northern part of Mongolia to the southern areas of the Gobi desert. Upon landing at the small airport in Dalanzadgad, Mongolia (where we were the only plane), we headed off for two hours on a dirt road to the Three Camel Lodge. The Three Camel Lodge is a collection of Mongolian round houses, called gers, or yurts, as the Russians call them. These are the traditional homes that Genghis Khan used when conquering the largest swath of land ever controlled by a single man.

From the Lodge we then did a side trip to the Flaming Cliffs where we will found some dinosaur bones that are 70 to 250 million years old. We also had some time to ride camels and take a small hike into the Gobi Desert Forest: a bunch of scrub brush a that stand out in this sea of grasslands and sand dunes.
Ellen, in her embrace of the planet, rolled down the sand dunes prior to our adventure on the Bhactrian Camels.

Factoid: Fossilized dinosaur bones stick to your wet tongue, rocks do not.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: Gers/Yurts, Horseback riding and prayer

Today has been wonderful: temples, yurts, art history, horseback riding and more. Last night and this morning were cold. It actually was snowing while I strolled 'Ubi' last night at 11PM. Ulaanbaatar is like a gold rush town: lots of energy and growing fast. The Mongols are a nomadic people that are attempting to deal with urbanization. We started with a visit to the only remaining Buddhist temple in Mongolia. There were over 70 destroyed during the communist rule of this land. Countless monks were also killed during that purge. This lone remaining temple welcomed with a magical prayer where the locals all held ribbons of silk that the monks fed out to the group. After the chanting reached it's peak the monks drew the silk out of the hands of the locals and the locals circled the temple while the chanting continued. Each stopped by the alter to offer prayer, and then they backed out of the temple to the awaiting sub-freezing morning. From there we went to a local Mongolian house about 15 miles out of town. As we arrived they were herding horses back into the compound of yurts (gers). After a visit inside one of the gers, Ellen and I were fortunate enough to ride a Mongolian short horse. Following that we witnessed some long-pole lassoing and the traditional game where the Mongolians ride bareback and grab bags from the ground while hanging down off thier steed. Finally we went to some museums and to a cashmere factory.

Factoid: Over 50% of the 2.8 million population of Mongolia still lives in gers today.

more on life on Mongolian Plains - Gers, Horses

Rand and I both rode the longhaired horses owned by the family whose Ger we visited. (That's Rand in the blue jacket).

We learned that the 70 year old woman (the beautiful lady in Green) who lived in the Ger had inherited it from her parents and that it was 90 years old. She hopes to leave it to her children.

The Ger is heated by a small stove - dried cow dung is the fuel. It has a waterproof felt roof with a round hole at the top covered by clear plastic. The poles that hold up the roof are decoratively painted.

Being nomadic, the family moves when the grazing land for its horses, cows, camels and goats is bare. The heaviest part of the Ger to move is the felt, so they are sure to wait until 3-4 weeks after any rain because any moisture makes the felt much heavier.

Mongolian Performing Artists

Tea cup dancer (who dances with tea cups on her head) and the Throat Singer (see Rand's video of his unique style of singing from his throat)

the full orchestra of traditional Mongolian instruments

Most Amazing 11 yr old Contortionist

We had a great treat tonight, having a full display of local Mongolian performing arts during dinner. Here was the amazing 11 year old "contortionist". Aminiaa was trained from the age of 6 for the last 5 years and she never stopped smiling! We also were treated with the national champion throat singer. This gentleman was capable of creating both the highest highs and lowest lows with only his voice. The highs were generated with so much purity and the lows had a vibrato that pulsated the whole room.

Zhengzhou, China: Kung Fu at the Shoalin Temple

Awoke at 3:50 AM and rolled out of bed quietly to the PC to file pictures and get caught up on email. It has been almost a week without email access and there was much to do. Ellen has been good at getting postings to the blog over the last several days so I have not been electronically tethered. Today we are off to Mongolia after a stop at the famous Shoalin Temples known for as the birth place of Kung Fu. While there we are entertained by a group of Kung Fu Masters that literally through a needle through a plate glass window and pop a ballon. I have it on film: amazing.

Xi'an, China: Buddha's Finger and a Mini-me TerraCotta Warriors

Another full day. Today is our last day in Xi’an and we are off to play at the Famen Temple and the Yangling tombs. The Famen Temple is where a finger bone of Buddha is kept. The Yangling tombs is a mini-me version of the Terra Cotta Warriors. Tomorrow we are off to Mongolia after a stop at the Shaolin Temple where we will be checking out the Kung Fu. As Ellen has already covered the Famen Temple, I will focus on the Yangling Temple. This is the burial site for Emperor Qi and his Empress Wang. The main chambers are 31 meters under the ground and then on top of that another 31 meters of earth has been mounded in pyramid form. Buried around the pyramid are thousands of figures that include all forms of animals, people and their tools. This is a quarter scale version of the Terra Cotta Warriors that have jointed arms and legs.

Xi'an, China: Famen Temple

This morning, we drove far outside Xian to the Famen Temple, which is renowned for having the finger bone of the Sakyamuni Buddha. I'm not drawn to religious relics, but the drive was worth it to visit this serene Temple where, for once, we were the only non-Asians in sight (a clear sign that we'd ventured off the beaten path!)

We had lunch at the Temple, and because it was served on premises of the Temple, the only choice was a non-alcoholic, completely vegetarian meal. It was a nice break from the huge meals we've been served everywhere.

Coming back to Xian, the highway turned into a parking lot because there was an accident ahead of us where a truck jack-knifed across the median. It was interesting to observe how Chinese drivers dealt with it - much like in the US - they drove on the shoulder until the police stopped them, got out of their cars and trucks to gawk and commiserate.

7-11 Mini-Marts - Chinese Style

Driving today, we stopped in for gas and a bathroom break. We were told that this facility had especially clean bathrooms and that was true. Bathrooms range from pristine to pretty bad so it's important to have good intelligence about where to take your pit stops. We are grateful that our guides have done the advance work even to this level of detail to direct us to the cleanest facilities.

I took these photos of the little convenience mart that was part of the gas station because the mart was different from the ones you see in the USA. Here they had freshly-baked pastries and a lot of snack items that don't look like anything recognizable. They do have some US brands like Oreos, but mostly they are all Chinese foods. Everything was spotlessly clean and there was soft oriental music playing.

Terracotta Warriors in Xian, China

We saw the 8th Wonder of the World today: the Terracotta Warriors of Emperor. During his lifetime, this was the Emperor Qin Shihuang who united China and built the Great Wall of China. He lived in about 221 B.C. He presided over many armies during his lifetime and he built the underground army of over 7,000 soldiers to take with him to the next life.

We found out that the Terracotta Warriors were discovered in 1974 by peasants who were digging for water. We also learned that they received the equivalent of about 65 cents in US currency from the Chinese Government for their discovery.

One of the peasant-discoverers was signing the guidebook in the museum giftshop. I stood in line to buy the book. As I reached the front of the crowd, I picked up a book and moved toward him to have it signed. All of a sudden, he stood up, waved a fan wildly in my direction, and started screaming loudly. He looked so angry! I wondered if I had offended him and protocol by picking up the book myself. Then, he picked up a sign that said "no photos" and waved that and I realized that it was the woman just behind me who had drawn his wrath with her camera. There was a lot of pent up fire and venom in his face that I got to see, although I'm not sure where it was coming from.

The Terracotta Warriors are incredibly detailed in their artistry, including having the sole of the shoe of the kneeling archer showing tread. I'm attaching a few of the many photos I took.

Get Thee to a Nunnery

Today, we visited the oldest Nunnery in Tibet. Nuns don't have it as easy as monks do, who are receive more money in donations and from the government too. Nuns have to earn their keep and these nuns run a clinic and a teahouse and a store to accomplish that.

The nuns were very hospitable to us, and most likely would have been even if it were not for Rand's very generous donation.

Although they were on break in their morning meditation and having their snacks, they chanted a lovely prayer for us. We also were invited to visit the workroom where they assemble the scrolls that go inside prayer wheels and also their dormatories. Two nuns share a room and we were happy to see that they had a poster of the current Dalai Lama on the wall.

Lhasa Tibet: The Potala Palace

The Potala Palace was the home of the Dali Lama prior to exile. It was built around a cave that was used for meditation ages ago and now is a throne for statues of those key influencers of Tibetan Buddism. It is sad for me to see something that once offered an active path to enlightenment to the peoples of this area. Now it is just a shrine, that doubles as a museum. The climb up was long and the views divine. We then continued to two other temples and a market.
Factoid: Tibetan Monk sects are described as 'Red Hat', 'Yellow Hat' and others. The Yellow Hat sect have daily debates where the monks challange themselves on the teachings of Buddism. The attached video shows the monks throwing questions at each other like pitchers in a baseball game, then those sitting try to answer questions like “what is the meaning of life”.

Siep Monastery Monks Debate

At the Monastery, we witnessed the most fascinating debates going on between young monks and their master teachers. This was an exercise the monks engaged in to test the young monk's knowledge in a question and answer, spirited interrogation format.

Tibet is a blend of cultures

When we were in Lijiang, which is in Southwest China, we noticed how different many faces looked from those we saw in Beijing and Shanghai, where the faces look more typically "Chinese". Now, we are across the border in Tibet and we are seeing in people's faces what we'd read: that people here come from all over the region - Nepal, Mongolia, Burma and India and the "stan" countries - Pakistan, Afganistan being the biggest, from China and basically all over the region. There are distinct regions in Tibet too - Khampas, Amdo, Lhopa, Monpa. Here are some of the faces I've been noticing

Some other things I noticed about the people in China and Tibet - In China, where there is a one-child per family rule, parents and the whole extended family, dote on the little ones. You often see grandparents along with parents, all playing with one young child. Everyone seems very happy.

I have seen no pregnant women - maybe that's because of the family planning rules, or maybe pregnant women in China stay out of site??

Coming from the USA, it was strange to see so many families with one child - none of those families with 2 or 3 or more children as you see in the states.

Asian women's faces get lined as they age, but their hair stays black for a very long time...you can see ancient women with just a few strands of grey. So, when I said to "buy China" (equities) a few posts back, I'd skip the hair coloring companies!

Food Follies

There was a reason I packed a lot of bars in my luggage...I'm doing my best to try everything once, but I think true adventurous eating skipped my generation (Tim and Grandma are the true heros when it comes to that!)

Here are few oddities we've been served - and I'll keep this updated as we go along.

Picture 1: Fried caterpillars

Lhasa, Tibet: Our first morning in Tibet

Awoke this morning after sleeping on a very nice, clean down comforter that was neatly draped over a slab of marble. ‘Firm’ is an understatement, these beds are made to make the mountain people comfortable when in the city. Ellen and I resorted to loading 3 thick winter comforters on top of the marble so we could slumber. At about 4am I went up to the roof for a view of the stars, the city and the surrounding mountains. Even with city lights the star came out to play. As the light of the sun brightened the day Tibet started to show us her beauty.
Factoid: It is illegal to have a portrait of the Dali Lama in Tibet. A tour guide was caught with a DVD of the Dali Lama and was sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Lhasa Tibet: SOS orphanage

Upon our arrival in Tibet we went to the SOS orphanage and spent some time with the children, thier director and one of the campus mothers. They have a dozen homes that house 8-12 kids each. Each house has a ‘mother’ that looks after the needs of the children. Very personal and human, quite a shift from institutionalized orphanages. They have this really cool solar cart that warms up meals though solar reflection, too. Tomorrow we are off to the Potala Palace, once home to the Dali Lama. Over 320 steps to the top with 68% oxygen.
Factoid: The Tibetans stack dried Yak manure for heating in the winter. It is common to see these Yak stacks in front of homes awaiting the winter chill. I tried Yak steak last night and it was very good.

Beijing to Lhasa, Tibet: Travel Day

We started this morning at 1AM as our freshly tailored clothes arrived, or at least partially arrived. We were surprised to hear that the remainder of our order would be at the hotel at 8AM, an hour after we were to depart for Tibet. We got a few hours sleep and arose at 5AM to track down the remaining garments: with no luck. They finally arrived at 6:15AM, 15 minutes after our bags were to be packed and sent ahead of us. With some help, we had them forwarded to Xi’an so we would stay under our weight limit for our trip to Lhasa. Lhasa, Tibet is at nearly 12,000 ft: it is dry and clear and comfortably warm for over 2 miles above sea level. In one flight we went from near sea level to 12,000 feet. Lhasa is near neighboring Bhutan and we flew near Mt. Everest on the way from Beijing.
Upon arrival to the Brahmaputra Gran Hotel, we were greeted with the traditional white scarf and local music and a dancing Yak. The hotel is like a museum, Tibetan artifacts are in all the halls and rooms and tell of the history of these people. The hotel rooms actually have oxygen bottles by the side of the beds where you normally would find water.
Factoid: In Lhasa it takes three breaths to get the same oxygen you would get in two in Beijing. There is about 68% of the oxygen that you would find at sea level.

Great Wall of China

Wow! The Great Wall of China is one amazing piece of fortification. It makes me wonder about those Mongolians. For anyone to be so cautious of another people that they build a wall thousands of kilometers long....well.... I imagine the Mongolians partied like rock stars and were mean when they have a hangovers.
We had a great day that climaxed for me with a stroll down a wall that has been in my list of 'must sees' for years.
The wall is truly a great achievement. As you can see the mountains are steep and jagged and this fence winds it's way along the ridges for as long as the eye can see. Can you imagine being a Mongolian, out for your monthly raid and seeing a wall where there once was trees? Could ruin any good ransacking.
Now hundreds of years later, I think it would make a great motorcross, bmx or skate course. Perhaps a stop on the formula one of street luge.
Factiod: One side of the Great Wall is taller than the other. The side facing Mongolia is about 2 feet higher than the side facing Beijing.

Beijing China - Silk Street Market

It is late on a full travel day and we are climbing the stairs to one of the clothes districts of Beijing: the Silk Market. This is a collection of several hundred shops all with very aggressive sales people all wanting to clothe you. Girls grabbing at you to sell you ties, men stretching underwear under your nose saying "Calvin Klein good for you". We end up at a place that is a little less obnoxious and settle in for several hours of silk selection and pattern picking. Ultimately we end up with several dresses, pants suits and jackets for Ellen. She looks so hot!!! They say they are going to get this all done in the next 36 hours and drop them off at the hotel. We leave in less than 35 hours so we will see if they make it to us prior to our Tibetan departure on the 11th.

Aria, you would love this place!

Lijiang Banyan Tree: a day of rest

Ahh, a comfortable day of leisure, perhaps our last for a month. It was raining out so we decided to take a day and just relax in this wonderful resort (see picture of the entry way). It has been a busy summer and for the first time in months we spent time just doing little projects and catching up on meditation and sleep. We did a marathon ‘24’ session, spent time reflecting on those we love and had a fantastic barbecue brought to the room for dinner: it was a wonderful recharge. Tomorrow we are off to Beijing. It will be mostly a travel day, but we hope to make it to the Silk Market when we land to pick up some dresses and suits for Ellen. Then the following day: Great Wall and Forbidden City.

Old Town Lijiang: Peach Festival

Old town Lijiang is like a scene out of a Disney set. Small cobble stone streets, many lined with canals, complete with wild Koi. With 22 different sects, the dress and facial structures were many and varied. Lijiang is in the middle of their peach festival. Peaches are the size of softballs.

Leaping Tiger Gorge

The legend goes that a great tiger, while being hunted, was able to jump from one side of the Yangtze River to the other at a narrow gorge in the river. We traveled for 3 hours to see what was billed at the "deepest and grandest gorge in the world." While quite impressive, the Tiger Leaping Gorge was a little overstated. Though to have another day with Ellen was truly Divine. Our guide for the day, William, was a local mountain man, very humble, very informative and very talkative. After an hour or so of his tutelage we had to resort to iPods and books to quiet him. The driver was Tibetan: calm collected and purposeful. Nice to have on the curvy mountain roads. The gorge is 35kms long and 12 km wide and at its narrowest spot the water is fierce and voluminous.

[Note from Ellen:
In 1989, when some brave adventurers rafted down the Yangtze all the way from its Headwaters in Tibet to its mouth in the East China Sea at Shanghai, the only fatality occurred in the Leaping Tiger River Gorge.
I'm not surprised.
While the gorge isn't as deep or impressive as the Grand Canyon, the power of the raging water at the spot we hiked to was Tremendous! I think this is not only because the river drops steeply there, but also because the steep, granite sidewalls of the gorge close in sharply approaching the gorge.
Hiking to the leaping tiger spot on the river takes 30-45 minutes and involves some risk. The walls of the gorge are vertical and the path to the tiger has been blasted out of the rock face. We hiked on the Lijiang side - facing Shangri La on the other side. Rock falls are common - 20 days before we were there, a guide from Lijiang was killed by a falling boulder.]

On the way there we stopped at a shrine overlooking the Yangtze that had Sensemillaen growing wild along the paths. We also were very close to Shangri-la. Though to be honest, I feel that we already have that in our hearts every day.
Factiod: The Tiger Leaping Gorge has caves chiseled in the marble banks that were used by emperors past to get the best marble and more recently to allow tourists to walk the 2.6km to the gorge without getting hit by rocks that periodically fall from the high cliffs above.

For more Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/randpipp/20071007QiaotouChinaTigerLeapingGorge