Lhasa

Lhasa is a bustling city and the heart of Tibet. Unfortunately, it is quickly becoming "Chinafied" and the traditional feel on the town is quickly becoming diluted. However, it is still the cultural center of Tibetan life and in the "Tibetan Quarter" (where we spent all of our time) one sees the colorful life of these people. Beautiful traditional dress is still worn and Yak butter tea is still the ubiquitous drink and smell.

Green Tea

There is so much intricate color and carved wood on the doors, around the ceilings, just about everywhere!

Yak Butter

Painting the Thanga (religious paintings)- so intricate!

The Jokhang (Tibet's most sacred temple. Houses the most revered statute of Buddha.
It is gold and encrusted with diamonds and turquoise and coral. (of course no photos inside the temple)

The Potala (The Winter Palace of the Dalai Lama- however, he has not been allowed in Tibet since 1958 - when the Chinese took over this peaceful country. It is hard not to get pissed off at the Chinese and what they call the "Tibetan Liberation"- Liberation my ass.
 

Devout Buddhists "prostrating" in front of the Jokhang- They start standing up, with prayer hands to head, then heart then they lay down- hteSome do this for days, weeks, months....

Prayer Wheels

Inside the Potala

Mandala

The Monk's solar stove- each Tibetan family has one of these. With all the intense sunshine, makes perfect sense

The "Debating Monks" of Sera Monastery

The Train from Beijing to Lhasa

Beijing Train Station

Boarding the Train (I was the only blond person and got LOTS of stares)

In the Berth

Over a pass at 16,500 feet

Lhasa Train Station with Big Brother

From Beijing to Lhasa, the train covers 2,525 miles, much of which is built on the permafrost of the Tibetan Plateau. 86% of the train is above 4000 meters, the highest point topping out at 5,072m  or 16,640 feet. At this point in the journey, the water bottles in our sleeping compartment started to pop and crackle- expanding from the lack of pressure in the atmosphere. For three days, Mark and I watched the geography pass, played cards and yahtzee, and just plain ol’ chilled. After the hectic nature of the wedding, getting ready to leave, and the long distance travel, it was wonderful to have nothing to do. 

It was shocking to see the development across China. Huge T cranes dot the horizon, building yet another high-rise. In Xining, a city no one has even heard of, Mark counted more than 100 cranes from the train alone.

3 days later, we arrived in Lhasa, Tibet. Roof Top of the World.

Big Brother's Controlling Hand

As Mark and I traveled across China and Tibet, we were unable to access our blog, so I am a behind in our posting...but here begins the catch up...

The Great Wall: 

After a dreary and rainy day in Beijing, Mark and I woke early to start our day of trekking on the great wall. We had the rare opportunity to be driven to a remote part of the wall that is not open to the public and began our hike there. We were able to hike this section because of a friend of Mark's who lives in Beijing and is part of the Wall preservation project. Such an amazing opportunity.  

We started at a local farmer’s house, where his wife made us a delicious breakfast of porridge and ginger sautéed, shredded potatoes that were ridiculously good.  From there we began our hike up to the wall along a small and steep footpath. Through dense foliage and trees we climbed, the Wall hovering above us in its ever-present and formidable way. I can only imagine what the Mongolians must have thought, after traversing and climbing over mountain rage after mountain range, to be met with “The Wall.” Snaking over 3000 km, the wall follows the ridgeline creating a barrier that can be seen from space.  Interestingly, the wall was the first “building” to be represented on world maps.

Once we climbed our way to the wall itself, we were able to walk along what is referred to as the “wild wall”- sections of the wall that have not been restored and are slowly being reclaimed by the landscape. It is difficult to even describe the vast and overwhelming magnitude of the wall and what it entails: what it took (lives, time, and materials) to build it, and just its visual presence in an already striking setting.  A perfectly clear day (rare in Beijing and the surrounding areas), we were able to stretch our vision, following the wall’s route along the mountain range, and disappearing into the distance.

We have arrived- and so it begins

Tumbling through sky, the clouds below were impressive and ever changing. One section looked like the ancient wrinkled skin of an elephant but with the cottony, ephemeral nature of light. Thunderheads reached to the heavens, anvil tops tinged in purple and gray. 

 Flying was the easy part. The jet lag is a bit rough, but we are nursing it with a g & t in an ex-pat bar. My body thinks it is morning, so perhaps I should be drinking a breakfast cocktail like a Bloody Mary or a Screwdriver.

Flying Into Hong Kong

Lamma Island 

Now we are in Hong Kong, on Lamma Island. A small, vehicle free mountainous island where the expats and island dogs roam. Dinner last night with friends, and the world was well represented: 2 Americans (us), 1 Scottish woman, 1 woman from mainland China, 1 Indian woman, 1 French man, 1 Honk Kong born Chinese Woman, a dog, about 15 bottles of hot red wine, and homemade Indian food. The conversation ranged as much as our ethnicity and it was a wonderful international night.

 The heat here is as oppressive as the Chinese government and the humidity is obscene. But it makes us feel better that the locals are as sweaty as we are. We are headed to a small beach to cool off and swim.

Tomorrow we leave for Beijing and to see the Great Wall. 
All our love

Marly

And here we go: Marly hits the road

Welcome to Carly & Mark's Asia Adventure Blog. We will try to be diligent and be good bloggers- keeping you (our friends, family, loved ones, and strangers who may stumble across this virtual representation of our life) up to date and in the know!





Mark and I leave Santa Barbara on Sept 16th for Hong Kong;
We will spend a few days in Hong Kong, then we fly to Beijing- see the Great Wall, etc. and then on the evening of the 22nd we board the train to Lhasa. It is a 3 day journey on the world's highest altitude train  (topping out at almost 16,000 ft!). We will spend a few days in Lhasa, then travel overland toward the west, visiting small Tibetan villages, monasteries, and then onto Mt. Kailash- Asia's most revered and sacred mountain. We will spend three days circumambulating the base of the mountain. This 32 mile Kora (a type of pilgrimage and a type of meditation in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Kora is preformed by making a walking circumambulation around a temple, stupa, or other sacred site) is one of the most important pilgrames to the Tibetan people and some believe that circumambulating it once washes your sins of one lifetime away but doing it 108 times will give you instant nirvana (I guess we'll have to settle for just one lifetime!) During our trek we will climb over the Dolma La Pass (18,471 ft) - the highest point of our journey.
After our Kora, we will travel overland to Nepal, Kathmandu.  From Kathmandu we fly back to Hong Kong and then onto Bali on Oct 16th.

So that's the plan as of now. We are not sure what our internet connection will be like in most of Tibet but we will surely post once we get settled in Bali.

Also, once in Bali, we can be reached from the states on Mark's 1-800 number.
1 800 919 MAPS (6277)
Please check the time change!

Please be in touch. Much love to you all.
C & M