Tibet!
Yes, I know, it's been a very long time...But I'm in Tibet! It is absolutely amazing here and there is so much to tell that I can't fit it all here. I just don't even know where to begin...
Tibet is devastatingly beautiful. The Tibetan plateau is one giant desert with brown hills, sand dunes, and snow capped peaks. As soon as we crossed the border from Nepal, we climbed to 4,000m and we have not descended below 3,600m since. I've gone over five passes above 5,000m. There is a reason that they call Tibet "The Roof of the World." And the sky here! I did not know that there was this kind of blue in this world. It is here, and nowhere else that heaven meets earth. You can see it in the mountains, the low lying clouds and the perfect reflection of the sky in the lakes and rivers. Really gorgeous. It's so barren it's beautiful. The rocks are made up of yellows, tans, reds, and greens that follow the contour of the land. The glacial lakes are a brilliant turquoise and stretch for miles and miles.
The Potala, of course, is as beautiful and awe inspiring as it is in photographs. It's an immense structure on top of a hill, set against the brilliant sky and snow topped hills. Across from the Potala, there is a huge cement square where all the old traditional houses used to be. There is a fountain that is synchronized to music every night at 9PM. Behind the fountain is a monument to the "Liberation of Tibet." The clothes of the first Chinese army to enter Lhasa is housed in the monument. To the right is a statue of the hard working communists and the to left is a statue of the celebrating Tibetans.
It's actually very difficult for me to write in English right now. I've been in Hindi mode for so long and now it's Mandarin/Cantonese. The past two days, I was part of a group going to Nam Tso, a beautiful salt lake at 4,700m. The group was three Chinese, one Israeli, and me. One of the Chinese girls sort of knew Cantonese, so to communicate, the Israeli guy would talk in English, I would translate into Cantonese (to the best of my ability) and then the Chinese girl would translate into Mandarin for everyone else. It was quite complex and rather difficult for me at times. I was trying to think of the word for "because" in Cantonese: Because, no. Kyon ki, nahin. parce que, non....(ten minutes later) Yun whiye!!!!!! aiyaa....All my languages are all mixed up now. I speak Cantonese with an American accent but with a Hindi intonation and cadence. No wonder no one understands me.
Tibet is devastatingly beautiful. The Tibetan plateau is one giant desert with brown hills, sand dunes, and snow capped peaks. As soon as we crossed the border from Nepal, we climbed to 4,000m and we have not descended below 3,600m since. I've gone over five passes above 5,000m. There is a reason that they call Tibet "The Roof of the World." And the sky here! I did not know that there was this kind of blue in this world. It is here, and nowhere else that heaven meets earth. You can see it in the mountains, the low lying clouds and the perfect reflection of the sky in the lakes and rivers. Really gorgeous. It's so barren it's beautiful. The rocks are made up of yellows, tans, reds, and greens that follow the contour of the land. The glacial lakes are a brilliant turquoise and stretch for miles and miles.
The Potala, of course, is as beautiful and awe inspiring as it is in photographs. It's an immense structure on top of a hill, set against the brilliant sky and snow topped hills. Across from the Potala, there is a huge cement square where all the old traditional houses used to be. There is a fountain that is synchronized to music every night at 9PM. Behind the fountain is a monument to the "Liberation of Tibet." The clothes of the first Chinese army to enter Lhasa is housed in the monument. To the right is a statue of the hard working communists and the to left is a statue of the celebrating Tibetans.
It's actually very difficult for me to write in English right now. I've been in Hindi mode for so long and now it's Mandarin/Cantonese. The past two days, I was part of a group going to Nam Tso, a beautiful salt lake at 4,700m. The group was three Chinese, one Israeli, and me. One of the Chinese girls sort of knew Cantonese, so to communicate, the Israeli guy would talk in English, I would translate into Cantonese (to the best of my ability) and then the Chinese girl would translate into Mandarin for everyone else. It was quite complex and rather difficult for me at times. I was trying to think of the word for "because" in Cantonese: Because, no. Kyon ki, nahin. parce que, non....(ten minutes later) Yun whiye!!!!!! aiyaa....All my languages are all mixed up now. I speak Cantonese with an American accent but with a Hindi intonation and cadence. No wonder no one understands me.
posted by Jenna Furley | 2:12 AM
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