After a grueling bus ride (the first 3 hours up windy mountain roads did a number on Naomi's stomach) we have finally arrived in Zhongdian, a town 70km from the border of Tibet. The altitude of this plateau is so great that it feels as if you can reach up and touch the seemingly low-lying clouds. The downside of this high-life is that we've both had headaches from altitude sickness from arrival. Within an hour of setting foot in this surreal old-west meets tibetan mountain village we managed to find a tiny restaurant that served tibetan potato pancakes and ginger soda, immediately winning us over.
A stroll through the old town that night indicated that this place is in line to be the next big tourist destination in China. Restored tibetan houses, incredible feats of carpentry, converted into atmospheric bars and shops selling tibetan handicrafts line cobble stone streets. At night red lanterns light the narrow lanes and accompanied by the smell from the wood-burning stovesand the surrounding frosted himalayan peaks create a magical atmosphere. As our wanderings revealed last night, what seems like the entire town congregates daily in the square in the centre of the old town at dusk and dance around a bonfire to old tibetan folk songs set to techno beats. The old tibetan women, wearing their brightly dyed traditional clothing (including pink donut hats) out-swung the young denim clad youth who were too busy eyeing their beaus to give a proper swing of the leg. It is truly amazing to see a town that still behaves like a community; dancing, singing and enjoying life together.
A visit to a tibetan monestary earlier that day gave us another view of communal rituals that seem to be lost these days. Just north of Zhongdian, perched above the the town a monestary housing over 200 monks provides the most astounding architecture that can be seen for miles around. Clay walls lined with gold encase gruesome and dimly lit frescoes depicting buddhas, boddhisatvas and demons. Tousands of tiny bells continuously shaking in the alpine wind make an incredible sparkling din, heightening the holiness of the place. Our timing turned out to be perfect as we were able to hear the noon mass of chanting, gongs, horns and thundering moisture-drums. Unfortunately I didn't have my MD recorder and the event transpires only as reverential memeory. Approriate, I think, for such an inimitable experience.
Brandon
