Day 18 - Homeward Bound

We overslept by an hour. Within twenty minutes we were showered and packed. We missed the 4:00 shuttle, so we had to take a cab. Everything went smoothly at the airport. Once we got settled in, I wanted to get the $100 or so of Nepalese money exchanged. No one will touch it. I’m hoping we can get it changed when we get home.

Our first flight was from Bangkok to Tokyo. It was about six hour long. Tokyo is the only place I have seen where you have to back through security when you get off of a plane going for a connection.

The flight from Tokyo to Chicago was uneventful. It was an eleven hour flight.

We were supposed to have about a two hour layover and then head back to Buffalo. It showed the flight leaving the C concourse. When we got there, they changed to the B concourse. We got there and they changed it back to the C concourse. It was almost two hours late. We were getting very tired by this point. Once we pulled back from the terminal, we sat for almost an hour before we took-off.

We get to have two Fridays this week. We traveled for almost forty hours.

It was good to be home after a long trip. It seemed strange last night. I woke up twice and thought I was still somewhere in Asia. I didn’t recognize where I was. [Kim: I woke up last night thinking our guide would be joining us.] It’s nice to go on vacation, but it’s like they say, “There’s no place like home”.

Day 17 - Good-Bye Kathmandu and Hello Bangkok

We finished packing and went down early to check-out. The hotel entrance had an awesome porch where you could sit and watch the outdoor activity. We wanted to relax before getting to the airport.

The airport was nothing like I had ever experienced before. Our guide dropped us off at the airport, gave us some last minute instructions, and said good-bye. We waited in a long line to get to the X-Ray machine just inside the door. Once through, we had to get the airport tax. There we no signs, so we got in the ticketing line. A security person reminded me about the tax and I had to go back to get it. I was afraid that by the time I got back to Kim, she would already be at the ticket counter. Boy was I wrong. She had not moved since I left her. I could not believe how slow they were.

A day after we got into Nepal, I saw that our visa was going to expire the day before we were going to leave. I was expecting trouble at the immigration counter when we were leaving, but fortunately it went smoothly. The airport was not organized very well. We were never sure what was going to happen next. The only time we had been searched on this trip occured here. They went through each bag. Kim had a pair of her panties sitting out for all to see. When we made it through the last checkpoint, I expected to see gates like in the US. Instead there were two rooms both unmarked. We went to one door and showed our tickets to the security guard. I wasn’t sure that we communicated clearly. We walked in and hoped we were in the correct place. Fifteen minutes later they called our flight.

When we touched down in Bangkok, I noticed that the rum I bought in Kathmandu had leaked inside the bag that had the laptop. I didn’t want to open it because it would stink more as we went through Customs. We met our new guide and went directly to another dinner with Thai dance. It was good, but not as good as the Nepalese show. Outside were many shops and Kim had to pick up one more souvenir. Just as she picked it up, a rat jumped and ran away a foot from her hand.

We got things ready because we were getting up at 3:00 to get ready to go to the airport.

Day 16 - Patan & Kathmandu

I assumed that there was only one Durbar Square and we saw it yesterday. Well, each of the three kingdom’s palaces has a Durbar Square. We saw the other two today. The first was in Patan and the other was in Kathmandu.

In Patan, the palace and the square looked much like the palace yesterday. We got to see the second five leveled pagoda. Patan was the more artistic of the three local kingdoms. It was also one of the last that was conquered to form modern day Nepal. The Patan king was assisanated in the middle of the night and the new king’s guards occupied the palace. The Patan people did not want to believe that their king was gone. They believed he was playiung dice with Shiva and kept a window of the palace open. When he was done playing dice, he would come back in and rule his kingdom again.

Patan 

We entered a small Buddhist temple in the Patan complex. In the middle, you could see some statues that looked Hindu that had red and orange dust. It turns out that most of the shrines can be used by both religions. It was a great example of religious tolerance. Everybody can get along!

We went into a Hindu temple that had goats around. One of the forms of Vishnu welcomed sacrifice. Many, many years ago, they believed in human sacrifice. We stood on the alter where they were once killed. Once they stopped sacrificing humans they moved to goats. Now they just release the goats in the temple area instead of killing them. They feed on any food offerings such as rice and fruit that are left by the pilgrims. Hindu couples also come to this temple to get a blessing on their marriage. If Kim and I had stayed in Tibet another couple of days, we would have needed more than a blessing!

We then drove to the palace complex in downtown Kathmandu. Hundreds of years ago a temple was built in the center of town. It was said that all of the wood came from one single tree. Kath means wood and man means house. So Kathmandu literally means house of wood.

Temple that Kathmandu was named after 

Back in the 1960's, hippies from Europe and America used to hang out in downtown Kathmandu. It must have been the place to be. The locals had a name for where they used to live and hang out. It was and is still called “Freak Street”. There was a temple where they would congregate. They would sit all around the top step of this temple. It was renamed the Hippie Temple. Of course, Kim and I got our picture taken there.

Hippie Temple 

The Hindus have a young girl they worship as a goddess. They look for five year old girls that has 32 special body characteristics. She must have no marks or scars. They get several girls who fit the criteria. They then put them in a room full of scary snake and animal, statues. The girl that is least afraid of these statues is selected to be the Kumari. She leaves her family and lives with her attendants. Her family may visit her twice yearly during special ceremonies. The girl remains the Kumari until she starts to menstruate. Then she is considered unclean and another Kumari is selected.

Our guide took us into her courtyard. We had to pay the equivalent of fifty cents to see her. Our guide asked one of her care givers if she would come to the window so we could see her. After ten minutes, she finally made her appearance. She didn’t really look at us and she doesn’t respond to her audience She acted like she was very bored and put out to show herself to another group of tourists. After approximately 20 seconds she left her open window. I think Kumari means Spoiled Goddess.

We then went to Swaybuthnath temple. It was a Buddhist Stupa. I saw pictures of this place and was anxious to see it. It was also called the monkey temple because of the number of bright red ass monkeys that populate the temple. Kim was anxious to see the monkeys. Again we were swamped by the “merchants”. There were only two or three groups of Westerners at the temple and they could not let us alone. The stupa was very beautiful. There were many small stone stupas that families would put there to honor the family name. Our tour guide picked one out and told us it was the Meckley stupa. We got our picture taken at the Meckley stupa.

Swaybuthnath Stupa 

Got Milk! 

Meckley Stupa 

When we were done, our guide dropped us off in the main tourist and shopping district in Kathmandu. We purchased the last of the souvenirs we wanted. In the middle of shopping, it started to rain very hard. It is the monsoon season in Nepal. We waited out some of the rain in an Irish Pub. I got two cans of Guinness. It was the first real beer I have had the entire trip. I wanted a Hard Rock tee-shirt. They were making them on the spot. We found a guy who would sew on a logo in a half hour. It was neat to see him work on it.

Shopping in Kathmandu 

Best Damn Beer of the Trip 

Our last supper in Nepal was in the Italian Restaurant. We were the only customers when we arrived. Again, we had excellent food and service. Everybody working in the restaurant came to the table. There were at times four or five people swarming around the table.

Day 15 - Hindu and Buddhist Temples in Kathmandu

Today we got a new guide. He was also excellent. We have had nothing but great guides all through this trip. Our new guide’s name is Bishnu. He was a naturalist who worked at a national park in the south of Nepal. He has been interviewed on a couple of Discovery specials about animals in Nepal.

Our first outing was at the Boudhanath Buddhist Stupa. Legend has it that a local prostitute, who had four children by four different men, wanted to atone for her sins. She approached the “mayor” about building a shrine. He was skeptical and didn’t want to give her too much room. He told her she could only put up a shrine that was on a area covered by a single Yak skin. She was a clever hooker. She cut the skin into long thin stripes and make a large circle out of the pieces. She was granted the large section of land and this is the spot where the stupa stands today.

Boudhanath Stupa 

The next temple complex was one we were looking forward to see was a Hindu temple. Up to this time all of the temples have been Buddhist. It was the Pasupatinath Hindu temple. We could not go into all of the temple, but we got to walk around a few of the shrines and see some of the ceremonies going on. The guide pointed out the erotic sculptures on the sides of the temples. Kim must not have understood his English. She just nodded her head. I had to intrepret before she understood. He said they put it on because the lightening would have to turn its eyes and not strike the temple.

Unlike Tibetan Buddhists, who have sky burials, Hindus are cremated and the ashes are placed into the Ganges river. The local river empties into the Ganges, so this river is used by the people of Kathmandu as a cremation site and a place to release the ashes. There were two funeral pyres going while we were there. Fortunately, we were there after the cremations were started. Almost everyone is cremated with a few exceptions. Young children and pregnant women are buried as it is believed children are innocent and clean as are the women who serve as the vessels for the unborn children. Victims of snake bites are not cremated either. Their bodies are placed in boats and sent down the river. Snake charmers along the riverbanks will try to resurrect the bodies just in case the venom didn’t kill the person, but instead only rendered them unconscious.

Pasupatinath Temple 

Once a body is brought to the riverbank it is prepared. Including placing the head north towards the temple and the feet down the river. Fire is placed in the mouth to cleanse it from anything bad that was spoken during life. It takes only a couple of hours to burn the body and then place the ashes in the river. Only a few feet down river people were splashing and washing.

The Hindus mourn for a total of 13 days. On the 13th day the soul is released and it crosses the Ganges river holding onto the a tail of a cow for assistance. This is why cows are sacred in India and why so many of them roam the streets. Families will heat a spoon to red hot and burn a spot on the backside of the cow. This marks the cow as sacred and no person may hurt the cow. The cow is now left to wander the streets. It is considered bad luck to harm this cow.

Kim picked up a new friend. Since tourism is down, there are not very many Westerners. We were the only game in town for the local “merchants.” One young woman had an armload of necklaces. She kept saying “I will not bother you now, but you will buy from me when you are done.” She shadowed us throughout the tour. Whenever another Westerner around, she would disappear for a while, but show up again. She was pissed when I started to barter for the necklace. She wouldn’t budge off of her first reduction in price. We moved on.

Kim wanted to see some monkeys. There were monkeys all around this temple. I got a few good pictures. I tried to get a little closer to one for a picture. Apparently it was a little too close for the monkey. He screeched at me. It scared the s**t out of me. I wish I had gotten the picture, it would have been cool.

Bad Monkey 

Our last tour of the day was Bhaktapur. It was a palace complex and its public area is called Durbar Square. Nepal was divided into many different smaller kingdoms. The king of the Kathmandu kingdom had three sons. When he was ready to die, he divided the land into three sections. Bhaktapur is one of the three. At first all of the kingdoms got along. Over the course of time, the kingdoms started t o fight. In order for the citizens of one kingdom to worship without leaving their kingdom, the king built temples to most of the gods in the local square. What is left is a mixture of many temples. It was a beautiful area. We went to lunch in a pagoda on the top floor. We had a great view of only one of the three five level pagodas in Kathmandu. The Nepalese were the inventors of the pagoda.

Bhaktapur 

I thought the driving was bad in Lhasa. Kathmandu has a few traffic lights, but no one seems to pay attention. For the most part, everybody stays on their side of the road. The dividing line between lanes is a little nebulous. If our driver wanted to get around a car, he would go out into the other lane and pass. It didn’t seem to matter that there were many cars and motorcycles coming straight at us! When we got to intersections, it was complete chaos. It was like a free-for-all.

Since our last few meals in Tibet were not what we were used to, we decided to eat at one of the hotel’s restaurants. It was a swanky Indian (not American Indian) restaurant. When we were in Tibet, it was hard to get one person to wait on us. Here we were constantly being attended to by three or four people. When ever a plate looked empty, they would swoop in and take it. We both ordered, but they put half of each entree on both of our plates. We were not used to such service. What I ordered wasn’t too hot. Kim’s lamb was a scorcher. The meat just fell off of the bone, but it was way too hot. I’m sure when it comes out it will still be as hot. [Kim: It was the best meal we had since we started our trip. It was delicious. Good serve, linens, clean dishes, cocktails, appetizers, desserts. We are back to civilization!]

Day 14 - I'm goin' to Ka-Ka-Ka-Kathmandu, It's what I really, really want to do ... (Bob Seager)

Today we left Tibet. Going through immigration and customs was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Although this is the first time that I have gone between countries by land instead of air. The Chinese officials were very strict about the paperwork. The original travel permit had something crossed off. The Chinese officer wanted to know who crossed the item off. Ten Zin informed him that this was the way it was sent to him. He had to back to the vehicle to get more paperwork. After that, we had our temperatures taken. They held a probe like object up to Jon's head. It took us a few seconds to figure out it was a thermometer. We then drove a few more miles to the Nepal border. Ten Zin got a local boy to escort us to the Nepal side. We said good-bye and followed the boy across the bridge.

On the Nepal side, it was something I have never seen before. We had to go from table to table to get the visa. There were several buildings along side a dirt road. We were walked through by the boy. We met out new guide, Sundeep. Our vehicle was a Isuzu. I didn't think that they made them anymore.

We only had a 150 Km drive to Kathmandu, but it took over five hours. For the first 50 Km, the road was so muddy that we could not go very fast. At times the ruts were a foot deep. Although our driver got us to Kathmandu safely, Sow Nang, our Tibetan Driver, would have driven circles around this Nepalese driver. The organization of the small villages, roads, and pollution all looked the same as on the Tibetan side. All we did was cross a short bridge. The houses went from whitewashed stone and mud brick homes to red brick and wood structures. The Tibetan dress was completely different than Nepalese dress. The women and men dressed more in an Indian-like fashion. Women now showed their arms and everyone wore open toed shoes or were bare foot. The people look more like Indians than Tibetans. The Tibetans had ruddy cheeks and similar shaped eyes and faces. Once we got to the cities, the differences were dramatic. In Tibet and China there were few imported items. All advertisement was for Chinese products. In Nepal, there were many advertisements for products from America and Europe. For those of you from western New York, we even came across a sign form Cummins.

On the Road to Kathmandu 

Nepal has a population of approximately 25 million. The country's capital, Kathmandu, has a population of about 2 million. The city looked a lot like many cities, it reminded me of a run down version of New York city without the sky scrappers. The traffic congestion and throngs of people looked familiar. However, cows, goats, ducks, and chickens don't usually roam New York's streets.

Our hotel was a extremely pleasant surprise. (Can you tell who's writing most of today's blog?) It is a large complex consisting of many buildings including at least five different restaurants, a casino and shopping mall, a beautiful swimming pool, tennis courts, and even a bowling alley. We were greeted by porters, doorman, (they salute to you every time you enter or leave the hotel- a little bit weird) and a hostess that passed out fresh glasses of juice. Our room has electricity, air conditioning, hot water, a shower, and last, but not least a TOILET! Life is so good!

We went to dinner at a Nepalese restaurant and was entertained by dancers and a group of musicians. One of the musicians tried to sell us their CD. He made a terrible face at me when I told him I wasn't interested. We thought this show was better than the Tibetan show. This program seemed to be more authentic. The Tibetan show didn't use live music. They played a tape which was prone to skipping. The food was traditional and pretty good. We had many courses, including spicy peanuts, curried chicken, wild boar, and fruit with curd. They offered us all of the "wine" we wanted. It was so strong I almost choked. It contained so much alcohol that a small bowl of the wine set on fire on the table burned for quite awhile. [Jon: The "wine" made me feel warm and fuzzy inside!]

Supper 

Traditional Dancing 

I got a Dot 

Day 13 - Zhangmu - Our Last Full Day in Tibet

It is sad to say good-bye to Tibet. We will be leaving Tibet first thing tomorrow morning. Kim has become so enamored with the Tibetan way of life, that she has already shaved her head and is enrolling to become a Buddhist nun. I cannot talk her out of it. So I must leave her behind and finish the journey on my own.

We traveled about fifteen minutes outside of Tingri when Ten Zin stopped the vehicle. It was our last chance to see Mt. Qomolangma. We could also see several other Himalayan mountains. The sun was just starting to hit them. They were impressive. We got many pictures. The scenery was again like yesterday. We were in a valley most of the way.We traveled up one mountain and came to the top of the pass. Unlike yesterday where we could only see a few of the Himalayan mountains, today we had a panoramic view. Kim put the names of many of our family and friends on the prayer flags.

Last Look at Qomolangma

Himalayas and Prayer Flags

We stopped for lunch at Nylam. We were supposed to stay the night there, but we were assured that better accommodations could be found in Zhangmu. Nylam looked a whole lot better that the last two towns we stayed. This helped Kim feel reassured about tonight's stay.I ordered Sweet and Sour Pork. Kim's order came out first and it was what she ordered. When mine came out, it was some type of noodle soup with an unidentifiable meat. I tried to ask the waitress in my best English, "Is this Sweet and Sour Pork?" She told me in her best Tibetan that it most certainly was. I started to eat, because I thought this was the Tibetan version of that tasty dish. Five minutes later, the owner came out, batter dripping from his hands, and started yelling at our server. I assumed that she brought me the wrong dish. He continued to yell at her all the way to the kitchen. At that point, the yelling became much more vocal. It continued for five more minutes. Next thing I knew, a plate of tasty Sweet and Sour Pork arrived. By that time, I had eaten half of the soup. I felt I had to finish the new plate, because the waitress suffered so much. She would not make any eye contact after the yelling incident. When it came time to pay the bill, the owner made me pay for the first dish. It was only 20 yuan, a little over $2.00. I was afraid that if I didn't pay, the owner would have taken the girl's life. It was a small price to pay to save her.

No more than a mile out of town, the scenery changed dramatically. Everything was green and lush. Misty clouds filled the air. It was as if we were in a fog at times. There were many beautiful waterfalls, some dropping hundreds of feet. Quite a few of the waterfalls fell right onto the road. At one particularly hard waterfall, our driver drove the Land Cruiser through very slowly. This is the Tibetan's version of a carwash. However, this was one of the few times that our driver was slow. Our driver drove faster than he had before. At some points, we were precariously close to the edge.

Coming Down from the Tibetan Plateau

All of a sudden, the furthest edge of Shangri-la appeared out of the mist. We had come to the edge of the Tibetan world. [Kim: Shangri-la my foot, this place looked more like the Tibetan version of San Francisco. It was pretty cool though as the only road through town wound snake-like across the mountain. For a long stretch buildings were only on one side of the road as the other side dropped off sharply.We got to our hotel and surprise, there were no happy surprises! We got a room just around the corner from the lovely smelling bathrooms. The girl was cleaning the toilet as we walked past. She swished the mop in the toilet and then wrung it out in her hands. I have decided to go a fourth day without a shower. I've also decided to eat power bars for breakfast tomorrow. (A note to Nancy: Thanks so much for giving me the power bars to take along on the trip. You've saved me more than once.)

Zhangmu

Dinner this evening was very good. Our Lonely Planet book again guided us to a good restaurant. (Never leave the country without one of these books) Jon so wanted a beer, but as usual his choices were limited. He went with a Pabst Blue Ribbon. At home, he wouldn't touch one with a 20 foot pole. The Pabst Co. must make a killing here. Pabst is everywhere!It's almost 10:30 and Jon is trying to rest. He has had a headache for several days now. This evening it is quite bad. Maybe he should have passed on the Pabst.

We leave at 9:30 tomorrow morning. It is a short drive to the border, but we must stop and get our papers in order. We have been told this might be a long, long process. We had to each bring two small photos to attach to our visas. We will say goodbye to our driver and guide as we walk over the bridge into Nepal and meet our next guide. It is approximately a four hour drive to Kathmandu. Waiting for us is a five star hotel, complete with electricity, running hot water, and a real toilet. I hope!]

Day 12 - Mt Qomolongma and Tingri

For weeks if not months, we were worried about the weather on the day we were going to see Mt Qomolangma (Everest). This morning we got up at 5:00. Our goal was to get there early before it got too cloudy. We met Ten Zin and the driver. I think they stumbled out of bed minutes before we had to leave. It was very dark out and you could see the stars. This was a good sign.

We drove for only a few miles before we had to stop at a check point on the main road. Ten Zin and the driver went in with our passports. A few minutes later Ten Zin came back and said the security person needed to see us. He looked at us and then our passports and let us go. We drove for a half hour before we stopped at another security checkpoint at the entrance to Mt Qomolangma. Once we were in, it was an extremely twisty road to the top. It was still dark outside. I was worried that the driver would go over the edge. When we got to the top of the pass, there was a group of locals trying to sell us fossils and other assorted tourist junk. Kim wanted a fossil and I had to bargain for it. I met my match with the guy who had the fossil Kim wanted. He only dropped the price by 50 yuan. I had to fork out his price. He would not drop below 100 yuan.

When we got the chance to see Mt Qomolangma in the distance, all of our worries were for not. The peak was free of clouds. There was a cloud about half way down the mountain, but we wanted to see the top. When we first looked, the sun had not hit the mountain, so it was dark. After we took our first pictures, the sun hit the mountain and the top lit up. It was awesome to see it at dawn.

Mt Qomolangma 

Mt Qomolangma 

Mt Qomolangma 

We drove down the mountain following another twisty set of switchbacks. At one point, the driver pulled off of the main road and took a shortcut. We were going straight down the mountain. We went through some streams and ditches. I was surprised the Land Cruiser made it. We drove into a village and stopped for breakfast. We opened the place. When we got into the dining room, the girl that was sleeping in there was just getting dressed and putting the bedding away. During breakfast, the lady running the restaurant started a fire in something that looked like a stove. She got it going pretty quickly. She also put in a few branches from a Juniper bush. It made the place smell nice.

Breakfast Reataurant 

We had another hour drive to Rongbuk Monastery. This was the starting point for the trek to the Everest Base Camp. When we got there, The top of Everest was still clear, so we took a few more pictures. We were supposed to stay at the monastery tonight, but after Kim's experience last night, I thought it would be better for us if we moved on to the next town. Since we were not staying, our guide wanted us to hurry along. Instead of letting us walk to the base camp, he purchased tickets for a horse and buggy ride to the Base Camp. It was disappointing, because we wanted to walk. However, this was probably a good thing in reality. The walk would have been about nine miles round-trip and at about 17,000 feet we were getting winded very easily. The driver would smack the horse when it tried to slow down. Kim thought he didn't beat the horse enough.

Base camp was a collection of tents that were tea houses and hotels. There was a post office in the middle of the tents. It is the highest post office in the world and possibly the most expensive. We got some postcards and mailed them to our children. We walked as far as we could with out getting a $200 fine. I had read several descriptions of the toilets at the Base Camp. I had to check it out. They were all true! When we went back to get our driver, he motioned us into one of the tents. I got a cup of tea and sat back to enjoy the experience. On the way back, the driver noticed that part of Kim's leg was exposed. He kept looking at it and eventually started to rub them. Women in Tibet do not expose their arms or legs. I cannot complain since the hot Tibet teens were all over me yesterday wanting to have their picture taken.

Qomolangma Base Camp 

I toured the monastery before we left, It was not a big monastery, but it was the only one that had both monks and nuns living in the same monastery. We only went to the assembly hall. Both the monks and nuns were studying their scriptures. It was hard to tell them apart. The nuns had shaved their heads.

As we pulled away from the base camp we continued west. Again, the driver pulled off the main road to take a shortcut. I thought we had done some serious off-roading to this point, but I wasn't even close. Our Land Cruiser must have been made of titanium. We went over and through things that I was sure we would never get through. We caught up to two other Land Cruisers and followed them for many miles. The scenery was spectacular (I thought I would throw in a new adjective today). We could see the Himalayas in the background. Sometimes we would be in a lush valleys, rocky valleys, sand dunes, or riverbeds. It was just neat to experience all of this with the mountains as a backdrop.

Road (?) to Tingri 

Half way to Tingri, we saw some people hiking along the road. As we got closer, we recognized them. They were the group we met at the Beijing Airport and stayed in our hotel in Lhasa. It was cool to talk to them again and meet them in such a remote location.

[Kim: I hate to be a kill joy because today was VERY cool, but I feel the need to tell you the rest of the story. When we got into town I made poor Jon check out three different "hotels". He then made a decision as to which one was the best. Let me tell you, I would have hated to see the other two options. Even as I type this blog, I writing by the light of our flashlight. The bare lightbulb which has been dimming ever since we arrived has finally just gone out. Power outages in this part of remote Tibet are frequent. We experienced the same thing last night too. This deluxe accommodation, the owner promised us, has one light and no other outlets. We do not have any water, except a thermos of hot water that was delivered with two paper cups. The bathroom, which we share with every other guest, made me start gagging again. It goes without saying that tomorrow will be our third day in a row without a shower. [Jon: I think it is fascinating to see life in these small towns. It is completely different than what we are used to. It must have been what it was like in the wild west over a hundred years ago. The mix between the Tibetan and Chinese cultures in these small towns is not what I expected to see here. I guess I expected it to be just traditional Tibetan.

Cell 18 

Kim is Happy in our Hotel Room 

The hotel situation, as bad as it is, is better than the restaurants. I'm down to eating only one meal a day because I can't bring myself to eating in even the town's best establishments.

It makes me sad to see such poverty. Ten Zen says that some people must occasionally eat dirt. I try to ignore most of the beggars, but I sometimes pass out cookies. They say that giving to these children only perpetuates the problem, but it's hard to ignore. It's difficult to see some of the animals starving too. Horses with every rib showing, dead dogs, and cows eating cardboard are all distressing sights. Tibet is a beautiful country, but it is also very poor. The country's unfortunate political situation has only make matters worse.]