Fresh air at last... Tibet

Dear Family and Friends,

Leaving Xi'an we had a 5 hour bus ride to Xiahe and the Labrang Monestary. We got our same bus back after apparently they replaced the oil filter and it was all fixed properly, which turned out to be untrue at about the 4th hour of driving when yet again we found ourself broke down on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere on the border of Tibet. After flushing out the system and tighting a couple bolts we were back on track with our deisel beast of a bus, what a piece of crap!

Arriving at Xiahe we all were relieved to finally breath fresh air and to be out of the hustle and bustle of what the big China cities produce. We were about 9,500 ft. in elevation in the hills and you knew it when you stepped off the bus and walked up to the stairs to our hotel, I could barely breath! Our hotel was brilliant with streamers hanging down from the ceiling and prayer flags surrounding the inside. After a quick rest from a relentless bus ride we took a walk around the Labrang Monestary and walked along other Tibetan's as we pushed the hundreds of prayer wheels and truly felt what it is to be Tibetan, a devotion to self, faith and nature. As we walked clockwise for good karma and pushed the many prayer wheels we walked along goats, pigs and yaks just meandering around with no fear of humans, it was awesome! The next morning Jay and I hiked to the top of the hill and saw a farmer hearding his yak, they throw stones at them, and also saw a wolf in the hills. Walking through the town back to our hotel it's truly amazing to catch the eyes of a Tibetan and smile and see their face light up with excitement and smile right back, their faces will always remain with me. We hooked up with our guide for the next 8 days, Jamyung and our guide Blair and took a tour of the monestary. Walking in the prayer halls you're truly takin off your feet as you watch hundreds of monks in meditation. You truly feel as if you're taking back in time to a lost world tucked deep in the hills of the Himilayas.

Hopping back on the bus we had another 5 hour drive to Langmusi, a smaller village that has one road and sits amongst an absolute amazing backdrop of vertical mountains, rolling green hills, an incredible valley and desert like rock formations with scattered fur like trees. It almost reminds me of bits and parts of Oregon put together. Yesterday we visited a beautiful monestary and hiked to Tigers Cave. Tigers cave was one of the most sureal places I've seen in my life. The story goes that the last remaining Tiger and her cubs in Tibet lived in these caves and were lost in the early 90's most likely by the Chinese Government, those bastards! There were prayer flags streaming across the valled leading into the mountains and hills beyond. We ventured into one of the caves and our guide told us about a rock inside the cave that Tibetans traveled from miles away to see. It is a cure rock that if rubbed on your skin will heal you. I've had a minor migrain because of the altitude so I rubbed my forhead on the rock, and I haven't had any pain since. We hiked up the valled and up the hillside to the top rock that overlooked the city and wow was it tough with the elevation. Reaching the top made it all worth the while as I sat on a rock with a prayer flag waving behind me as I overlooked the beautiful city if Langmusi tucked away in the valley and left to it's peace only to be disturbed by the rare tourist traveling through. We ate dinner last night at this local dive spot and had Yak burgers and oh my god were they huge and delicious and just what the doctor ordered! Yak by the way is the Tibetan bull.

Today we woke up cold again but to another beautifully rare Tibetin sunny day filled with blue sky and no clouds! We hiked up the opposite hillside to a monestary and to a hill that overlooked the hill off the sky burriels where the Tibetan people leave their loved ones dead bodies for the vultures. Their belief is that the vultures consume their bodies and take them to the heavens, beautiful. Also, at the top of the hill is a stack of arrows and weapons that the Tibetans have sacrifised to the mountain gods to protect them. I had no idea that the Tibetans used to be the fearcest warriors in the world at one point before Buddhism was introduced from India. I don't have much more time so I have to get going, our group is having an amazing time and if you didn't know it you'd guess we all were on some sort of family reunion! We've got more places to stay in Australia and just got word that my Tazzie buddy will be back in Tasmania so we are heading there as well! Words truly can't describe the amazing sense of peacefullness this place inbelishes and releases to those who open their eyes and I can't wait for our next stop... Off to the Tibetan grasslands to stay with a nomadic Tibetan family in their tents, I plan on feeding some Yak too!

Gambai,
Grant