Go go Gyangtse
June 17
Gyangtse was once consider Tibet’s third city (behind Lhasa and Shigatse) as it was a major trading center between Lhasa, Nepal, and India. Today tourists are mostly bypassing this small town en route to Everest. All the better for us, as the temples, monastery, and the back alleys were almost entirely empty of foreign and Chinese visitors.
Speaking of western visitors, we have been amazed at how few of them we have encountered. The rarity of westerns is confirmed with every restaurant we enter as heads turn on a swivel to stare at us. For example, today locals asked to have photos taken of Tyler at breakfast and both kids at lunch. When we walk the back alleys of the old town we are greeted with a chorus of ‘Hello!!” from the local kids. When we say hello back, they giggle and shriek with delight. And we love it, because we are visiting their culture and asking to take photos of their unique costumes and it feels nice that they too are interested in those “different” people.
We met our lovely guide Nyima at 9:30 to go visit one of the largest stupas in Tibet and its neighboring monastery. This monastery was unique in that it represented all 4 sects of Tibetian Buddhism (don’t ask me to list them) as well as for its liberal photo policy. For $5 you can take all the pics you want, so we did.
After an hour inside the monastery, we went next door to explore the chorten of 10,000 statues. I didn’t count them all (Tyler counted a 1,000 in one room), but I don’t think it is an exaggeration. After that, we hiked up a short hill to another monastery which in addition to being gorgeous it offered commanding views across the city and the impressive dzong (fortress) dominating the skyline.
We made the short drive back to our hotel and then to lunch at the cozy Tashi restaurant. After lunch was “free time” which we spent in a combination of screen time, showers, and more back alley strolling for the over 40 set. At around 6pm, we dragged the kids out to explore the old city which they hadn’t seen yet. Tom hiked to the top of the fortress and later everyone reconnected at the hotel restaurant. Overall, we have been favorably impressed with the food in Tibet. Tonight Tyler had delicious spaghetti and Tom had a yummy yak burger.
With the sun going down at almost 9pm we have been staying up later than usual and tonight everyone was asleep around 10pm.
