The rhythm of Tibetian travel
June 19 – Shigatse to Sayka
We have settled into the Tibetian travel pattern – wake around 8am, head down for a Chinese focused buffet breakfast, pack up out stuff, and meet Nyima around 9am to load the van and head to a monastery. Today we ere visiting Tashilhumpo monastery, the monastery we had circumnavigated the day before.
A monastery in Tibet was more than just a play for monks to pray. A monastery could also be considered like a small university divided into multiple colleges. Further, visiting a monastery involves visiting many different temples, chapels, courtyards and assembly halls. Tashilhumpo survived relatively unscathed by the cultural revolution and the 10th Penchen Lama is credited with saving it and many other relics in Tibet.
While the entire grounds were spectacular, the highlight might have been the 26m gilded statue of the Future Buddha. The immense statue is the largest gilded statue in the world and it was built in 1914 and took 900 artisans 4 years to complete. Or maybe the highlight was strolling through chapels while seated monks chanted scriptures. Or maybe the highlight was rubbing shoulders with colorful pilgrims as they make their offerings of yak butter to keep the flames alive. We would show photos of some of the insides if the photo permit was $50!
Around 10:30am we were back at the van and Tom wanted to get some Tibetian singing bowls, which were for sale at the market around the corner. He brought his negotiator (Tyler) as locals are more likely to speak Chinese than English. 15 minutes later they were back at the van with 2 bowls, 6 colorful tassels, and a small bronze statue of Buddha Sakyamuni. Tyler’s mandarin skills saves us about 40% of asking price and well within the target range our guide suggested.
Continuing our travel pattern it was time to drive for 4 hours, this time to the small town of Sakya 150km southwest of Shigatse. Along the way, we gazed at the farmers plowing the fields using the traditional method of riding a plow behind two yaks. The rest of the trip was uneventful and we passed the time singing along to Hamilton.
Around 4pm we arrived at the “off the beaten path” town of Sakya. Around the 11th century, Sayka was a regional powerhouse and built an impressive fortress like monastery. Of course, we were going to visit that the next morning when the chapels will be open (most are closed around 12:30 each day). After settling into our 2-star hotel, we set off for our now afternoon pattern, hiking a kora around the smaller northern monastery.
Once again, we were mini celebrities with locals waving and in some cases asking to be in photos with us. 20 minutes into our hike it began to thunder and rain lightly, but we were unfazed. It rained for 20 minutes and then stopped. Given how dry it is in Tibet (it is a high desert after all!) all of our clothes were dry by the time we finished our hike.
Back at the hotel around 7pm we decided to have a family night of dinner and Uno. Nyima joined us for dinner and cards and was a ringer winning her first time around! At 9pm, Tom went out to explore the town as Sue helped the kids get into bed. By 10pm (our new bedtime) everyone was asleep.
After 5 days, we gave got our Tibetian travel pattern down cold!