Tibet 1.2 - Shangrila-Deqin (June 16-18)

If only allowed one word to describe my trip thus far I would have to use exhilarating. In part due to the breathtaking beauty of a country in which I’ve only experienced a fraction of. It is also the white knuckle kind of exhilarating when you are traveling a few thousand vertical meters high, skirting along the side of a mountain on narrow two-lane roads that you share with massive construction vehicles and trucks. I find myself torn between the wonder of the beautiful countryside and the edge of the precipice from which our car is only traveling a few feet from.

Now I’m going to cheat and choose another word. Frustrating. I keep having to remind myself that I’m fortunate to have been invited on such and expedition, unfortunately, much of the trip has been an exercise in patience. I’m trying to avoid the feeling that I’m wasting my time here. Yes its great to be in Tibet to study fungi, and yes its nice to make acquaintances with other scientists, and to be experiencing one of the most enigmatic and wondrous places on earth, however at this point fungi collecting pales by far in contrast to the success of the botanical collecting. I’ve literally spent hours sitting or wandering around with nothing to do in the field because it’s too dry for mushrooms. However, the plant collecting is great cause many things are in flower right now. The first collecting site was beautiful. I felt as if I was in the Sierras. Lots of spruce and fir with some birch and even Larix. I’m sure the fungi collecting here is great during the right time of season. Right now it’s way too dry. Regardless, Jun has promised that we will find fungi in the wetter habitats of Tibet. I’m looking forward to that.

Thus far I’ve experience two cities in western Yunnan province that serve as introductions to the Tibetan as well as many of the other Western cultures of China. The cities and counties of Shangrila and Deqin were written up in the recent issue of National Geographic (2009, Vol 215, no. 5). The article does a nice job of describing the region and culture here. I’ve seen many of the features and photos in the article, from Mt. Kawagebo, to the giant Fortune Victory Prayer Wheel. The natural beauty of this place has been the most inspiring. Something I can really only sum up in pictures. That, I hope to have up on my picasa page soon.

Enough for now....

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