My Electric Postcard

I love the forested parts of Tibet. Here we are so high, the forest looks like it is on fire with all the clouds clinging to the mountains like smoke. Yesterday we landed next to a beautiful alpine lake. The lake is fed by glacial waters and as a result is completely turquoise in color. On the lake is a small island on which sits a buddhist temple. Prior to our arrival, Jun referred to this area as a hidden treasure. Well hidden it is no longer. They (the Chinese government) has expanded and paved the roads, built a parking lot for cars and tour buses, and are building a large visitors center in order to charge tourist who come into the area. From what I can tell, admission to the area is pretty much limited to visiting the temple on the island, yet from what I understand, newly built footbridges too the island. Anyway, we are staying at a ‘resort’ of sorts. I share a little cottage with Jun, Jackie and Sue. There is a nice front porch where we can hang out on and watch all th...

Yesterday I was in Bayi, which I guess is the second largest city in Xizang. Our group was walking to lunch and I noticed an elderly Tibetan woman walking in the same direction, spinning her prayer wheel and glancing at me. Many of the places we’ve been have not been opened up to tourists other than Chinese, so me and my western colleagues have been the recipients of many a curious stare. This made me uneasy until I learned that all I had to do was smile and give a nod or a wave. Such a simple gesture seemed to break through the awkward barriers of uneasiness and insecurity as the locals responded eagerly in kind. From perplexed to enchanted, almost every Tibetan returned a big ol’ grin and waved back. I was told Tibetans were friendly, but experiencing it is something else. I can only imagine that they must have been told the same thing about westerners. Anyway, I did the same trick with the woman on the street, but her response was quite new to me. She stuck her tongue out at ...