Ruth Lee's Web Log - Travel Views

Skewed Interview of Life in Tibet Today

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:02:00 -0400

BBC News correspondent Damian Grammaticas toured Tibet for five days recently and was accompanied every step of the way with a Chinese guide and provided with opportunities to visit Party members and chat with them about the changes in everyday life. Keep in mind that all is not as it appears in this article, but for the astute reader you will pick up many clues to the truth... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10638506

Something Sarah Said?

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 13:37:00 -0400

Yesterday I referred you to a recent news article about the repression and imprisonment of an Tibetan intellectual. Sarah honored us with her comments, which led us into another area or path not intended by me. Her thoughts are good and you would benefit from reading them and adding your thoughts, but it would be negligent of me not to write a bit about how it really is in Tibet…

[More]

By Way of Explanation...

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:45:00 -0400

Over and over again folks ask me why i travel to such far away places and meet with peoples they never even knew existed? I smile and slide by it and travel again, but it is time to begin sharing with you here some of what is going on around me now and has been working through me for years.

Why now? Perhaps being given a clean bill of health by my doctor today and having a great discussion with him about my recent trip to Tibet has something to do with it, but that would be only the tip of the ice berg.

This is going to be wordy, so i will let most of you go back to work now and only those who want to venture into areas that i normally do not share will seek 'more' here. :) [More]

The Long Ride Back

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:21:00 -0400

June 8 - Having flown from Delhi, India to Brussels, Belgium, and then onto JFK in New York, I will be dragging a bit as I go through immigration and customs and board my last flight home. I arrive at Bonita Springs, Florida, late in the evening.

Kathmandu, Nepal to Delhi, India

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:19:00 -0400

June 7 - Day 24 After an unhurried morning at leisure in Kathmandu, there is a noon transfer to the airport for our flight to Delhi, India (745 feet), arriving late this afternoon. There we are transferred to a Delhi hotel to enjoy use of a day room before our overnight flight from Delhi to the U.S. We have time to relax in the hotel and enjoy a leisurely dinner on our own.

Our departure for the Delhi airport is very late this evening and our plane departs in the pre-dawn hours of June 8. I can only pray that Delhi airport will not be the complete and utter mad house it was when I last flew out of it!

Lhasa to Kathmandu

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 11:13:00 -0400

June 6 - Day 23 This morning we transfer to the airport for our flight to Kathmandu, Nepal, and arrive mid-afternoon. The balance of the day is ours to relax and continue our discoveries in this fascinating city. Hopefully I will be able to spend some time with a new friend from Facebook who works as a guide.

Nearing the End of Our Journey

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 11:10:00 -0400

June 5 - Day 22 After breakfast, we drive overland on our return trip to Lhasa (12,000 feet) surrounded by mountains, glaciers, and the occasional yak herd. Once we reach Lhasa we are free to relax at the hotel or take one last look around this magnificent city. (Has anyone Googled the places i mentioned along the way?)

Shigatse and the Tashilhunpo Monastery

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:08:00 -0400

June 4 - Day 21 Today we tour Shigatse (12,800 feet), the second largest city in Tibet. We visit Tashilhunpo Monastery, founded in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama, Gendun Drup. The monastery is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas, the second highest ranking Lama in the Gelukpa tradition.

Located on a hill in the center of the city, the monastery’s name means “all fortune and happiness gathered here,” or “heap of glory.” The monastery features bronze-gated chapels and hundreds of Buddha statues. Though the 10th Panchen Lama passed away in 1989, several monks continuously pray for his new incarnation as an infant.

Palchor Monastey and Kumbum Podang

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:06:00 -0400

June 3 - Day 20 After breakfast at our hotel in Gyantse, we set out to explore the Palchor Monastery. This monastery was built in the early 1400s and boasts the largest Buddhist stupa in Tibet, the Kumbum Podang. With 108 chapels and the presence of countless pilgrims offering prayers, we are surrounded with ancient texts and the dim light of Yak candles. This afternoon a Tibetan family invites us into their homes where we will encounter the simplicity and graciousness of the Tibetan people. Then we continue our overland trek to Shigatse (12,800 feet).

Some Clips of Tibet

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:50:00 -0400

Not sure if we will be here or near this spot by the time we get as far away from Lhasa as we can get, but thought you might enjoy getting a bit of perspective on The Himalayas and the area around them.

Mt Kailash inner Kora - Lake Manasarovar - Tibet click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u19sR8YlVCQ&feature=related

Kora around holy Mount Kailash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VO-UELG4KY&feature=related

Yamtrok Lake and Gyantse

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:04:00 -0400

June 2 - Day 19 Today we leave Lhasa and travel overland on the “Friendship Highway” to Yamtrok Lake.

Spectacular mountain views give way to the bluest water as we come upon the lake. Yamtrok is believed to be the physical transformation of a goddess. Its unique fan shape seen from above makes its mythology believable. The lake has dozens of islands, bays and inlets we will tour by boat. Then we will continue our drive to Gyantse (13,250 feet/12,957 feet – seeing both!).

Drephung and Sera Monasteries, Norbulingka

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 11:02:00 -0400

June 1 - Day 18 After a morning of leisure, we venture into the magical city of Lhasa once again to visit the Drephung “rice heap” and Sera “wild rose garden” monasteries.

Drephung lies at the base of Mount Gephel and was built in 1416 by Jamyang Chojey, a direct disciple of Je Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelukpa school. Before the Chinese invasion in 1959, Drephung was the largest religious monastery in the world with 10,000 monks. [More]

Tibet?Fast Facts

Mon, 31 May 2010 13:18:00 -0400

Area: 474,300 square miles Capital: Lhasa

Languages: Mandarian (official), various Tibetan dialects

Population: 2,840,000

Ethnic Groups: Tibetan 93%, Han Chinese 6.1%, Hui, Monpa, and all others less than 1%

Religions: Tibetan Buddhism, Bon (shamanistic spirit worship), and Muslim

Time zone: Lhasa is 12 hours ahead of New York during Standard Time. So when it is noon in New York, it is midnight in Lhasa. [More]

Potala Palace and Jhokhang Temple

Mon, 31 May 2010 11:00:00 -0400

May 31 - Day 17 We awaken to breakfast at our hotel and morning of leisure to spend as we wish. Then its off to see one of the grandest monuments in all of Asia: the extraordinary Potala Palace. [More]

History of Tibet

Sun, 30 May 2010 13:16:00 -0400

A unified Tibet first came into being in the seventh century under Songtsan Gampo. Under his rule and the rule of the next several kings, Tibetan power spread into central Asia, northern India and Pakistan. Their influence waxed and waned until 907, when China had taken back the territory it had lost. Genghis Khan led the Mongols into the region in 1239, and was so taken with Tibetan Buddhism that it became the official religion of the Mongol Empire in East Asia. The Mongol empire only lasted a century. [More]