always ask..

Beginnings are worst times. Which of the eleven trails , all heading in about the right direction, is the right one ? Or just run it staright from the map ..
Asking gives me everything I need to know from an old lady plus an offer of second breakfast.

Goiing up I have moments of doubts : why leave the green valley for another rock strewn pass. Lokking down at my feet i just see rubble. Lifting my head I se the shocking transformations from greay to purple to pink. Big rhubarby leaves hanging fomsheer sides , with growths I suddenly realize are to become the white , round leaves that comes out so beautiful onthe Himachali hats. the smell of not quite mint , not quite juniper I associate with Spiti. Big bees with jet black wings, thumb thick bodies and narrow bands of yellow.

Around 3900, after it has started to get really steep , I gett buffed by high winds which I take as a good sign : surely the pas must be really near. It comes out as not 3950 as on my map , but 3986 according to the GPS. At the time it felt important.

Nice lhatse with prayer flags ... that looks off in some way. coming closer I see flags with triangular form, no images and names .. european names. After a short moment of disbelief the knife comes out .

Later i bring it up in Rizong monastery and gets a friendly tap on the shoulder " Don't worry , this is not a problem. " This is of course right in the religious perspective : nothing becomes undone by covering the lhatse , but does remain a problem for the communities involved , both travellers and Ladakhis.

Food package

I was walking down de road (actually , the narrow maze of alleys that put definite limits to your BMI and karma , or both ) the other day when I was blessed. It came in the form of a white polyethen bag being closed with a snapping move, handed over by one of the the guys in shorts and flipflops near the temple square.

" Here , you take this."
" ?..."
"It is a blessing."

I peer in to the mixed blessing , balloonish from the trapped air . The only thing I can make out is a two centiliter pack of Frooti Juice. No one else is being blessed at the moment , no clues in that way of how you actually handle white poly bag blessings.

Thanks is not the answer , shorts man clearly doesn't want the act polluted by gratitude : "You take it " is the only answer to my question. Move along.

Later , waiting for the bus to Manali, I break it open . First thing is a real blessing , a perfectly ripe sunwarm mango . One cut pole to pole with the knife , and a gentle tug makes a perfect bowl where the slices gently fall : that goes to the nun next to me. Less perfect deal with the kernel half : I've always been the messy one.

(Mundane matters : twentyfive minutes from the wheels hitting the ground at IGI airport in Delhi to loading my pack in the cab , ninety minutes to hitting the bed in Manju - including bucket shower. New glasses , a wool unchu for the cooler nights that probably won't come , bus out the next evening to Manali , some twelve hours. Sleeping in Vashisht, 2098 meters. )

Popology

Stay with me now : this is the Tibetan rap band Namchak , playing together with vocal trio Ache Tsendep. The later have a thing for elaborate hats , both traditional and white cowboy model.




The lyrics .. I´d be tempted to say that it is Rigzin Wangmo , a song penned by the sixth Dalai Lama to one of his numerous mistresses , which Namchak is already known for.
I´m not sure , but I sense it being in the same vein - and there seem to some longing references to Lithang , which would point to Tsanyang Gyatso , the Sixth.

On top of that there is a distinct Hindi accent breaking through in the body language , the famous head wobble going trans-himalayan.

The later may seem the fruit of my imagination , but Hindi and Nepali has been a part of the Lhasa street scene for a looong time. Bollywood films are a staple item in stalls around the Jokhang.

New and old friends

Sendoff

Last prayers today in Majnu ka Tilla for Dalai Lama´s elder brother , Thubten Jigme Norbu, who died in USA. Buttertea afterwards, always buttertea.

Norbu (also known as Taktser Rinpoche after their birth place ) wrote for many Westerners the first introduction to Tibetan self image , Tibet , it´s religion , history and people , together with anthropologist Colin Turnbull.

Soundclip

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Over the Rothang

Some decent snowballing at the top. Beautiful weather. Two weeks later : a lot less idyllic.

Kibber

Morning in Kibber. A mule train is being formed in front of the guest house , and the kids are singing a song of parting , and love : "If I had the money (i.e. the dowry) I would bring you with me.

The guesthouse has a coded ad saying chang served here : the low doorpost is padded with a piece of triple folded ground cover , nailed in place. Chang comes in to play in the evening , and more love songs : Kesang teaches us a drinking song where you present your dear one to the world.