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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Perspectives: Tibetan monastery

My plane was to leave early that afternoon -- I had taken a bus up onto the Tibetan plateau from Lijiang -- and then it snowed that morning.  I had visited this monastery up on the hill the day before, and thought, "Here's my chance for some very special photos."  I wish the resolution were a wee bit clearer.  Up the hill I raced before the clouds blew away: there's the spot, with horses in the fields below the monastery.  A once-in-a-lifetime shot.

The town (at my back as I take this picture) is Zhongdian, in Yunnan Province.  It's largely Tibetan, but looks typically Chinese, unlike this monastery.  I drank Tibetan tea here for the first and hopefully last time -- foul stuff -- and also got some pictures of young monks in red having a snowball fight.  Kids are kids, everywhere.  I also tried yak meat in Zhongdian, with an American who lived here, before heading across the high plateau and down into the Salween River canyon, a few days before. 

2 comments:

Crude said...

So how was the yak meat? Seriously.

Actually, any favorite overseas delicacies in particular? Stuff that's hard to get in the US?

David B Marshall said...

It seemed a bit oily, chewy, and dark, best I recall.

One of my favorites in Taiwan was papaya milkshake; but maybe you need fresh papayas. I also liked the oyster omlet with the green vegy and the dark brown sauce. But one can't describe good foreign foods, one can only "taste or not taste," to paraphrase Yoda.