Danced with 4 monks in Tibet… and had an amazing time.. one monk was 80 years old, and was paralyzed on half his body….but he twirled and laughed with me.. the joy he showed was second to none…. This was at the Ganden Monastery…
As I was leaving, my tourguide got us both Red Bulls to drink (as we were losing steam)—which by the way are less carbonated then the American version…outside 2 Chinese monks were sitting…
I grabbed one of their hands and twirled…then twirled with the other one…they could not stop laughing…nor could I.
The most amazing part?Later that night after dinner, as I was walking to my favorite café, guess who I run into….but the same 2 MONKS!!!
We danced again.
Can we say….awesome?Seriously.
How the heck they found me again in Bangkhor Market (which is a maze of streets comparable to Venice, Italy), I will never know… 30 KM away from the Monastery in which we first danced.
The friends that I was with when I danced with them the second time around were stunned.
Flabbergasted actually.
I’ve been trudging around a videocamera capturing all of these fantastic times..when I get home, hopefully will upload some of them…
Lighthearted…
-Krupali
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
P-A-S-S-E-D!
So, for those who have been following me, through my perils of studying these past few months and the cramming that went into 15 hour library session to take my clinical boards....
I called my parents the first night in Lhasa...
And... my dad picked up...
Gave the phone to my mom...
Who said, 'Beta, Congratulations!'
Me: MOM!!! Did I pass?
Both: YOU PASSED!
I think I ended up crying in the middle of some random hole in the wall shop, wanting to jump for joy....unable to share it with anyone at that moment...but felt such a load lifted off of my shoulders.
It was another academic hurdle to run over...
To those who sent me well wishes whether it be via email, phone call, thoughts, or the like... a huge thank you. It's not a one person battle, but a composite of people and their help, thoughts, and prayers.
Whew.
One more exam to go.
June 2008
Orals... in lovely Kentucky.
:)
Bring it ON!
I called my parents the first night in Lhasa...
And... my dad picked up...
Gave the phone to my mom...
Who said, 'Beta, Congratulations!'
Me: MOM!!! Did I pass?
Both: YOU PASSED!
I think I ended up crying in the middle of some random hole in the wall shop, wanting to jump for joy....unable to share it with anyone at that moment...but felt such a load lifted off of my shoulders.
It was another academic hurdle to run over...
To those who sent me well wishes whether it be via email, phone call, thoughts, or the like... a huge thank you. It's not a one person battle, but a composite of people and their help, thoughts, and prayers.
Whew.
One more exam to go.
June 2008
Orals... in lovely Kentucky.
:)
Bring it ON!
Adventure Travel...
I love doing things..from hangliding, to parasailing and horseback riding..
I am going to have an elephant ride in Chitwan, and am trying to figure out hangliding and river rafting in Pokhara, Nepal.
I can't wait.
Nothing like a little adrenaline.
That and a superb roller coaster..and i'm good for a bit.
I am going to have an elephant ride in Chitwan, and am trying to figure out hangliding and river rafting in Pokhara, Nepal.
I can't wait.
Nothing like a little adrenaline.
That and a superb roller coaster..and i'm good for a bit.
Pictures Uploaded!
In Tibet, the first night I ran into Rachel…one of my kindred spirits of life. Full of life, adventure, raised in Beijing, finishing college in San Diego… and a world traveler, thanks to her wonderful folks who were also in Lhasa at the same time.
She showed me the greatest restaurants, the best coffee shop (with free WIFI—aka heaven right now, and hence all the pictures are up to speed uploaded), things to do, got me Chinese sleeping pills (she speaks Chinese), and just giggled to our hearts content.
I’ve been fortunate to come across amazing humans just when I needed them the most… she came at the right time…made Lhasa easier for me….
Thanks Rachel!
She showed me the greatest restaurants, the best coffee shop (with free WIFI—aka heaven right now, and hence all the pictures are up to speed uploaded), things to do, got me Chinese sleeping pills (she speaks Chinese), and just giggled to our hearts content.
I’ve been fortunate to come across amazing humans just when I needed them the most… she came at the right time…made Lhasa easier for me….
Thanks Rachel!
No Blogging in China..
Sorry I’ve been MIA for awhile. I was in Tibet, China (China overtook it in 1959), and there is NO BLOGGING allowed. If I wanted to login, you’d get some crazy Chinese characters blocking you. This happened to any BBC.com story, and some cnn.com news stories. It was utterly shocking to me.
Gotta love this country which bans ANY site which contains blogspot, wordpress, typepad, or any sort of blog formant.
I wanted to gag myself.
I even had the help of a high school kid visiting Lhasa who had a proxy to bypass this communistic system of containing free thought and opinion.
By the time he got me logged onto my blog, it was blocked again.
2 minutes flat.
Big brother was watching us from the moment we stepped on the wonderful world that is Tibet.
It’s sad, frightening, and caused me pain.
Gotta love this country which bans ANY site which contains blogspot, wordpress, typepad, or any sort of blog formant.
I wanted to gag myself.
I even had the help of a high school kid visiting Lhasa who had a proxy to bypass this communistic system of containing free thought and opinion.
By the time he got me logged onto my blog, it was blocked again.
2 minutes flat.
Big brother was watching us from the moment we stepped on the wonderful world that is Tibet.
It’s sad, frightening, and caused me pain.
Monasteria
I’ve seen so many monasteries in the past few days… I suffered from what my friend Jason termed ‘Monasteria’ J.
I had to take a break, and crammed my sightseeing into the first and last day in Tibet. Sunday I took a day for myself…and went…horseback riding in a valley located 1 hour north of Lhasa.
It was fabulous for this self-proclaimed ‘city slicker’ who loves her creature comforts…to be free with a horse, and ride for 6 hours..stopping for lunch and another rest break was exactly what I needed. I thought…laughed… galloped..and saw the most amazing scenery. It was exactly what I needed.
I started off with this feisty new horse, that almost bucked me off. Changed horses immediately to this gentle being called Tonto…rode it to lunch…switched horses at that juncture to a beautiful beast that I named Chocolate…she was the slowest of the bunch who just wanted to graze in the beautiful pasture…I was miles behind the others and a village girl had to help me…since I was the last person to know the tiniest bit about horses (and speaking Tibetan ;)). We finally made it to the rest stop, where I changed to Princess, who was yearning to get back to basecamp to feed her baby.
Loved it…recommend it to anyone visiting Tibet…no better way to be with nature, see random rivers, and smell the fresh air.
Interestingly enough, there was a small monastery at the base of where we started…it was one of 2 monasteries in Tibet with a picture of the Dalai Lama…and of course, I saw it, and took pictures…my camera has been acting up a bit (it lets off SMOKE when the flash goes off.. no joke)…so the lighting is horrid…but it was amazing to see nonetheless.
Today I’m back in Kathmandu (real news, diet coke, and not feeling like big brother is watching me…and of course BLOGGING). Tomorrow I leave for Chitwan Forest, don’t know if internet will be available, but pictures are uploaded so ENJOY!
I had to take a break, and crammed my sightseeing into the first and last day in Tibet. Sunday I took a day for myself…and went…horseback riding in a valley located 1 hour north of Lhasa.
It was fabulous for this self-proclaimed ‘city slicker’ who loves her creature comforts…to be free with a horse, and ride for 6 hours..stopping for lunch and another rest break was exactly what I needed. I thought…laughed… galloped..and saw the most amazing scenery. It was exactly what I needed.
I started off with this feisty new horse, that almost bucked me off. Changed horses immediately to this gentle being called Tonto…rode it to lunch…switched horses at that juncture to a beautiful beast that I named Chocolate…she was the slowest of the bunch who just wanted to graze in the beautiful pasture…I was miles behind the others and a village girl had to help me…since I was the last person to know the tiniest bit about horses (and speaking Tibetan ;)). We finally made it to the rest stop, where I changed to Princess, who was yearning to get back to basecamp to feed her baby.
Loved it…recommend it to anyone visiting Tibet…no better way to be with nature, see random rivers, and smell the fresh air.
Interestingly enough, there was a small monastery at the base of where we started…it was one of 2 monasteries in Tibet with a picture of the Dalai Lama…and of course, I saw it, and took pictures…my camera has been acting up a bit (it lets off SMOKE when the flash goes off.. no joke)…so the lighting is horrid…but it was amazing to see nonetheless.
Today I’m back in Kathmandu (real news, diet coke, and not feeling like big brother is watching me…and of course BLOGGING). Tomorrow I leave for Chitwan Forest, don’t know if internet will be available, but pictures are uploaded so ENJOY!
CCTV 9
This is the ONLY English station in China.
It is horrific.
Let’s just say, reading The Onion would have been more newsworthy.
What they feed you is utter propaganda of how China is peachy keen, and all is well, and we should all hold hands in their so-called Shangri-La.
Pathetic.
I know I’m being quite harsh, and opinionated…but those are my thoughts.
I could NOT BELIEVE that this country got the Olympics.
Beijing is a nightmare…polluted…congested….the Olympic committee even warned athletes to limit their time outdoors in that city due to possibly damaging ones lungs.
Fabulous.
When I got back to Nepal today, the first thing I did (besides shower, and finally wash my hair!), was watch CNN, and Indian news…damn… so refreshing to finally know what is going on in the world.
It is horrific.
Let’s just say, reading The Onion would have been more newsworthy.
What they feed you is utter propaganda of how China is peachy keen, and all is well, and we should all hold hands in their so-called Shangri-La.
Pathetic.
I know I’m being quite harsh, and opinionated…but those are my thoughts.
I could NOT BELIEVE that this country got the Olympics.
Beijing is a nightmare…polluted…congested….the Olympic committee even warned athletes to limit their time outdoors in that city due to possibly damaging ones lungs.
Fabulous.
When I got back to Nepal today, the first thing I did (besides shower, and finally wash my hair!), was watch CNN, and Indian news…damn… so refreshing to finally know what is going on in the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
