Monasteries, I suspect, may be like churches and cathedrals in that once you have seen one you have seen them all! But this one did have an additional element of interest in that all the monks there have to be artists - producing Thanka paintings following the Regong tradition set up in the 16th century. It was quite interesting to learn about their techniques, but I was less interested in buying one - however they did serve us some lovely Tibetan tea (again with sticks, but easier to drink) and fantastic bread (with no smelly yak butter). Wins all round!
From there we drove towards Xining. Again the scenery was outstanding. I was hoping to upload some pictures to the blog today but Chinese IT and PCs have defeated both my efforts and those of the staff here!
Highlights included driving round a major dam of the Yellow River (3rd largest hydro-electric station in China), where the green glass waters of the lake contrasted starkly with the limestone mountains and deep dark blue sky.
It was a wonderful, truly inspiring landscape. We stopped for lunch in a Muslim community - the Sala (I think) and had some lovely lamb with spicy sauce - fantastic. Other highlights included stopping at the Blue Mountain Pass to engage in some Ban rituals (the Ban was the original shamanistic religion before Buddhism arrived) around the prayer flags. We flung bits of coloured paper in the area and engaged in ritualistic chanting and sacrificial practices :) Ok I exaggerate a little, but you get the picture.
Other highlights: a toilet stop with a hemp field next to the petrol station! Fantastic, lots of photos of the two women tending to the crops, looking at us with the look of "oh dear not some more dopey Europeans" :)
Arriving here in Xining, typical big Chinese city, we took in a Folk Museum which was ok, but sometimes you get burnt out by the info and I was happy to hit the hotel and take a break. Tonight we are having hot-pot which I think I have had before, and is basically where you cook your own food (they have gas canisters under the tables heating the water you boil the stuff in - nice and safe!). With my celebre cooking skills it could be an interesting evening!
So most dash :) Tomorrow is the day when I do the part of the trip that first spiked my interest in all things Chinese and China - the Xining to Lhasa (Tibet) train line: 26 hours, 5000m altitude! It's not the most PC journey I have ever taken - think political issues - but it should be one of the most inspiring. I can't wait. We board the train at 16h30 local time - around 10h30 EU time so think of me as you munch on pain au chocs or croissants or whatever :)
Next update on Tuesday - from Lhasa!!! Hurrah!
Rob
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