Tibet (Day 3 Part 4)

Getting to lunch took longer than anticipated because we had to keep stoping at checkpoints.  Another frightening aspect of the governments control of the area.  We all had to be very well behaved at these check points to avoid being stopped for longer than the usual 5-10 minutes or getting in bigger trouble.

Lunch was relatively standard.  We were served these chicken tenders on a stick which I dubbed "meatsicles."  hehe

I was ready to go to bed after lunch, but we still had one last stop to a monastery.  I ended up getting a second wind and really enjoying it.  We came at the perfect time of day because the monks were debating.  Every day int he afternoon, the monks break off into groups and debate philosophical questions (which came first, chicken or egg) to sharpen their logic skills.  They were really interesting to watch because they would seamlessly move between joking around and seriously debating.  I missed the first part of the debating because I was having a bit of an oxygen crisis.  I had had to climb up like five stairs to get into the monastery and got myself into a situation.  I made it up the stairs fine, but when I got to the top, I felt like each breath I was taking in has less and less oxygen.  So I started breathing faster and started feeling worse.  Just before I was sure I was going to pass out (I could only see black already) I remembered to take slow, deep breaths instead.  After a few minutes my head was back to the usual level of swimmyness and I could enjoy the rest of the debates.  Still so proud of myself for not using supplemental oxygen!

The monks lived well due to donations from the community so they gave back in many ways.  One of those ways was by taking care of the stray dogs that were plentiful in the city.

I forget what these are called, but I finally got to spin them!  As I was finishing up my circuit, this strange thing happened where it started raining, but the rain was white and it was all light and fluffy.  They tell me it is called snow?  What is this snow substance?  haha  It started snowing and after the embarrassingly long time it took me to figure out what was happening (I thought it was ash falling from a fire) I went 100% giddy!  

The happy continued with the trip back to the bus because I got to go downhill in my chair.  I flew down that hill laughing like a kid on Christmas.  :0)

Back at the hotel, I hung out with the roomie and her friend.  My brace had broken a bit so I sew it back together as we chatted.  

I usually don't pine after food from home, but for some reason I was going on and on about how I wanted pizza in the worst way.  

I'm not so good with the subtle foreshadowing so you probably already figured out that they served pizza at dinner!  I was completely calm and not excited at all.

Tibet (Day 3 Part 2)

We arrived at the summit of the pass and stopped to get a nice view of the lake from above.   It was cool to think that this was the highest elevation I had ever been to in my life.  (Excluding in an airplane.)

Me being mesmerized by snow.  I hadn't seen any in over five years!

There were also people there who let us take pictures with their animals for a few dollars.  I couldn't resist.  :0) 

Yack!

Then we drove down to the lake and had a half an hour go go exploring.  It was a bit of a hike to get down to the water, but I managed by taking it slow.  I stopped halfway down to make a pile of rocks in memory of some people I miss.  

I finally got down to the lake and dipped my hands into the freezing water.  Having my hands outside the gloves unfortunately made them swell up and get hives, but it was worth it.  :0)  I spent the rest of my time enjoying the beautiful scenery and then slowly, slowly, hiking my way up to the bus.  

Yack poo and snow.  :0P   Don't worry, I didn't eat it.  haha

I got some additional nice pictures as we were driving away from the lake as well.

Just in case you don't know, the flags are prayer flags and they are found all over in Tibet.  They represent different aspects of spirituality corresponding to the different colors.  

Now about the road.  I was thinking it was going to be a scary drive, but the roads were actually really good, as was the bus driver.  It was a bit narrow and the drop-offs were sheer, but I felt safe the whole time.

Beijing (Part 3)

   Another bit of a drive brought us to the Great Wall.  I asked to bring my wheelchair, but the guide said that it wasn't accessible.  Sad face. I asked how far it was and she said it was just a little, easy walk.  No big deal.

   In reality, it was 20 minutes of this:

haha  Oh well, I did ok as long as I went slow and took breaks.  So no harm done and I got some exercise.

At this point on the trip, I had been adopted by a couple of life long learners and they bought me a panda hat since I didn't have a chance to get money at the hotel the night before.  I flipping love that panda hat!  I don't care how ridiculous I look, I am going to wear it even in the middle of a California summer when I get home!  

ridiculous

I made it to the top of the hill and took a gondola the rest of the way up to the wall.  It was a very scenic trip.  I didn't have my usual mini-panic attack that usually accompanies use of ski lifts or gondolas.  

The ride was really pleasant and scenic.

Then I was on the Great Wall of China!  A place I had seen in pictures and film since before I can coherently remember and I was standing on it!  There was much rejoicing and picture taking.

It was even more beautiful and more amazing than I could have imagined.  Plus, I was able to do the hiking and climbing required to get around!

On the way down, I had fun taking my time and looking at the booths selling really nice souvenirs.  The vendors were super pushing, going as far as grabbing us, but I didn't really mind.  I just would say I had no money (which was true) and move on.  Part way down I ended up finding a stray $5 and was able to get a beautiful embroidered picture with it.  At the very end of the way down, I found an additional $3 and this guy was SO nice in giving me a piece of marble with my name carved in it for that price.  He knew I really didn't have any more money and I really wanted the stamp.  Very nice guy.

Some people commented on my stroke walk (I actually look like I had a stroke when I walk downhill.  Those leg muscles never quite recovered from the stroke.) but I didn't get as many stares or comments as I expected.  

There were some strange and interesting things in the market lining the path back from the Great Wall.  I saw this and gave up trying to decide what was going on there.  

And naturally, there were camels.  Why wouldn't there be camels right?

On the way back, we were running early so we got to stop at a tea house.  We participated in a tea tasting demonstration which was really fun.  I never knew that making and drinking tea was such an art!  I liked most of the teas I tried, especially the fruit tea!  I spent an embarrassing amount of money on the tea and had fun taking pictures of the decorations.  

Dinner was at one of the most popular restaurants in the city.  It specialized in duck which was something I had never tried before.  After I heard how the poor duckies were raised, I almost didn't want to try them ever.  ( I did try the duck and it was delicious.  I justified it with the fact that the duck was already dead and I didn't want it to go to waste.  Weak, I know.)  The ducks are raised in increments of 15 days.  They start out free ranging on the river banks for 15 days to build up their muscle.  Then they are packed into a small pen and overfed.  The overfeeding and the inability to move make them gain a bunch of fat.  Then they free range again, and then they get put back in a pen but the floor of that pen is on a hot plate.  This is where it get's REALLY sad.  The hot plate is so hot that it burns the duck's feet so they jump and hop to try to not have their feet burn.  They are forced to do this for days and days until their meat is deemed perfect and they are killed for food.  So sad!