Saturday
June 14, no-name Hotel, thought to be Langmusi Hotel, Langmusi
Early start, 4 hour plus bus ride, nek minute
it's Langmusi at 3300m.We wind our way back to the main road down one valley
and then along another to Hezuo, a big bustling city just like all the others,
really, but once we leave there things thin out a bit. We're into really decent
grasslands with not a tree in sight, big mountains and goats, sheep and yaks
blocking the road every so often. Dramatic landscape. It's Sunday, and maybe
that's a day off, because there are gatherings all over, with cars parked
together - maybe horse racing? People seem to be dropped off in the middle of
nowehere, but if you look carefully you'll see a little gathering or village in
the distance. Nice.
There are a number of places we pass of some
size, I wouldn't have thought much smaller than Langmusi. One of them we stop
at for a while. Maybe Luqu? There appears to be no particular reason for a town
being in that location - I wonder about the Chinese government wanting to
settle the nomads, to urbanise them and thereby control them better? Perhaps
the nomads themselves prefer a sedentary lifestyle? All of these towns have
major construction with partly complete buildings on their main streets (which
means two story blocks) and the first shops open are China mobile and China
Post (the long arm of the party!?) Most of the Tibetans I've met, even though
very poor, have a cellphone.
I am the only round-eye (again) and it's
fascinating watching life go by you. There's a group of around 6 men and women
who were in the bus station cafe at Xiahe and doing my trip. They laugh and
carry on. Someone will say something and you'll get a murmer of agreement.
Really nice kind of communal sharing.
The high, flat, grassland surrounded by hills
changes quickly and there are some dramatic gorges up ahead. Langmusi, on the
Sichuan border, is in this completely different kind of environment. And so we
get to Langmusi (Lang-moo-sur) just before 12 and I spot the Black Tent Cafe so
I know I am here. This cafe has a fabulous vibe, really nicely decorated Tibetan
style and lots of long benches and comfortable seating with heaters underneath!
Will be back here often!
Langmusi is more like what I expected Xiahe to
be - small and on hills and valleys. It's got a nice vibe, but here too is
plenty of construction. Place is empty of tourists, the gompas are mostly shut
and it's just how I like it! First up is Kerti Gompa, on the Sichuan side.
There's several buildings here, built in 1413 and home to around 700 monks. I
walk around and move some prayer wheels and then climb up a short pathway
(huffing and puffing) to get some excellent views across the valley.
Sunday
June 15, no-name Hotel, thought to be Langmusi Hotel, Langmusi
Weather is looking good, so I decide to do the
Namo Gorge walk. Touted by LP: "a superlative...hike. The gorge contains
several sacred grottoes...cross rickety bridges flung over the gushing stream,
trek past piles of mani stones and
prayer flags and hike on into a splendid ravine. After about 30 minutes of
clambering over rocks you reach a grassy plain surrounded by towering
peaks." I really think that needs rewriting, the stream was bubbling more than it was gushing, the
bridges where bits of wood sitting on
the stones, the ravine was OK, nothing special, the grassy plain was enclosed
by decent hills. Anyways, I really
enjoyed the walk in, especially having peace and quiet and space to think. I
even took a selfie!
There's plenty of people to meet on the way. I
try and say hello to everyone I make eye contact with. I meet a group of
Tibetan teens who live about an hour away. One guy has good english so we
strike up a conversation - this is his 4th time to Namo, he learned english at
school and could he take a photo? Yes, of course, and I get some nice shots of
him and I. A large group assembles around us, and they all pull out their
cellphones, i-pads and cameras and shoot away as well (I get a shot of this
just at the end - hilarious). They're all wired up, but still inquisitive about
who I am and where I'm from. I wonder how much the Chinese version of google
lets them explore their world?
I also meet a couple of Israeli guys who think
they are lost. They pull out a map but I can't really help them. I'm really
unsure where they've come from (I think a loop up the right past the Kerti
Gompa). They've been travelling through China for 2 months, with 2 more to go.
I give myelf some time just to sit and listen.
Until then I hadn't heard the birds, and I could make out at least 5 different
calls. I sense the stillness, the quiet and also the noise in that quiet. I'm
sitting on my contemplation rock and then a few things happen at once: some big
calling out and yahooing, rain and I have a sore bum. Clearly time to get
going.
Coming back out, maybe things looked a little
more impressive?! Somone has drawn a heart and written love inside it with
small stones (did not notice this on the way up). Maybe the peaks are a little
more towering and the ravine a bit more looming. It certainly would be if the
river was bigger, but it's just a piddly little stream that only seems to start
halfway down, like appearing from nowhere. Apparently this is the start of the
Yellow River, hence the hoo ha with flags and stuff. Also one of the caves has
given Langmusi its name.
Lunch (aka hiding from the rain, I don't normally
do lunch when I travel) is at a Tibetan Restaurant. First thing, I miss the
entrance and start going up stairs to the bedrooms. Then, when I go through the
blanket that is a door, I'm met by what looks like a family lounge and open
dining area. I've gatecrashed a family gathering! There are 5 kids in monk's
robes, husband (who petty much comes and sits with me straight away) and wife
(who brings the menus and does all the cooking). Much awkward enjoyment on both
sides I'd say. I order tsampa (spelt tsamba in their menu, I assume the same)
and some yoghurt. They pour me a glass of hot water as well. The water was
good, the tsampa, some kind of porridge, is very very awful, the yoghurt is
really nice. Have to say that all the Tibetan food I've tried, with very few
exceptions (Tibetan bread in Darjeeling springs to mind), is not much chop.
Limited palette of flavours, I guess, and some completely different tastebuds,
trained through the ages to like things that are hard to like!
There is awkwardness and interest as well. One
of the kids is very keen to see my writing in the red book. I guess so
different, I'd be the same.
The weather clears and so I decide to go up to
the Serti Gompa, although the ticket calls it the Langmu Monastery. It was
established in 1748. My ticket tells us that this area has a
"distinguished natural langscape [nice] and is well known as Oriental
Swiss, it is listed as one of the top 20 National Charming Towns, national AAAA
famous sceneries." I guess in winter it would all be covered in snow and
would look stunning!
This place was amazing, a highlight. The views
and the atmosphere were just perfect. A very peaceful place, better of course
for having hardly anyone else there. The architecture of the buildings very
distinctive - the Chinese curves, the sloped walls and windows, the same kind
of iconography that I saw at Labrang. What's special here is the gold and
silver roofing, which is incredible, and the setting, which is stunning. I'm
allowed to photograph the vestibule of the main meditation hall, which is quite
similar to what is inside, so that was cool. The colours of choice on the
inside are orange, blue and green. Outside it's monk-habit red, yellow and
brown. There is some distinctive patterning with dots and furry space (this is
hard to describe!) and the usual array of maitreyas - past, present and future,
lamas then and now reincarnated, bodhisattvas, uncle tom cobbley and all. It's
quite a procession. Some of the painting on the outsides is very fine. I love
these kinds of places and I don't mind spending a whole lot of time here. The
beauty of being on your own is that you can do this without worrying what
someone else might want to do (and Mary is very, very patient). I just like
hanging out, taking in the space, I could have sat a long time in that
meditation hall... (well, I did).
Walking around, I can hear the quiet
throat-chanting from inside buildings. There are some kids playing with battery
cars and a few other tourists, the wind is whistling just a little and I feel
very very peaceful and calm.
Monday
June 16, Lanzhou Hualian Hotel, Lanzhou
Today a long trip from Langmusi via Hezuo to
Lanzhou, from 5 degrees to 30 degrees. Begin with 4 layers and end with 1! I am
a well-oiled travelling machine, and my guts and head are feeling better today,
so that's good. The sun is out, its crisp and clear and I've had a great week
in eastern Tibet, with the Amdo Tibetans.
The bus is pretty empty as we re-trace our
steps back over the grassland plains and hills, before descending to Hezuo.
There is some snow on the peaks, the sun is out, and it's a crisp and sparkly
day up here where the air is thinner. On the way down, the yaks are just
getting busy, not yet blocking the roads, the kids are setting off to school
(at 6.30), the fires are starting up and the hills are green in the sun. No
trees, just folds of land, valleys with little villages of brown, the ones
closer to the road often having a conservatory with glass to trap heat. Pass a
small temple with prayer wheels quite isolated, with about 8 women prostrating
themselves in front of it - this would be 7.30am.
We get to Hezuo and the minute I'm off the bus
I'm onto another bound for Lanzhou. It's packed, there's room for one (me!)
right up the back seat. LOTS of stares and smiles. The road's busy, the traffic
slow, and the buses are the fastest thing going, except for the occasional car.
From Hezuo we head due east. Things are getting warmer. We stop at a place at
10.30 that connects us with the main drag into Lanzhou and have 30 minutes for
Muslim beef noodles. When the dishes are ready a shout goes up from the kitchen
'hay'. It's a real scene and Lanzhou is famous for these beef noodles which
are, apparently, spicy hot, Most people don't have some, but some do! It's a bit
pointless but nice to stretch the legs.
Back on the road, we've got 144km to Lanzhou
and it's all on motoway, increasingly through absolutely barren hills and
mountains with green valleys (I'm guessing from the snow melt). It's the
badlands of China, complete rainshadow, with deeply eroded mountains with
layers of white/brown sandstone/gravels and red stones in lots of layers. Kind
of back in Cappadocia without the plateau thing going on.
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