Not Good Enough For International Tour

Last night I went to bed at 8pm again. There were two European foreigners and the young locals sleeping a floor below me decided they were going to be cool by blasting a radio station that had rap pop music in English most of the night. I had ear plugs on and it didn't seem to work. It interesting to see on the streets and here and there how music and movies that really didn't make the cut in their native countries, some how made it out here as if something good that was good enough for international tour.

Pigs and Humans

I have had the chance to watch the live stocks here and the horses are pretty chilled like the sheep. The mountain goats are a bit goofy. The pigs are a riot, they are goofy and cute too but they fight and bicker and whine like crazy. They sure show lots of nasty attitude too. They reminded me of some humans I know.

Going Home in Dreams

I dreamed this morning I went home to see my family. I only stayed for a flash because I had not finished my journey yet so I had to catch the next flight out to China. This was my third similar dream of going home on the first month of my journey.

Jr'ma La-nu Beautiful Goddess

Jr’ma La-nu means Beautiful Goddess. In the Tibetan culture all women have Jr-ma or La-nu following their name. All women have to be addressed as beautiful or goddess. I told my friend I would like to be simply addressed as Jr’ma La-nu. She laughed and didn’t object but mentioned to me that it’s not how it is done here. I told her it didn’t matter in my case because I am from somewhere else.

After lunch we went to her friend’s place for some lessons in Tibetan traditional dancing. I was taken into a Tibetan home. The entire house was busy with the work of toasting corn kernels. I was offered lunch number 3 but I passed because it may have been cooked in lard. Then I was offered toasted corn kernels by a 94 year old Tibetan elder man, he also offered whole baked potatoes. We ended up toasting corn kernels for a few hours and inhaled lots of smoke from the fire open fire in the center of the house without ventilation or chimney of any sort. To properly toast the kernels, a wooden large wooden stick was used to stir the kernel. I tried to toast but kept loosing kernels outside the pan into the fire and was politely removed from my post. Then we peeled corn husks and sorting corn for another hour or so.

The lady of the house was trying to be very hospitable by offering cigarettes to me. I passed and asked her when she started smoking and she said 26 when her mother passed away, at that time she also picked up drinking. Prior to adding such habits to her life, she claimed to be the best vocalist of YuBeng but such habits destroyed her vocal chords.

So finally we got to dance and when it came down to teaching me people were all shy and didn't do anything. So after hours sacrifice in inhaling smoke, and working for the food I ate, I didn't learn anything.

We sat on the deck and I watched the lady search for lice from her husband’s hair and he picked out ear wax from her ears. It reminded me of primal primate activities. Below the deck were lots of livestock. I watched their sons weave baskets, spoons, and sifters. I asked why the one baby piglet was deformed. He was crawling and could not stand. They told me the horse stomped on that particular piglet and so he can now only crawl.

We headed back and her father was unhappy that she hung out with me for the whole afternoon. She had to please her father by getting me to photograph her, her father, and the construction site to be used as PR for bringing in future business. I didn't enjoy that but I understood her position and did one photograph of her, her father, and the building all in one symbolically. A Rong offered me tea at the tent and then left. I got to drink some sort of random green tea and took off myself. While heading back to my room he insisted he needed to be a good host and chat with me. I insisted I didn't and needed to rest.

Pork Lard, Goat Lard Lunch

I officially rolled off the bed at 10:45am. In my opinion it was too late to go to sacred waterfalls and so I hung out with the construction manager's daughter instead. She's an Aries- Horse. She showed me how to start a fire in the pit. I ended up reciting while I watched for her prepare lunch. I watched how she oiled the pan to with goat lard and knew I couldn't eat it. I watched how she stir-fried rice with pork lard and knew I couldn't eat that too. I watch how she made hash browns with vegetable oil and know I could have that. That was all I ate.

Her father was the construction manager overseeing the additional building being built for tourist. She said she would teach me Tibetan dancing after lunch and we would go to her friend's place. Her father was someone who was suspicious of me or anyone foreign and did not warm up to me. From the complexion in his face and the color and luster in his eyes, he looked like someone who drank too much.

For the meal we sat in their worker’s wooden hut. It was built on open dirt floor. The shower was an open hose that ran onto an open area without partitions. The sleeping area was on top of planks. Everyone slept on that together including my friend, the only girl. There was only enough room for each person to lay neatly right next to each other like sardines. The blankets were all wet and the pillows too. They were wet from the rain and dew dropped in through the cracks. The hut was poorly constructed. I wondered how these people stayed warm at night in damp blankets and pillows with the chilly icy wind blowing in through the wide cracks from the wooden planks. I wondered how much mildew was in the stuffing of the blankets and pillows. I wondered how they continue to live this way when they really didn’t have to. Since they were construction workers, it would be easy to improve their living standard on this job site. Then I remembered the workers on the Great Wall who too slept on the Great Wall in the open in rain and wind. Maybe this is how it is in this part of the world for the construction class.

I was offered a second lunch by Y3 and the school principal, A Rong who was also the owner of the Guest House. It was kabotcha squash stir-fry, I could have that and it was done with vegetable oil. During lunch the conversation got out of hand. A Rong spoke as if he was drunk and talked a whole lot of crap. It really lost respect for him. He expressed his world views on relationships; how a man leans on a wife at home and then out in the world leans on girlfriends. I think he was trying to discourage the union of Y3 and Earth. Since Earth is his only teacher for the only school and he is a volunteer, he had an invested interest to keep Earth around as long as possible. After that conversation, Y3 decided she would head back to Lijiang sooner than her expected departure date.

Why Would I Want to do Anything Else Besids This?

I saw Yens on the way back, they had just arrived from Ice Lake and was switching horses to head back to De Ching the same night. They looked terrible. They looked really tired. They looked like they had a rough ride. Well, it was a rough trail to begin with regardless if you were on a horse or not. It was already 3pm, they hopped onto another horse to help them up the first 10% inclined and dash for the rest 90%. I worried for them. I really didn't think his wife could dash down the mountain. I worried they'd be stuck in the dark with out flash light because it broke. I worried they'd be rained on if they didn't dash. But they were determined to head out.

I also saw Chen who asked me what my plans were and I told him I just came back from a 6 hour hike and I was not interested in hiking for the rest of the day. I just wanted some food, water, and rest. In fact, I haven’t really slept in days. Chen on his own headed for Lower YuBeng Valley where the head trail for the Sacred Waterfalls was. I told him it was beautiful there and much nicer. He wanted to sleep there tonight so he can have a head start for the falls the next day. I really need a good night sleep. I wanted to do my Buddhist practice of reciting and meditating. I wanted to just sit and read. I wanted down time. I wanted a shower but all I’ve got was a pan and cold water.

I went and got a new room from the owner who put me above the residence room on the second floor. Below the residence floor was the open barn floor filled with live stock of pigs, horses, chicken, etc. So technically I was on the third floor. This room was across the construction sight for the new Guest House. It sure was noisy with the chainsaw and all.

I rested and kept warm because I have been soaking wet in my sweat and the body cool down is fast so I blanket myself tight to not catch a cold during cool down and listened to the music from the rain outside. Glad I was not on the trail with Chen in the rain. The rain I saw in the falls had traveled out.

I sat and meditated. It felt nice. I always find it odd this way. When I meditate, I ask myself, “Why would I want to do anything else besides this, this is great.” When I chant, I tell myself, “I just want to chant for the rest of my life, this is wonderful.” When I bow, I tell myself, “I just want to keep bowing, this is good for me.” When I listen to the Dharma, I tell myself, “I just want to keep listening to the Dharma always, why would I want to do anything else?” When I recite mantra, I tell myself, “I just want to recite all the time even in my sleep. This is the best. Why would I want to do anything else?” Then when I drink excellent tea, I tell myself, “This is the best, I can drink tea the rest of my life like this.” Then when I come across my pretty cloths, I tell myself, “Just beautiful, I just want to wear these clothes and do everything in them.”

I decided the food sucked in the tent and ate whatever snacks I hiked in with me. I ate 3 dates, 20 pistachios, 3 tiny sheets of nori, 2 crackers, and an apple from the apple tree outside.

Stay On the Only Path

Had very little rest last night. Y3 and Earth partied till late and the door slams from the others who got up early to head out kept waking me up. Oh yeah, the chilly wind coming in from the only window in the room that won't shut also made it difficult to sleep during the night

I finally got up made myself a cup of oatmeal and ordered noodles with cabbage. The noodles were soggy and gross, very gross. I knew it would be the only meal I would have for the day trip so I ate it. It took me a long time to eat it because it was so gross.

I was encouraged to go to Ice Lake with everyone else. But I learned that to go to Ice Lake it is easy to get lost on my own and that I better to go on horse back because there are guides and the trails are rough. So I ended up picking the easier path of Sacred Waterfall.

I got directions from people, they all told me to, "follow the river". Yes those were the directions and I did. No one told me to cross the river, so I didn't. I kept walking along the river except there were no trails. I had to hop over this, swing over that, duck under, roll over logs until I couldn’t anymore. I heard voices from above and decided to cross the river to the other side and climb up where I heard the voices. Ah,… yes, a trail.

I passed by another station of horses and asked the guides which way, they all said, “take the trail path”. I continued on this trail and I kept going. I would stop for water and admiration of the view of the mountains that lead to the Sacred Falls. I kept wondering how was I suppose to get to the falls were? I realized I had to cross the river even though I was not instructed to. The path kept leading me further away from the river and the Sacred Falls. I kept going, staying on the path until 4 hours later, the path was now a run down path and appeared as if it hasn’t been traveled on for months.

I realized I should have been to the Sacred Waterfalls and back with the amount of time I spent already. I had to admit to myself that I was lost. I was avoiding the whole getting lost thing today but I managed it anyways. After all that enthusiasm and adventure, it was destination unreached, I was a bit disappointed. I comforted myself with, “there’s a good reason for this, I just don’t recognize it that’s all.”

I found a lovely spot to view the mountain scenery again and tried to retrace the steps in my head on how I could have missed the crossing of the river. I said to the Sacred Waterfall that I wasn't going to make it today. I would like to ceremonially do my circumambulating here and 3 half bows as if I was at the Sacred Falls. I aborted my mission and headed back.
As I was heading back, I noticed in the mountains the clouds were building thick and that there rain in the mountains. It was then that I realized, if I had not been lost, I would have found myself in cold rain and getting ill. Glad I was lost.

Everyone laughed at how I got lost on the only trail to the falls. I didn't mind. I really enjoyed the journey and was glad I was not in the cold icy rain. Having been lost, I got to see beautiful sceneries from the other side, it was magnificent.

Google Zha Dan

For dinner I went into the tent to join Chen and the Yens. The floor is just bare ground, the stove is just the open fire pit, ventilation was the door flap of the tent. We sat in smoke fumes from the open fire pit and tried to stay warm.

I decided to help myself and cook. I made fried mushrooms and chips. I needed some oil in my system. But I ended up not eating because everyone else ate them. The tent owner didn’t charge me for the food I made because I cooked for myself. Then the Yens ordered a full course meal. They ordered tomato egg dish for me and a onion vegetable dish for me. I ate a bit out of politeness but I didn’t continue because the vegetable dish had animal lard and onions in it and I didn’t eat eggs. They were pretty disappointed that I barely ate because they ordered them especially for me. I just told them I was full to duck out of it but I was hungry and I would rather be hungry than sick from eating the food that was not a part of my diet.

I did not smoke or drink. People at the table approved of my healthy habit. Mr. Yen tried to find a flaw in vegetarians all in good humor by attacking how vegetarians are just trying to eat like non-vegetarians with pretend meat or taste likes. It was a very typical non-vegetarian thing to do in front of a vegetarian, all to justify the validity of continual habit of eating in non-vegetarian way. Drinks were passed around to keep the body warm. I had considered gargling my mouth with the wine to de-flame my inflamed jaw but I didn’t think that was a good table manner thing to do. I drank murky hot water instead.

Mr. and Mrs Yen are both Sichuan natives from Chengdu. Mr. Yen might as well have been a famous gorgeous hot eligible in the current entertainment industry except he wasn’t eligible and he wasn’t in the entertainment industry. He is a buyer for the commercial industry and married to a beautiful sweet Sichuan wife.

Conversations at the dinner table included views on China and Taiwan issue. Yens voiced how modern young inner Chinese really don’t care too much about it. That people are more interested in peace and prosperity. People are interested in success of a government by action and change through success and not about over powering others. He said that if the Chinese government does a good job then the hearts of people will be won instead of inflicting power and force.

Both the Yens admit how the educational system all the way to end of high school did not encourage individual thinking or critical thinking. That you are really to take whatever is taught as truth. They both attributed their change in their minds to a University education and internet access. It really opened the doors for them. They learned to question and search for evidence on the Google engine.

The current fad is “Google Zha Dan”, translation, Google Bomb. What is a Google Bomb? It is freedom of posting information that reveals your truth. Why is it called bomb? Because a bomb creates destruction on a massive scale and truth can destroy lies and on the Google engine, it reaches masses..

On the subject of current modern living for young couples in Chengdu, Sichuan. Mr. Yen said his job gets him lots of perks because everyone lobbies for his interest so that he will influence his company to buy their products. “Who cooks?” Chen and I asked. The Yens said, “Whoever is currently out of job at the time,” The Yens said their major expense in their living is entertaining friends. They really like the company of friends over at their flat and this is where most of their pay check goes to. That such expenses are hard to avoid unless you choose to be unsocial and have no friends or connections with others.

Chen and Yen were a good pair of stand up comedians. I laughed the whole time until I was physically tired from laughing. I would say my meal for dinner was comic relief of laughters.

He Was Soleless

I came across Y3 and met Earth as hopped to the showers. Earth was on crutches and his ankles were completely swollen and in all colors.

The story goes, on his day off on the weekend, he went alone hiking on “Ice Runs Through It” or in Chinese “Bing Chuan”. He got lost and his shoes fell apart, the soles fell away. He was soleless and he ended up walking barefoot on ice. Because he was lost in the fog, he spent the night on the ice barefoot. He had not planned to be out that long so he only had light clothing on him and he did not bring any food or drinks. The next day when the weather cleared he was able to find his way back. By then both his feet were injured from the cold.

Earth insisted on not going to the doctors, he refused to do the 17 kilometers trek out and then taking the bus into the town of Xi Dan in search of a doctor. He had a terrible fever and he looked terrible. I gave Y3 medicine I had for inflammation, aches and pains. Y3 was somehow able to locate some antibiotics from one of the guests staying at the Guest House to give to her beloved Earth and hoped for the best. I guess the boots Y3 got for Earth as a surprise gift will be well applied now that he is shoeless.

A Rong Lao Shr Guest House

Chen took me to “A-Rong La0 Shr” Guest House. It means A-Rong Teacher’s Guest House. I checked into room #3. It turns out this room is the room next to Y3 and Earth’s room. We are separated by wooden planks with wide separation between the planks and holes in the planks too. Good sound proof and privacy? I think not. The window was designed in a way that it would never be able to completely shut. So there was a cold draft coming in from the windows. I found four blankets to sleep on for the night from the other rooms.

Chen made sure I was completely settled in and pretty much hung out with me the rest of the afternoon. We sat on the deck overlooking the majestic view and watched the sun coloring the mountain to golden orange and then purple blue as it retires for the day.

Engineers Everywhere Alike, Burnt Out

While on the trail I met a man named Chen from Taipei who is an burnt out young engineer. He is taking 2-3 months off from the professional work world to recharge his batteries. He said in his job there is no night and day or life beyond it. There is just the job. It is so competitive, if you want to keep your job you better do it better than others and put up with what others won’t. Chen is not worried about looking for another job when he gets back. He said the turn over rate is high and people are constantly coming and going.

At the end of the trail I came across Chen again he told me that he and Y3 did the trail in a little over 3 hours. I took 5 hours. He walked me to where Y3 was staying so that I would have housing for my stay here in the beautiful valley. We also met up with his Sichuan friends, a couple named Yen.

The Waddle Went "Snap"

On top of the mountain people put prayer flags all over and he flags have sutras, mantras, images on them.. People write their names on the flag for blessing. The material is rain proof but not weather proof. Sadly the old ones looked ghostly withering away on top of the mountain.

The last 10% was steep sharp down hill. Although it is exhausting to go upwards, it is painful to go downwards when the trail is as steep and sharp as this. I really took my time and caution. I did not want to get injured in anyway. A upon pity on me man traded his better walking stick for my pencil stick. In truth it wasn’t really a trade, he just forcefully grabbed mine from me and made me use his because he couldn't handle seeing me use the one I was holding. The moment he used it, it snapped.

The trail to YuBeng was uninteresting, felt like being in CA. Then at the end, the trail opens to a ….wow. Mountains covered in fall colors cascading in front of snowy peaks of various mountains. The valley has small barn farming layout with rural mud buildings. I learned that YuBeng has only 22+ families, one elementary school with 9 students and one teacher.

Waddle, Waddle

A Tibetan middle aged woman on her way down was teaching her fellow female friends about helping people and handed me one of her two walking sticks and said to her friends, "this is like helping someone". She passed me her pencil stick bamboo walking stick and kept the sturdy one for her own use. It waddled every time I used it. I had to learn how it waddled when it contacts the ground, how it waddled when I pressed on it, and how it waddled when I begin to lift it off the ground. The rest of my body had to readjust to the waddling in order to make it all work. I laughed and entertained myself with it the whole time I used it. Everyone who passed by shook their head and said to me, “that ain't gonna work.” It was an interesting experience to work with a waddling pencil thin walking stick.

Fantasizing Horses

Although the hike was incline for 4 hours and steep, all along the way, people were encouraging and supportive of trekking on foot instead of taking a horse. Honestly, when I was tired, I fantasized getting on a horse over and over again. Lots of horses with riders came by, I watched the horses, some of them were sick, some of them had arthritis, some of them had lung trouble, and some of them were just too old. Both the rider and the horse all looked like they were in pain. I decided it was a bad idea to fantasize ridding on a horse and was glad I was trekking on my own feet.

As I hiked, I felt fire shoot up from my kidneys and lungs. I then felt an inflammation grow on my lower right jaw. I think this was all due to very little rest I had in the past few days.

Watching the horses and riders pass by with their guides, I looked at the interaction of humans and horses. The horse does not need to be whipped or yelled at. I just don’t understand why humans treat animals as if they were really dumb and don’t understand.

Fly the Trail on Hormone Fuel

Last night, the ladies decided they wanted to sleep with the light on. So they left the light on like the Zhaos. Then for whatever reason the Tibetan ladies got up middle of the night rumbling all over the place and got themselves ready as if to leave but didn't. All that movement and nothing, they laid back into bed to rest. I had very little rest at night since I hung around the Zhaos and now.

I got up for the day and Y3 ordered egg noodle soup with onions for me. She forgot that I didn’t eat onions or eggs. With my past experience, I knew how important it is to have breakfast before a full day of hike, it prevents nausea, muscles cramps, dehydration and a whole bunch of other things. I had to reorder another noodle. It turns out that she got to digest her food for 30minutes and I didn't. I ate and Y3 was ready for the trail we couldn’t wait another 30 minutes before I digest my food a bit. This was bad for the body, not a good idea and I knew this ahead of time, it is something I would never do but did and would never repeat again because I knew better.

It was 17 kilometers trail and 90% of it was incline, straight incline all the way to the last 10%. Y3 was driven by hormones and would fly if given the chance. She had been waiting all month to see Earth and any second apart felt like eternity to her. So I told her to go ahead of me and take off because she wouldn't let me stop and rest at all. So we parted early, thank goodness. I like going at my own pace and stopping to take a sip of water and checking out nature.

Yak Butter Tea, Solution for Everything

We arrived at the Hot Spring, it has no spa treatment. It has natural hot spring water for shower. I needed a shower and felt good just to get one.

Dinner consisted of mixed vegetable and a bowl of rice. It was all too greasy for me but I ate it anyways because I knew it would be the nutrient intake I will get for the next few days.

Y3 was on a love struck high and couldn't stop being in her own world about seeing this person who she calls Earth. She wanted to chat, giggle and tickle over her love. I wasn't in the mood to match that. I wanted to write in my journal but I was too tired. Y3 continued to talk as if we were in a conversation. I only started to pay attention because she was clueing me in on how our journey together ends the start of the trail tomorrow. I think I was too tired to compute what was going on. She talked me into joining her on this trek and now we are parting already. She wanted me to know she would be spending all her time with Earth. I was just too tired and really didn’t care and wasn’t bothered by her whims at all.

Then came two Tibetan elder women who had just returned from Yu Beng ending a one month pilgrimage and is on their way back to Lhasa. They paid tribute to the Sacred Waterfall of YuBeng. It rained later part in the day and the path was slippery on the way down and one of the ladies slipped and twisted her ankle. I didn't have anything for her swollen ankle. She rubbed yak butter tea on her ankle and kept the door wide open, letting the cold in and letting people see and visit her like an empress. It surprised me to see her pull out a Ravor 4 cell phone. I guess, she can afford a one month pilgrimage with hired driver then she can afford a Razor 4. I checked out the prices here in China the cell phones are not cheaper here.