yesterday we drove to Leshan, 2 hours away from Chengdu, to see the giant buddha! we took a little river cruise past it and then got to climb up the mountain to see it ourselves. it was HUGE. its 223 feet tall with 20 foot ears, 10 foot eyes, and a 10 foot mouth. it took 90 years to complete from 730 to 816 AD. it was carved right into the hill to protect it from erosion and the carved in a drainage system- with 121 hair curls and shoulders and robe pleats that allow the water to flow down the buddha rather than puddle up. this buddha has a serious face because its job is to look over the turbulent river which used to take the lives of many of the locals.
after that we went back to the hotel and then headed to highfly pizza for the most delicious calzone and tsing tao before a few of us headed to a Sichuan variety show with singing, dancing, instruments, hand shadows, and their claim to fame: the changing faces show. The best was totally the hand shadows cause he made rabbits and horses and birds and an owl- it was too cool. the changing faces was pretty cool - they just wave their fan in front of their faces and their masks change!! it was fun- it was a small group of us so it was nice to just mellow out. there was also the kenny g of China who played some flute/wind/clarinet/recorder instrument but he was rocking out and i liked him. they also had 40 yuen ear cleaning which lauren tried- hilarious i have it on film- and our 50 yuen massage during the show which four of us decided was definitely a good idea.
today, we woke up extra early to catch our 7:50 flight to Lhasa! let me tell you that flying over the Himalayas was the coolest thing ever. its amazing. we were up so high and they were right there with us. tibet is like a dream come true-ive always wanted to come here and now, here i am!! its heaven. sorry to say i might not be leaving.. oops! if you want to see me again just hop on a plane/helicopter/yak/boat? and get up here! we are also at 1184 ft and its 16 degrees farenheit. but its so hot cause of the sun .. when we got off the plane and onto the bus they gave us white khatas, scarves, which represent Buddhist worship, good fortune, purity, friendship, and good wishes. theyre so beautiful and silk. its interesting here because everyone looks so peruvian- theyre tan, wear bright colored thick woven robes- the colors are so peruvian too- like the greens and yellows and reds and blues- awesome.
other facts about tibet:
-thank you: tu che hang
-hello: tashi delek
-they are famous for barley and wheat- no rice because of the elevation and cold water- so they import jasmine rice
-zampa is a staple food made or barley, as well as alcohol made out of barley
-butter tea is also delicious - they served us on the airplane- its like tea with cream? i actually have no idea but it was delicious
-there are prayer flags everywhere in five colors, representing the five elements (blue- sky, white- clouds, green- water, red-fire, yellow- earth)
-the Tibetans are superstitious, honest, gentle, generous- and so interested by us because they rarely see tourists
we had a great lunch today with nan and other curries and spring rolls and some sort of pizza which was to die for. now were just hanging out in the awesome hotel and then dinner in a little bit..
:) thanks for all the love- im going to go ice my entire body
2 comments:
Av, I think you should write a food book about your travels. Glad things are better and Tibet sounds amazing. Hope you have lots of pictures. Be well and rested. Love Grandma
What an amazing journey you are having! I know you're having fun. Rest those bones time to time (ice works nicely as you've discovered for swelling) Keep the stories coming. Love you and miss you.
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