and this is what timon had to say to all my photo directing.
15 June, 2005
overkill
sarah and i made timon pose for about 15 pictures while we waited for the tire to be fixed. we needed someone in the foreground to show off how beautiful the landscape is.
the ride
this is where we fixed the bus's flat tire. when the tire blew, it was very loud and obvious. everyone on the bus practically started cheering and grinned at us like crazy. oh do i love a country where an unscheduled stop makes people beam.
peace
these guys really rig up their tractor carts. i'm a particular fan of the way the prayer scarves offset the camoflage.
loverboy
this was the second picture i took of loverboy. i showed him the first and he took off his sunglasses to look at the photo. he wasn't pleased with it, and so i took another, which he put his sunglasses back on for.
our driver
this was our three-wheel tractor driver, the one with the speakers in the back. notice the tiny pictures of chinese ladies pasted all over his cart, as well as his windscreen.
waiting for the bus
in these little towns the movie star effect takes place, where everyone within reasonable distance suddenly hears about the lao-wais and comes to check it out. just imagine if an antelope wandered down your street, you'd probably do the same. of course, the people were very friendly (i'd want to pet the antelope too).
need the green
keely practically ran into the field since we hadn't been surrounded by anything green in two weeks.
rapeseed field
this was one of those surreal moments when life eclipses itself and you find yourself in heaven.
gong gong ce suo
we took this photo before we knew it was the toilet. you go into one of the two doors on the second floor, and then bat flies away from your ___ while you aim for the ground.
dranang temple
usually only lit by candles or the light from the entrance, the temples are dark cool places, perfectly for prayers and meditating. when i walked around it alone, there was a deep drum beating and the doors were shut. i came back with the ladies and we were ushered inside where monks' robes and pillows were still laying around the various meditation benches. it is small, local and has a wonderfully warm radiance.
bodhisattva
temples typically have a buddha in the center surrounded by bodhisattvas, which are amazing to look at. small bills, jiao, are placed everywhere as gifts/offerings.
dranang monastery
the guidebook says only about 8 monks currently reside here. a friend of ours is massively interested in a monk who heads this monastery and does dream meditation. apparently it is also one of the only monasteries to include women in its lineage tree and did so many years ago.
school's out
just before we left, a school let out and all the kids came traipsing down the street shyly smiling and waving "hello".
farming on main street
i suppose i shouldn't be suprised in a town with only one street to find a farm whose walls are on main street. the town or village is not so much a commercial center, but is more a collective of residential places that also serve as tea houses, stores, and farms.
whitewashing
always at work, locals are constantly building, destroying, or repairing some structure or another.
fairly wild west
all of tibet so far is fairly dusty, but these sorts of towns remind me of the american images of the wild west in the 1800s.
main street
after talking in the chakang, sarah and i had to go find timon, who was wandering around town. it wasn't too hard to find him, the only other whitey. he was playing pool with some locals, on the only street in town.
rickshaw blurring
our driver had rigged up a stereo system in the tractor ricshaw, so we could bounce along to the bumpy road and the music together.
where are we actually going?
yes, we did just hop off the bus on the side of the road, with no town in sight. then we had to figure out how to use the cell phone. we are development experts, i swear.
reclaiming the desert
when traveling around tibet you can't help but notice the massive desert reclamation projects underway, which basically translates as: tree planting. mostly one kind of tree, but i haven't figured out what it is yet. it grows well in sand with little surface water. i'm guessing they have deep roots since there are successful groves of trees all over, but mostly near the rivers.
14 June, 2005
nyangma-ing
ah, the nyangma. traditional tibetan dances performed to massive sound systems, and not infrequently dry ice smoke. while sitting at your table, budwiser and coors light girls in mini-skirts come up to get their commission on beer sales. after the traditional shows, it turns into a techno disco and people get very drunk and VERY friendly.
night pool
keely loses so badly that she has to teach the tibetan boy how to say in english "i'm killing you".
on top of the dorm
the sky may be the greatest treat about lhasa. the tibetan word for weather is "the sky's mood". to say it is sunny is to say that the sky is happy.
xizang daxue
tibet university - our little home. at lunch time we can be found picknicing on tibetan carpets under the trees. in the mornings at 7:45, the loudspeaker system of the entire campus plays jolly strange music. the other morning we heard jingle bells in chinese. most of the time the loudspeakers are echoing against each other and nothing can be heard rationally.
playing soldier
one of the nice things about a digital camera is that you can show people their picture after you take it. these boys' fathers came out and beamed at the pictures of their sons playing. now we only need a portable printer...
the big market
sarah was warned that her last fresh vegetable dinner would be in new york. this market happily proved that wrong. it was a welcome language lesson in the names of greens, roots, and mushrooms we'd never seen before. of course, very little of it grows near lhasa, and is imported from mainland china.
tea in the lukhang park
this is the site of the near abduction of timon by lusty tibetan ladies. i am so not kidding. after much giggling and teasing of timon, one woman beckoned him to follow her. when he laughed and declined, she said rather fiercely (in tibetan) "come WITH ME". luckily i pinched his butt in time to regain his attention...
sarah - what are you drinking?
beware the delicious tequila and green tea mixture. you should not try this at home, but only in a far away place where no one can document your actions...
lukhang temple
sarah and i in front of a small temple in the middle of the lake at the foot of the potala. inside, we meditated in the meditation hall of many dalai lamas.
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