Kailash 2010 Day 14 : Back at Nyalam, Thursday July 08, 2010

We started at 9 from Saga - Swamiji asked me to sit in the ambulance, so-called because of the two doctors who sit in that car. I sat shotgun for the first time in this trip - the best seat for taking pictures and falling asleep, while the doctors fussed over me. I greatly appreciated their TLC that I was dying for the night before. Both of them have done immense sewa, - service, on this trip by cheerfully taking care of all the people who fell sick and making the rounds in each room every day. 80% of the people have needed medical attention at one time or another during this trip.

Exquisitely beautiful Peiko Tso lake

The world was more beautiful today than it was yesterday. The Peiko lake was more tranquil and breathtakingly beautiful than I remembered seeing on the way into the Tibetan plateau. There were birds flying over the lake, and sheep grazing near by. There was a light breeze and a gentle sunshine. It felt like Nature had decided to scale up its beauty every day now since we crossed Paryang. Everyone in the car noticed the spectacular view, and the driver stopped without being asked to, so we could take pictures. The sheer bliss of that day had to be experienced, no photograph can capture it.

Nature unleashes a more beautiful version every day

I have seen everything now

It was a day of few pictures because I could barely keep my eyes open and slept after taking the antibiotics. The doctors constantly gave me Ricola, Vicks, etc on top of medication, and constantly asked if I needed to eat, and kept reminding me to drink water. I would be up and about by the end of the day. Tomorrow, we would be in Kathmandu. If there was a day I had to be sick on, this was a good one - life was perfect.

Our car is stuck

I woke up from my nap thinking that our car was swimming. I think we were in deep sand then, and then suddenly we appeared to float. We were stuck. The driver tried accelerating and reversing to no effect other than creating little sandstorms around the wheels. We asked him if we should get out of the car, he asked us to stay in and tried to muscle the car back or forth. Finally, he gave up and allowed us to get out of the car while he kept trying on his own.

The car behind us is trying to pull our car in reverse

In ten minutes or so while I photographed our stuck car and hapless driver, one of our other cars from the cavalcade show up. Our car was tied to it, and it reversed to pull our car out, we got into the car and off to Nyalam once more.

This is a reason why small groups cannot make this trek. We needed the support from the rest of the cars. The one driver who was technically the best was in the last car so that he would stop for everyone and anyone who needed help.

Lunch at a mud-house

Lunch was at a beautiful mudhouse, painted elaborately in primary colors. My lunch was again two spoons of rice and the dal water for flavor and the Frooti, but Seeta Devi will not let me live on that little. I told her I will have my Fruit & Nut bar. But she asked around for a second Frooti, one of the Sherpas offered his own. She would not hear my protests that I can't drink the Sherpa's share, she insisted that I needed the fluids. She reminds me of Priti-ben, Anish's cousin, who constantly battles against our unhealthy habits, and makes sure we stay healthy.

Usha-ji, Gopikrishna-ji and Yoga, Pushpendrabhai at the back

Lunch

Now I had two Frootis bulging out of my jacket pocket and a couple of locals who had gathered to watch us eat, pointed to my pocket and asked for the drink with hand gestures.

I looked at Sita Devi, she told him in English :) - she is sick, and told me - you drink them. Seema gave her Frooti to the man while I took Seeta Devi's advice, ignored the pleading eyes, and gulped my Frooti.

Dance of the sherpas

Swarn had planned with the Swamijis to have a musical interlude and have the Tibetan car drivers and the Nepali Sherpas sing and dance. But at the right moment, the music that we had tried out earlier did not play well in the car and somebody has to play it loud from the mobile. That did not faze Swarn as she tried to infect people with masti - fun, while the rest of us stood in a circle and clapped. The Sherpas and the drivers joined in.

As we drove on to Nyalam, I felt pretty well-rested, I could stay awake, and I could now fully appreciate the beauty of the countryside. 3 days in a row now, Tibet has evolved into a more beautiful version each day. When the heart is happy, the world glows around you.

Still on earth

Heaven on earth

Pure heaven

Back through the gateway through which we entered the Tibetan plateau nine days ago

As we approached Nyalam, I was struck by how large a town it is. It was a small remote town when I had come here twelve days ago. With the refined perspective from the Tibetan heartland, Nyalam appeared to be a metroplex. I still had quite a bit of medication inside me. Seema went off to walk by the river banks, I could not go with her, I would have slowed her down or even worse, come back after half the distance. Our room was right next to the multi-storeyed toilets, I cannot say things could be worse, I am not sure what could be worse. But someone had to sleep in that room, and Rajeev had decided that it was us. It appeared that some maintenance work had been done since we left this guesthouse ten days ago. The walls had been whitewashed, there was now crown moulding in the rooms, the linen had been washed, there were new blankets and comforters. The room actually looked quite decent if you forgot the restroom next door for a moment.

I dumped my backpacks on the bed, and spent my time loitering in the little compound and then tagged behind Swami Shivyogananda and Rajeev to drink tea, actual chai, at a little place across the street. I would have loved Texas-sized servings, but we were in Tibet. We were served tea in tiny cups meant for little girls' tea parties for which Rajeev ended up paying a fortune. I had barely had one cup when the car with the other Swamijis showed up, and it was time to go back to the guesthouse. The little bit of warm liquid did do wonders and I felt much better. My eyelids were burning a little and I thought I would drink the soup that should be coming soon, and sleep after the appreciation fest at 8.

Appreciation fest, Nyalam

The appreciation fest was an hour-long event to honor the taxi drivers and the Sherpas and the Chinese guides. Swarn had bought traditional white silk scarves and envelopes for our collective contribution for each person. Each person was called by name and honored. We had a live translator for the notes of acknowledgment from Swamiji, and the thank-you comments from the recipients. There were three photographers taking pictures - I am glad we made all this fuss and brought smiles on the faces of people who worked very hard to make this trip happen. Their contribution cannot be measured in $$$. They were there to help us fulfill our prarabhdha - destiny, and they did it with a smile. I was woozed out with medication, but I remember each person's name followed by enthusiastic applause and even more enthusiastic sharp whistles from Rajeev and Yogananda. Swamiji thanked all the volunteers as well, and the "drug-pusher" Sriniji without whose daily dispensing of medication, we would have had larger numbers of people sick at high altitudes.

Dinner was three hours away. After the tea and the soup, I had the strength to walk, and went to the local market with Seema, Swarn, Pratibha and Gaurav to buy anything at all for Anish and Ash from Tibet. Swarn has a 15-month old and there was plenty of cute stuff to be purchased for the baby. She is consumed now with the thought of her baby's first reaction when she sees her after such a long time. I bought a cap and a scarf for Ash, there is nothing for Anish - Nyalam is hardly the Galleria.

Swarn was in a great mood today, and so was her staff whom she asked to make chawal-ki-kheer, - rice pudding after the appreciation fest. The food tasted good, the labor of love from a happy team. I broke my rule of no-dessert since Kathmandu and tasted the kheer, my twin-separated-at-birth Seema's favorite as well but she was fasting, and instead munched on fruit that she had bought on her lone walk to the river.

Tomorrow, we leave for Kathmandu to the same hotel with the pre-sweetened yogurt. I would gladly trade in all my yuans for good old dahi-chawal, - steamed rice and plain yogurt, right now. Not sure if I have said this enough, I am hankering for plain yogurt.


Aum Namah Shivaaya!!

Kailash 2010 Day 5 : Nyalam to Saga, Tuesday Jun 29 2010

Every day, we started our trip with a pooja - a worship ritual for the first bus or car that was setting off.  The plan for today was to drive 250 kms to Saga at 4640 m (15,223 ft). The Tibetan name for Saga is Kyakyaru. It is in the Shigatse district of Tibet.

Pooja of the first car as it leaves Nyalam (Yoga's collection)

In the days of old, Milarepa was the Tantric Buddhist monk who challenged the leader of the Bon faith in Tibet to climb Kailash. The story goes that while the leader of the Bon faith elevated himself through the air, Milarepa meditated in a cave. When the Bon leader reached the peak of Kailash, he found Milarepa sitting there, and this victory with Tantric powers established Buddhism as the dominant faith in the region. Milarepa's cave was closed and there was nobody around to open the locks for us.

Near Milarepa's cave, on way from Nyalam to Saga

Gateway to the Tibet plateau, half an hour after Nyalam on way to Saga

Buddhist flags fluttering in the breeze, on way from Nyalam to Saga

These Buddhist flags are just past Milarepa's cave about half an hour outside Nyalam.

Crossing a river by car, on way from Nyalam to Saga

The drive from Nyalam to Saga was a revelation. This was my first long drive through a desert. And it was my first drive in a Toyota Land Cruiser which is like a mini-Hummer wading through streams, zigzagging through loose sand, and once it actually went over rocks and crossed the river at a shallow ford.

The ride itself was like the drive to Yamunotri past Hanumanchatti, up and down and up and down and up and down on each bump on the road, so OK, I exaggerate, nothing beats Yamunotri but Tibet comes close. And for those who have not gone to Yamunotri and have no idea what I am describing, it was like driving through Indore, at least the way the Indore roads were in the winter of 2009. I have had a fruit-and-nut bar for breakfast enough to take medication - I have to wonder how people who eat the full breakfast served by the Sherpas before these drives react to these road conditions.

I had kept my face masks in a side pocket of the back pack, and luckily remembered that in time and pulled one on as clouds of dust rose from the ground. The Tibetans wear face masks all the time. They are an essential on this trip, and I ended up re-using 3 masks for myself, and distributed the rest to people who had not brought any. In Dallas, Anish had checked the Wal-Mart masks and the Home Depot masks and medical masks, and finally I had made the choice for myself and Bhavna, based on price alone. Super-economical masks from Wal-Mart it was, that did the trick. From today on, we would be wearing the dust masks every day till we returned to Nyalam.

Lalung La pass

Beautiful Tibetan girl, Lalung La pass

We stopped at Lalung La Pass, 5050 m (16,570 feet) above sea level, our entry point into the Tibetan plateau. The public restroom was an indicator of things to come. A rectangular hole with a full view of human waste below passed for a toilet. Reminded me of the famous scene from "Slum Dog Millionaire" where the kid is locked into the toilet and jumps into the hole to get out and rush through the fields to get an autograph of a movie actor. I had no idea these holes in the ground were for real - it is a day of education. From now on, my right jacket pocket would always contain paper napkins, tissues, wet wipes and antiseptic hand-sanitizer. All my candies and fruit bars would be in the inner upper pocket. And, medications, pills and alcohol swabs etc would be in the left jacket pocket.

Before I forget, a recommendation: the antiseptic hand-sanitizer is a must on this trip. Regardless of what research says and what experts opine, I have always used it during travel. In Tibet, it was vital to keep one in my jacket pocket at all times. I did not catch any infection during the trip, and considering the general hygiene, there was plenty of opportunity to do so. While it may be my own immunity with quite a bit of luck, I think the anti-bacterial hand sanitizer had a lot to do with it.

We had learned in Kathmandu that Tibetan girls like bindis, and this is the first time I saw evidence of this. If any blog I had read had mentioned this, I would have brought the hundreds upon hundreds of bindi packets that I have bought over the years and not used yet, despite the busy Indian social scene in Dallas. The girls looked happy to receive even a single bindi. One of them pointed to Kalpakkam-ji's forehead to ask for the bindi she was wearing, and was delighted when Kalpakkam-ji took it off and put it on the girl's forehead.

Shishapangma peak, Tibet

We stopped again at a place from where we can see the spectacular Shishapangma peak on the left side of the road. This is the fourteenth highest peak in the world at 8013 meters (26,680 feet), the shortest of the 8K-ers, and is one of the easier peaks to climb in its altitude range. Its name means "Crest above the grassy Plains". For now, we were content to watch it from the grassy plains. The snow had melted in a way that the exposed black face of the mountain surrounded by snow on the slopes looked like Krishna playing the flute. The mind sees what it wants to see. I can actually see the little peacock feather on Krishna's turban.

Further ahead on the road, about 80 km from Nyalam, our Tibetan driver pointed out the beautiful Peiku Tso lake on the right side of the road, alpine waters at a height just above 15K feet. The colors of the lake are beautiful shades of turquoise. This is a very remote area in Tibet, with no commercial establishments close by.

Picturesque Peiko-tso lake, Tibet

This spot reminds me of the many spots all around the world where Anish, Ash and I have pulled out of the car to soak in the ambience, and the most memorable tea break we had with Mama and Mami on a picnic bench by a mirror lake at the north entrance of the Grand Teton national park in Wyoming. At this point, Saga is 4 hours away.

Tibetan village, on way from Nyalam to Saga

Nationals of three countries battle with the elements to get the truck back on the road

We had been driving through sands with some tufts of grass. The driver kept trying to find the path of least resistance as the car waded through sand. We were a cavalcade of 18 cars and two trucks - one for food supplies and one for the duffel bags. Our duffel bags truck was tipping over in loose sand at one point, and we waited for a good thirty minutes trying various things before it was pulled back up on the sand track by people of three nations working together :) - India, Nepal and Tibet, and the driver breathed a sigh of relief. Every time, we came to a difficult patch of driving, our car driver would start muttering prayers under his breath, and then lower gears and struggle on.

The Chinese government is committed to building a road it started in 2009, meanwhile we drive along the many diversions to this road under construction. The cars have no air-conditioning, and the windows need to be closed because of the sand flying in. We were wearing four layers of clothing that now need to be peeled off, knowing that we will need to re-wear them as evening comes. Regardless of challenges, the Swamijis seem to be in a good mood all the time, which is enviable.

I can never be grateful enough to Swamiji

Hotel Saga, Saga

At Hotel Saga in Saga, the person at the reception was fluent in Hindi, had a Bachelor's degree in accounting from Hyderabad, and had returned to Tibet to work. Swarn told us that after everyone had freshened up, there were a couple of "discotheques" in town that people could go to. Saga is a small town with a huge military complex just behind the hotel. We were told strictly not to take any pictures from the hotel windows. As I peeped out of my room, I was reminded of my trips to the military campuses over the years to meet cousins and uncles. Young men running around their daily routine in fatigues - hardly top-secret material, but no cameras it is.
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Kal Bhairav at Saga

It was in Saga that I first realized that many people were sick. This was just our second day in Tibet yet.

Two of the Swamijis are sick, a couple from Dallas is quite sick, 4-5 people had severe nausea throughout the day. People had headaches, have had nausea during the car ride - no surprise at this altitude after a breakfast of puris and pasta and a lunch of pulav and rajma - fried rice and beans, followed by a ride on bumpy roads. I can understand that the travel agency has to provide a full meal, I am not sure why anyone would want to eat it. Of course, people had health problems for reasons other than eating heavy meals, and maybe it is just that I cannot stand the heavy food. My personal recommendation is to play safe and stick to high carb foods and nutritive supplements only - cereal bars and electrolytes.


Usha-ji was one of my roomies today. Her car came very late, one of the last cars to show up but she did not miss the big bonanza. The promised hot water is yet to show in the bathrooms. So many people complained to the front desk that they shut off the phone connections in the room - that's smart thinking. At 8pm, there was a general commotion in the hotel - running water in the bathrooms and it was hot and only available for 3 hours!!! Many people rushed in, and within half an hour, we had horror stories - somebody is scalded, somebody's shower ran out of water in the middle of showering, etc etc which would make for a great comedy movie one day. For now, it is quite pathetic. People came up with their own creative processes on how to fill the steel drum that served as a bucket with cold water, and then pour in the hot water from the shower head till there is a bucketful of water at a comfortable temperature, and then take a bucket bath. Finally, a squeaky clean body to match my razor sharp intellect!!! :)

From the moment I had entered this "carpeted" room, my respiratory allergies had kicked in and I could not breathe. I did not want to take my allergy medication since it usually makes me drowsy, the last thing I needed at this altitude. My most important and useful discovery of the day - sniffing camphor actually gave comfort. This gem of traditional wisdom had come from Anish's cousin Ketki-ben in Houston, so I had bought packets for Bhavna and myself. As I breathed in the camphor, I found some relief. This new knowledge is going to be useful when I return to Dallas, the homeland of allergies, where I spend hours sitting in bed, trying to catch my breath.

The truck with our duffel bags had just arrived, and Swarn announced that we may not get them again till Chiu Gompa two days away, after our dip in Manas Sarovar. I set aside four sets of clothes for my backpack : one to wear tomorrow morning when we set off, the spare (all my excellent fall-back planning is why my bags always get bulky), the nylon sweatsuit for dipping, and the set of clothes to wear after the dip in the lake.

I think the Sherpas of Nepal need to be renamed Devganas - people of God. They have been created to help the world. If it were not for these extremely hardy, tenacious, ever-smiling, polite, soft-spoken people accompanying us on this trek, half the group would be half-dead already. They were our porters, cooks, and general helpers, and would be personal porters for some of us when we trek around Kailash. When we reached a place, while most people collapsed on the bed and moaned and groaned about the drive and the bathrooms and the water, the Sherpas would off-load duffel bags, deliver them to the rooms, get the kitchen started, serve tea and soup in the rooms, call us for dinner, pick up our duffel bags left outside our rooms by midnight and load them in the truck for the next day.

Swarn announced that dinner would be at midnight. (The Chinese time is 2hr-15 minutes ahead of Nepal which is 15 minutes ahead of Indian time - makes not much sense since we are traveling west from Kathmandu but the clocks have to be set to whatever time the Chinese say it is.) The Sherpas served delicious tomato soup, and told us to unpack and pack and have the duffel bags ready for loading in trucks after dinner.

Tomorrow, we will be a day away from the Manas Sarovar lake.

Aum Namah Shivaaya!!

Kailash 2010 Day 4 : Acclimatization at Nyalam, Jun 28 2010

The morning started with Vedic chanting - it always amazes me how so many people from Andhra have all these chants memorized. They all had books in the Telugu script which helped me not at all. All of us who read the Devnagari script don't appear to read much Sanskrit. Whereas bhajans - hymns, help me relax to the point of dozing off that I really do need to keep a check on, the vigorous chanting invigorates the mind and energizes me to a higher consciousness. And, it always feels like the chanting ended too soon.

Cattle on the mountain we will climb for the acclimatization trek, Nyalam

Starting from Nyalam, along with morning tea, we were given a 2-liter bottle of distilled water each for the day from the travel agency - NOT ENOUGH. In walking around White Rock on hot Dallas days, while Bhavna would barely sip from her first 1-liter bottle, I would have finished three bottles and sipped and splashed my face and hands at every water fountain along the way. Everyone has a different capacity and need for hydration, and people need to buy water from the Tibetan towns and keep it in their cars to supplement whatever the travel agency is providing.

Also, one of the essentials on this trip was a thermos that we filled daily with hot water from the Sherpas. Bhavna had brought a thermos for me, one thing less that I had to worry about. Drinking hot water is a healthy habit that keeps one going in Tibet. Again, more is better, but you make do with what you get. The cleanliness of the water is an issue. Though I was carrying tablets to clean the water during this trip, I did not use them. Some people who fell sick suspected their non-bottled warm water was the reason. I would recommend water-cleaning tablets as a requirement on this trip.

Also, highly recommended to start from Delhi, but definitely starting from Nyalam, frequent application of sunblock, vaseline, moisturizers, lip balm and chap sticks is a must.

The one topic that shall stay on every traveler's mind, and needs to be mentioned is the multi-storeyed restrooms at the Shesha Bangma guesthouse in Nyalam. Free from gender bias, everyone was to use the common restroom with the five stalls at the end of the passage. I was freaked out on seeing a man entering the restroom. The toilets were Indian-style, yet the doors had a fascinating 8-inch clearance from the floor as if these were commode stalls. Perhaps commodes are a part of the future plan, and the doors have already been installed. Why people will not maintain cleanliness is a bigger mystery than where mankind has come from and where we are headed. I set the alarm for 4 am so I would not have to go near the restroom when others were awake. Swarn warned us this was good as compared to what is to come, I could hardly wait.

Around 10 in the morning, Swarn took us for the acclimatization trek to the top of yonder hill behind the guesthouse. After the first 15 minutes, my heart palpitated and I had to stand, breathe slowly and walk really slowly for another 15 minutes. I was fine after that, other than having to catch my breath every 30 steps or so. I had climbed a hill at 12K feet. It was a feel-good exercise, and should not be taken as an indication of my ability to circumambulate Kailash. But if you cannot manage this, please do not plan to walk around Kailash.

View of the hill for the acclimatization trek from the guesthouse, Nyalam

I did not have my camera on this little trek, these photographs are from Rajeev's and Seema's collections.

Before the acclimatization trek (Rajeev's collection)

People behind Rajeev climb for the acclimatization trek (Rajeev's collection)

Rajeev with Swami Shivayogananda (Rajeev's collection)

Seema with Swami Shivayogananda (Seema's collection)

Back in the hotel, Swamiji had a good collection of pictures.

Checking out Swamiji's pictures

Param-ji after the acclimatization trek

Having seen the fascinating toilets, I was not enamored of the idea of a heavy meal. Also, I will never again complain about sweetened yogurt. There was no fresh yogurt to be had in Tibet. Going without yogurt for twelve days was an added challenge for me. For meals, I was now determined to eat a bowl or less of steamed rice and a couple of spoons of dal water for flavor. The group appeared to appreciate the heavy food, more power to them.

The evening satsang - discourse, was given by Swami Shivayogananda from Madurai. He had a hypnotic effect on the audience. His personality, his eyes, his voice, the way he weaved the discourse connecting abstract concepts and stories from the past - suddenly it did not matter that the group was large, that it was not homogenous, that not everyone was a Chinmaya Mission member, I think everyone present would agree that he successfully reached out to each and every person that day. He appeared to know so much that it was overwhelming to receive, and his message was very simple - that knowledge comes through contemplation, each person needs to realize the Truth for himself. If we were to quietly meditate and tune in to the Supreme Consciousness that is the Brahman, we will become aware, conscious and filled with the knowledge that is all around us.

One more night in the guest house at Nyalam, with my alarm smartly set up for 4am. Tomorrow, off to Saga where Swarn has said there will be hot water from 8 am -12 noon and 7-10 pm. Oh yes, forgot to mention earlier that there was no facility for showers in our Nyalam guesthouse except if you went down to the market to the public bathhouses. Travelers need to read such blogs and catalogs and be mentally prepared for psychological hardship, besides the physical challenges.


Aum Namah Shivaaya!!

Kailash 2010 Day 3: Kathmandu to Nyalam, Sunday Jun 27, 2010

The plan is to go by bus from Kathmandu to the border at Kodari, about 123 kms. We will have lunch on the way before Kodari. After the immigration formalities, we would enter Tibet, where cars would be waiting for us. These Toyota Landcruisers will take us around in Tibet. Today, we would drive about 30 km to Nyalam, 3750m (12,300 ft).

We started the day with the morning pooja. I remembered to give Amma the prasad - offerings, from Pashupatinath. Her helpers cut the coconut so that slices could be distributed to everyone in the buses.

Br Vinayak Chaitanya, Br Uddhav Chaitanya, Br Suved Chaitanya, Swami Shivayogananda, Br Jaganmitra, Br Anshuman Chaitanya - the magic of yellow and ochre

Our backpacks and duffel bags are the sea in red

Getting ready to leave Kathmandu

Srini and Usha Amble, the Diamox man and his woman

We started off from Kathmandu looking out at one of the most scenic countrysides in the world. Each view from the bus window is one in a sequence of picture post cards. A group of people in the bus started chanting - the energy of the vigorous chant was infectious.

Enjoying God's view of the world, driving from Kathmandu to Kodari

View of the valley, on way from Kathmandu to Kodari

Statue of the hermit Shiva, on top of a mountain, on way from Kathmandu to Kodari

An hour outside of Kathmandu is an amazing tall statue of Shiva, on a mountain top that has a commanding view of the valley as the buses make their way through the roads spiralling upwards towards the Chinese border.

Amma and others at  a chai ki dukan - tea stall, Nepal countryside

Step farms for paddy in the Nepal countryside

Yoga pointed out a hydro power station on the Bhotekosi river - should it be so close to the Chinese border?

And finally, the 180 m tall bungy jump site I have researched so much, about 12 km away from the Tibet border. When I jumped in Taupo in New Zealand, it was over the Waikato river - very peaceful and scenic site, and I had looked around one last time before I jumped in case my head hit the water or I went blind - rare but possible. Nothing of the sort happened, it was a fantastic sensory experience of free fall and then bouncing up and down over the river, my ankle tied to the elastic rope. But six years ago, at Lakshman Jhoola in Hrishikesh, I could not walk even 50 steps on the suspension bridge as it shook over the raging river Ganga. I have wanted to jump off one of these suspension bridges towards a raging river since then. I hope we can stop here on the way back for a jump from Nepal's longest steel rope suspension bridge over the raging Bhote Kosi river. I wanted to put all my fears of heights, deep water and shaking structures into this one jump in Nepal, hopefully on the way back from Tibet.

Bungy jump site over the Bhotekosi

Our truck is about to get stuck

After a 3-hour drive, a couple of short breaks, and a lunch break preceded by an exciting stuck-in-the-mud situation where the Sherpas, other bus drivers and the locals all helped push and pull to get us unstuck, we reached the Kodari border.

Six months ago, after offering the beverage of choice at the highest seat of tantra, the temple of Kal Bhairav, the fierce form of Shiva used for annihilation, I was delighted to know that the dog is associated with him. Taking care of dogs is a form of worship of Kal Bhairav. Not that I need one more visual icon to remind me of Shiva.

A man and his best friend

Once we reached the border town of Kodari, there was a 1 km uphill road to the Friendship Bridge that we needed to cross on foot into Tibet. Mallik is my perfect bade bhaiya - big brother, walking every step with me along the way and within 20 steps convincing me to hire a baby porter for my camera equipment. The 15-yr-old porter put me to shame, walking eagerly with me carrying my camera equipment, and talking enthusiastically about how he could also cross the border and help me till my car in Tibet. Once at the Friendship Bridge, there was an imposing Chinese building from which people watched over us. Nobody from Nepal appeared to be watching, which is why the Chinese side was so intimidating. A lot of chaos about who stands in what line, sorted again thanks to the Chinmaya discipline with the appointed volunteers and personal instructions from Swamiji, and finally I was in line for my entry into Tibet. I paid 50 INR to my ecstatic baby porter who appeared to be bragging to other baby porters. After the passport check in the middle of the bridge by the Chinese authorities, I carried my bags into Tibet and stood in the slow-moving lines at the immigration counters. It was now an hour since I had got off the bus.

Another hour later, finally somebody in Immigration was looking at my passport and he called his supervisor. They talked quite a bit in Chinese and started laughing, and looked at me and laughed again. I was hoping they were not laughing at some missing stamp on my passport - ha ha, she needs to go back to Nepal to get that. Then the supervisor asked me in English where I lived, - Dallas, I said. And where was I coming from? - India and then Nepal, I said. With his fingers, he pulled his eyes into further slits, and said - we think you are Tibetan. They were both hysterical now. I get the joke - I appear to be a Tibetan who lives in Dallas and is coming to China through Nepal on an Indian passport. I was fervently hoping this was not a prelude to an interrogation. It was not, they probably realized by then that they had made me quite nervous, they were very warm and cordial and made some small talk to put me at ease, and wished me a good trip. To them it did not matter that I called myself Indian, I looked like one of their own. Swamiji told me later that he has not seen the Chinese officers get so friendly with anyone. It is strange how affectionate people get with perceived apnewaale - own people.

Yoga near the cars in Tibet

We waited another hour and a half till all passports were processed. And then off to the cars waiting for us. Swarn from Shrestha had warned us very helpfully that the cars may not be parked close by and we need to be prepared to walk another kilometer. Luckily for us, they were parked close by, and again, Jay Ho to the Chinmaya discipline - in no time, we had four passengers alloted to each car, and we were given car numbers to search for.

The car drivers were Tibetan, ours could not speak English or Hindi - we would have to communicate with sign language, this was going to be an interesting trip. The driver knew the Sanatana Dharma chants though - and started with a vigorous Aum Namah Shivaaya - obeisance to Shiva, Kailashpati ki Jay - glory to the lord of Kailash, etc etc. Then he started his own prayers, and for 15-20 minutes chanted under his breath.

After a hair-raising drive for maybe half an hour through dust paths and cement blocks on a road that is still being built, we stopped at ZhangMu, we did not know why. It was stuffy inside the car, and as we sat on the ground under the awning of a store, the local residents looked at us curiously from balconies. Some of them came up much closer to check us out - reminded me of my Pooh bear co-traveler in the flight from Chicago. I am now getting used to being stared at.

Curious onlooker at Zhang-mu

Curious passer-by at Zhang-mu

An hour later, our driver appeared and we set off for Nyalam, an hour away. Later, we found out from Swarn that there is a check post in ZhangMu, and the drivers had to collectively get a permit. The vast landscape, the winding roads, the waterfalls, the step farms, the sheer drop on one side and the risk of landslides reminded me somewhat of the road to Badrinath, which is decidedly much riskier. At a couple of places, the road had a roof on which fell a mountain stream, and at another place, the mountain stream passed under the road - either way, the car is not splashed and the road is not wet - some engineer with an aesthetic sense is building these structures.

Mountain stream, on way to Nyalam

And finally, Shesha Bangma hotel in Nyalam

In Nyalam, at the Shesha Bangma hotel that is really a guesthouse with basic facilities, we were four or five or six or even seven to a room with little space between the beds to keep our duffel bags. Again planned order brought in by Chinmaya volunteers. It took one quick announcement from Rajeev to scuttle people into rooms. This was the first time I got to meet people from India - Seema from Delhi and Niveditha from near Bangalore. I would be sharing my bed with my two backpacks and my heavy jacket.

I share my bed with my stuff

The Swamijis announced that they would be serving dinner. There is nothing more awkward than being served by men on the path of renunciation whom we should be serving hand and foot. This lasted all of two meals with protests from many people in the group. After that, we had volunteers to serve the food when the Sherpas brought it in. The food ran out for the first couple of meals - either the Sherpas did not cook enough, or we served too much, or we ate too much, or we got served too much and wasted it. Additional meals had to be cooked for the volunteers for two meals in a row, after which the calculations appear to get corrected. There was an assigned volunteer for each Swamiji to make sure they were served before we were.

Being served food by Swamijis, awkward

Again this evening, more bhajans - hymns, rather than my preferred satsang - discourse, but it was a group and whatever worked for the larger number was what I needed to go with. 

Tomorrow, an acclimatization trek, I hope I can make it.


Aum Namah Shivaaya!!