(We’ve been without internet for a few days, pics will come later)

20/7/2012

We’re back on the backpacker’s life again. Right now I’m sitting in the possibly worst hostel I’ve ever stayed at. When we asked for the dorm beds we reserved, they started out by saying they didn’t do dorms. Well… They have no common room, kind of expensive, 20RMB for wifi (which doesn’t work) which is usually for free, 20RMB for bikes they didn’t want to find for us and was broken which they wanted us to pay for to fix. When that’s said, Xiàhé and the surrounding areas are amazing.

After finishing at the project, we have one week to travel in. We really wanted to go to Tibet (cliché alert), but apparently you have to be at least 5 people from your own nationality going and leaving at the same time. Impossible with such a short notice, so now we’re in one out of two autonomous Tibetan counties in China, Xiàhé, in Gansu province. The village is roughly split up in three, a Han part (the vast majority of Chinese), Hui part (muslim minority) and a Tibetan part. The Tibetan part is dominated by a large monastery, Labrang, with beautiful white and golden stupas and flat roofed brown houses for the monks. Surrounding it all are mountains with eagles soaring surprisingly close to people. I’ve never been that close to a wild predator! And the whole area is so up high that not even clouds, long sleeves, hats and sunscreen can keep us whiteys from turning lobster.

Lobster or not, we had to explore this place. After walking up the hills enjoying the view, we met a Tibetan guy (who studied Tibetan at the University where the guy I was sitting next to in the bus was a teacher at) who followed us through the inner Kora around the monastery, clockwise of course, spinning all the prayer wheels which require a surprising amount of effort. Again, Asian old people are so much more hardcore than back home, observing all these old ladies long-falling (or whatever this lying down, getting up, lying down thing is called) the whole 3 km again and again. The outer Kora which was at the top of the hills around the village passing prayer flags and more eagles.

In spite of the not so socially equipped hostel, we’ve manage to hang out mostly with a Vietnamese/French woman and a Chinese guy (in our bus and dorm), an Israelian girl and Spanish guy (who met each other travelling) and a couple of Czech and Dutch guys who’s been hitchhiking around and sleeping under the stars (and randomly met as well).

Yesterday the four of us tried to bike to the closest grasslands, Sangke, but had to go back and have lunch with some monks. Freshly made Tsampa (small balls of yakbutter, yakcheese and barleyflour), Tibetan Baosi (steamed, stuffed buns) and Tibetan bread (which is sooo good). We tried to go for the grasslands after, but my tire went flat and had to drag it home while the others went – in spite of a very friendly attempt to fix it by the local people!

Today we went to the even further grasslands Ganjia. I’m not sure that our tour was as authentic as the tour the other guys at the hostel were talking about, but it was something! First of all, the landscape of the area is incredibly beautiful with grass coated hills with prayer flags on top and scattered nomad tents. To have such a big home is unbelievable. We then went to a 2000 year old village, then down into a holy cave (I and the Chinese guy chickened out on the halfway. I’m talking seriously narrow, steep and slippery here, which our guiding monk had no problems with), to another old monastery where women apparently were prohibited and then to a place for skyburials*. I’m not sure if the pieces of skull, hair, flesh and bone were really human, but included with the driver almost vomiting, it made up a better scene than any museum could have shown. Tomorrow we will hopefully go to Langmusi, another Tibetan village.

The Tibetan people are really beautiful: Their faces, their clothing – especially the scarlet monk outfit – and their monasteries. I must admit that I prefer the language to the Han Chinese as well, while it sounds more… Indian/Middle Eastern. Their style is really awesome and would make any hipster go jealous. The men wear big, round sunglasses, leatherjackets, earrings and Stetson hats while the women have colourful shirts, skirts, two long braids joined at the end and Stetsons as well. They remind me a bit of the native South Americans’ aesthetics, but in general it’s funny how many similarities there are to find between the native South America and more ancient/old school China.

(*In the mountains it’s often impossible to bury the dead, so they cut up the body and feed it to the birds)