Following
a western breakfast of eggs and toast at the Snowy Mountain Cafe, we began the
day by heading over to the Labrang Monastery to take the 10:30 tour for 40 Yuan
apiece. The Labrang Monastery is one of the 6 great monasteries for Tibetan
Buddhism, while also being the home to the largest number of monks outside the
Tibet Autonomous Region. So, I think it is safe to say that we were as close to
Tibet as we could get.
The English tour was given by
a resident monk, who found it quite funny that none of the 20 or so tour
participants could understand his jokes. We were able to see a number of the 18
various halls, the medical institute, and a museum containing many Buddhist
relics. This was all great, but as many of you know, neither of us are big on
tours. However, this tour allowed us to experience Buddhism up close. The
moment that this tour turned from a room to room, history education tour was
when we stepped into the main prayer hall where around 100 monks were all
sitting doing their daily morning chants. Words cannot describe the essence of
experiencing this firsthand. I, like many of you I am sure, have seen this in
movies or read about it in books, but until you see and hear and FEEL this
firsthand, you will never be able to fully grasp the serenity in this. This was
exactly what we had hoped to experience coming to this part of China. Sadly,
after about 10 minutes, we were ushered out of the hall, where we ended our
tour. The 2-hour tour was
exceptional, but the chance to see the monks all chanting was what made the
tour so special.
Following another meal at
Gesar, and a little nap, we decided to take advantage of the rest of the day
and venture west of the monastery into the other side of Xiahe, where tourists
hardly venture out to. We were hoping to find the “real” life of the people who
live there, away from the tourist areas, even though there is relatively no
touristy area in Xiahe. Our venture to this side proved to be worthwhile. We
were greeted by a number of school children passing us in the road who all
wanted to test out their best “Hello’s” and waves as we walked by. We even
acquired a following of 3 boys who tagged along as we walked through town
snapping photos. Finally, as the sun was setting, we asked our followers if the
wanted a picture, which they HAD to look at and laugh, and turned around to
make it back before dark. Making our way back, we had to dodge some traffic, as
the local yaks made their way down the street back to their homes.
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