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27.09.09We all have a bit of a lie in, which is sweet and then at around 9am we head off to the downtown monastery (Gompa). It's situated down a small lane and is being circled by a
procession of Tibetan people who spin the prayer wheels on the outside as they walk around the building. It's quite a sight and apart from the Gompa in Tagong, this is the first glimpse I have seen of real Tibetan Buddhism. Inside are people doing full body bows, first on their knees, then hands, and lastly with their whole body flat on the ground face down. We get what I can only describe as blessed by one of the monks, who asks us to drink some water, then rub it into our heads and he says a few words during the process.After our downtown experience we have a walk out to Ganzi Gompa which is situated on a
hill overlooking the town and with snow capped mountains in the distance. When there Denis decides to get his head shaved by one of the monks and I am tempted, but the cold of the evenings and the rest of my high altitude adventure quickly puts me off, but what better place to get your head shaved... by 
a Tibetian monk in a monastery at near 3500m. When at Ganzi Gompa, we are also invited for tea with one of the monks. We sit in his room in the Gompa and watch videos of the Dalai Lama receiving awards in different countries and the many speeches written about him. The monk talks about the riots in the previous year and how he was imprisoned and beaten, how people were killed in Ganzi and the excessive levels of force that the military and police used to calm the unrest. It all gets very emotional, the monk starts crying as he talks about the events that happened and how he hopes for a free Tibet, overall he has been imprisoned 3 times and is now 28. The monks all seem to have a false hope that the west will help them out and ap
ply pressure to China to give Tibet it's freedom. They see the Dalai Lama received by all the European countries and America and think that we will help them, although in reality, it's all good to put on a good face but when it comes to actual action, it's not going to happen.Today was my first insight into the conflict between Tibet and China and how it has affected people. On the surface there are lorrys roaming around town lined up with soldiers holding assault rifles and fully laden in combat riot gear and Tibetan monks hiding 'illegal' videos of the Dalai Lama and forbidden books, but then beneath the surface the situation between the two people is a lot more complicated.
26.09.09It's the Israeli expedition to Litang at a bright and breezy 8am, they board their minibus and prepare to take the 4014m high town by force. It's been good fun talking with them and travelling around with a big group of people, but my loneliness doesn't last for long. I go and get ready to wait for my bus to Ganzi, which is supposed to pass through at around 2pm on it's way up from Kanding. While waiting I run into a French couple, who I met briefly a few days before, they are also going to Ganzi and so we band together for the journey. Due to the bad weather it turns out the bus might not arrive or it might not be able to get all the way to Ganzi on the dodgy roads, we decide to cut our losses and take a mini bus to Ganzi which ends up costing a little more, but we are assured of making it to our destination.We end up changing vehicle 3 different times, and feeling like we are in a game of pass t
he parcel as we are shifted from driver to driver, each one with a worse Rally Driver mistaken identity. By the time we are in our third and final car, it's night time and pitch black, yet the driver still thinks he is Colin McRae and takes the corners like he is driving in the World Championships. What makes it even better is that we actually take off about every 30 seconds and catch so much air that Tony Hawk would be proud. When we arrive at Ganzi at a sleepy 10pm I can honestly say that it was the most ridiculously dangerous driving I have ever experienced.
25.09.09WHAM! That's the sound of a headache, backache, cold feet, cold everything, neckache, wobbly legs, congested head and feeling like I have a cold. The high altitude bus came along while I was sleeping, ran me over and didn't even phone 999. As soon as I wake up I take some pills, pack some in my bag, rehydrate like I have spent time in the desert and take it easy for the first part of the morning. I try and drink lots of green tea in the hope that's it herbal qualities will aid my aclimitasation and eventually I start to feel better, although I think it's just the pain killers.Today we ta
ke a walk to Jomo Gompa, which is supposed to be about 2 hours away on foot. We get so far along the road and then take a detour onto a path following a stream past herds of yaks. We all know this is not the main way to the Gompa, but hopefully it will end up being the scenic route.
The lesson of today is that my body is not fond of high places and when it comes to altitude I think it bails quite early.
24.09.09In our group of 6 Israelis and one Brit I have been designated interpreter and head communication man as I am the only one who can speak any Chinese. I'm quite surprised at 
how much I can communicate and in all our morning dealings I haven't hit a sizable wall yet, I had to have a peek at the phrase book a few times, but the foundations of the language are sitting nice and steady in the depths of my mind somewhere. The main task apart from the breakfasts, paying and talk
ing about the computer is to arrange a minibus for the 7 of us to head to Kanding. After some negotiations we head out at 11.30 and what I'm told should be a 2 hour journey takes nearly 5. I think the main reason is that now we are past Kanding the roads become the real Sichuan-Tibet Highway and it some places this consists of just a dirt track, the driver is going reasonably fast, but not too bad although we manage to acquire a burst tyre half way through. Once it's changed 
we are back on the road and when hit a pass of around 4000m the views of the land below are phenomenal and its at about this point that I notice I am out of breadth if I take a short walk and also I am starting to feel a little strange.When we arrive in Tagong at 3400m up, it is a real one street town and reminds of spaghetti western movies where the horses have been replaced by motorbikes. This town has a real Tibetan flavour and every building is in a Tibetan style and the people don't look Chinese, there are also Monks everywhere and the main Monastery, Tagong Gompa, is huge. Me and the two Israeli guys decide to climb one of the nearby hills to get a view of the town below and the surrounding plains, it only takes about 10mins, but as I get to the top on comes a headache and I'm panting like I've run a marathon. When we get back to our guesthouse I can feel my headache starting to take route and I also feel weak and a little funny, only one thing for it, Ibuprofen. After dinner we head off to our rooms, me and my two hill climbing buddies, choosing the cheapest dorm room which we have to our selves, but the door doesn't close properly and the windows have holes in them, so it is absolutely freezing cold at night and it takes me hours to fall asleep.
23.09.09Getting used to the early wake ups and I'm up and out of bed at about 6.30am ready to make my way to the bus station to jump on my bus bound for the town of Kanding and the start of my high altitude journeys. As I'm milling around the hostel I end up talking to an Israeli guy and girl called Itay and Moran, who are also going to Kanding that day and we all end up on the same 9am bus heading west. Pulling into Kanding which sits at a comfortable altitude of 2616m, it is noticeably colder up here than down in Chengdu, I'm still braving it in a T-shirt as it's not freezing... yet.We visit a few of the monasteries in Kanding and I want to try and climb one of the nearby mo
untains, but as it's getting dark soon and a British tourist was murdered on it a few years ago he thinks it's not a good idea. I guess he has a point, although if I was by myself I know I would have recklessly climbed right to the top. In a massive coincidence, there are two people staying in the same place in Kanding who are Israeli... they were also in my room in Chengdu, small world. About 30mins later, we meet two more people in the hostel and low and behold they are also Israeli, it gets even smaller. For dinner we hit a Tibetan style restaurant and sip Yak butter tea, eat a plate 
of Yak meat and lovely potato dumplings. As we are getting into Tibetan areas and approaching the Tibetan border, the architecture changes and there are a lot of Tibetan style monasteries. The people also change, starting to look different and wear more colourful clothes and seem a lot more eccentric.The best bit 
about today is seeing so many monks all walking around dressed in their robes and the prize has to go to the two who were playing pool on the road side.
22.09.09I'm not going to lie, not so fresh this morning. Eventually getting out of bed at around 10.30
, I put on some washing and make my self my porridge breakfast before heading over to the local WANGBA! (Chinese for Internet Cafe), where I spend a good few hours answering emails, getting music, writing for this page and general non intensive activities. After my bash at the internet, it's a walk around Chengdu for one last time to have a look down it's old back streets as I am heading off to the wild west of China next and taking the Sichuan-Tibet highway as close as I can to the Tibet border without angering the local police force. To actually get into Tibet it seems you either need to pay ove
r a thousand pounds for less than a weeks tour or sleep with the Chairman of China to get a permit for the area, both of which aren't really possibilities for me. Come the evening it's time to grab a bite to eat at the local kebab stall just outside the hostel and I go wild on grilled meat, tofu, dumplings and vegetables.Today was a rest day.
procession of Tibetan people who spin the prayer wheels on the outside as they walk around the building. It's quite a sight and apart from the Gompa in Tagong, this is the first glimpse I have seen of real Tibetan Buddhism. Inside are people doing full body bows, first on their knees, then hands, and lastly with their whole body flat on the ground face down. We get what I can only describe as blessed by one of the monks, who asks us to drink some water, then rub it into our heads and he says a few words during the process.
hill overlooking the town and with snow capped mountains in the distance. When there Denis decides to get his head shaved by one of the monks and I am tempted, but the cold of the evenings and the rest of my high altitude adventure quickly puts me off, but what better place to get your head shaved... by 
a Tibetian monk in a monastery at near 3500m. When at Ganzi Gompa, we are also invited for tea with one of the monks. We sit in his room in the Gompa and watch videos of the Dalai Lama receiving awards in different countries and the many speeches written about him. The monk talks about the riots in the previous year and how he was imprisoned and beaten, how people were killed in Ganzi and the excessive levels of force that the military and police used to calm the unrest. It all gets very emotional, the monk starts crying as he talks about the events that happened and how he hopes for a free Tibet, overall he has been imprisoned 3 times and is now 28. The monks all seem to have a false hope that the west will help them out and ap
ply pressure to China to give Tibet it's freedom. They see the Dalai Lama received by all the European countries and America and think that we will help them, although in reality, it's all good to put on a good face but when it comes to actual action, it's not going to happen.
