Day 8
The image above shows a blue tent which served as a temporary port-a-potty along our route. Our crew would drive ahead, dig a hole on the side of the road, and pitch the privacy tent. I began taking photgraphs of nearly every place the tent was installed, showing the magnificent Tibetan landscape. [See more under "Port-a-Potty Landscapes]
Today we headed back to Shigatse, a six hour ride. Along the way we stopped in a small village where cows and yaks were being herded. We all took off in different directions to explore the area, up and down winding roads, along thinly frozen ponds.
Today we headed back to Shigatse, a six hour ride. Along the way we stopped in a small village where cows and yaks were being herded. We all took off in different directions to explore the area, up and down winding roads, along thinly frozen ponds.
I met a group of young children, maybe 3, 4 or 5 years old. I spoke Mandarin to them, but they never responded. I took some pictures of them and showed them the image on the camera screen, and said bye bye. They followed me, so I set up another photo, and another and another. I'd take a photo, show it to them, and then they'd follow me some more! They never really smiled; their faces dirty with breakfast crumbs, but they were pretty cute!
We drove past this entrance on our way back to Shigatse, and I asked our driver to pull over so I could take a photo. The scorpions were painted on a number of entrances and is evocative of the Buddha-dharma's power to transmute bad, even deadly circumstances into beneficial ones. The other interesting part about stopping to photograph this image, relates to altitude sickness. We were all taking medication so we wouldn't have any issues and I think it was pretty effective. However, when I stopped to take this photo I had to run from where our van stopped, about 200' from these doors. By the time I got to the doors I was panting heavily and had to take slow deep breaths before I could even take this photo. I ran back to the van, much slower, but since I knew we would be behind schedule and hold things up, I felt I had to go quickly! Back in the van I started coughing and gasping for air (in a subdued manner, of course, because I didn't want to seem out of shape). Within 30 minutes I was back to my old self.