The now well-into-weary riders left Tingri for Mambuk at about 10:15 after a stay in the Snow-Leopard Guest House. Our trip wound through a very remote area with only a few small villages and barley fields being harvested. Not much exception to report except the usual yells of “Hello” from the village children. We did see many old ruins of abandoned villages and some weathered down fortresses.
Gene, Paul, Tom and Larry joined up for most of the ride. It was a fairly easy ride, albeit slightly uphill most of the way and with a slight headwind now and then. Gene, Paul and Larry took turns leading our small pace-line (Tom is still recovering) and we made good progress. At one village, 4-5 kids lined up across the road with their jackets tied together and tried to impede us, all apparently in good nature of course but a bit disconcerting. We dodged around them successfully except one of them threw his jacket right at Gene’s chain ring. No harm done, but if it had hit either the front or rear wheel it would have been real trouble. We are not sure of their motivation.
We arrived at camp just a few miles uphill from Mambuk at about 3 PM at about 14,700 feet above sea level. Had a late lunch at camp with a really good pizza”baked” in a large pot by Sarug. We were soon joined by a pack of 7-8 dogs at the camp which the cook kept trying to run off by tossing stones at them. They would stay their distance for a few minutes but always reapproached.
A nice little creek ran through the campsite which was a welcome addition.
The camp was in a sheep meadow like many of the others and the odor was pervasive but not overwhelming.
We were told that there was an old monastery nearby but that it was not very interesting and that we could not go inside and I (Larry) decided to skip it.
Since there wasn’t much to do, I changed my mind about going to the monastery and, boy, am I glad I did. I joined Dan and Tom for the “1/4” mile walk. At about ½ mile, we caught up with Paul and Sue, had a small adventure crossing the creek, and continued the journey. At about ¾ of a mile we came to a stream crossing again where an older gentleman was washing clothes. He had come down from the monastery which was now in full view, about ¼ of a mile straight up hill. We continued on up with frequent stops to enjoy the view (code for “catch our breath”). As we approached, we noticed a wind-driven prayer wheel perched atop a rock precipice.
When we got to the entrance and courtyard, we were welcomed openly by one of the senior monks who was accompanied by a very elderly monk with bad eyes and a couple of younger men. The senior monk (not the abbott, who was absent at the time) then gave us a complete tour of all the sanctuaries and worship rooms. He toured us through the whole place with great energy and enthusiasm. At the entrance to the temple with a large Buddha statue (10 to 14 feet tall) there were tables full of 8 to 10 inch Buddha statuettes lined up in columns and rows.
In one prayer room, the monk offered us Tsampa (barley flower with bits of barley grain in it mixed with yak butter) which is a “holy” bread. Dan surreptitiously hid his and Paul ate a bit and accidently dropped the rest. The monk was right next to me, so I was obliged to eat it. It took a day or two to find out that there was no ill effects on my digestive track.
In two rooms, there were large prayers wheels which were about 10 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter. They had rope handles dangling down at short intervals which we grabbed and walked the prayer wheel around clockwise three times. Each time, a bell rang.
Dan and Larry made offerings to the large Buddha and after the tour of the inside, Larry donated Y100 ($16: which Paul later shared) to the monk.
Once outside, we circumnavigated the monastery, with the monk and us turning the prayer wheels that surrounded it while the monk repeatedly chanted a prayer which he encouraged us to repeat – ‘om mani padme hum’ meaning in english ‘Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus.’ We then went down to a small separate building that had a sandstone rock leaning against it with the shape of a footprint on it. There were many failed attempts by the monk to tell us what it was. He finally took a piece of shale off the side of the building, took his shoe off and stomped on it. That gave finally conveyed the “impression ” that it was a real footprint. (We found out later that it was a clay impression of the monk who founded this monastery 850 years ago.) The monk showed us how to bow to it and touch it with our foreheads which is an offering for a safe journey.
Upon leaving, we met Jim and Gene on their way up and let them know of our experience and gave them a heads up on what to expect. They got essentially the same tour plus were shown where they make the Buddha statuettes. They also managed to get a couple of photos of them and the senior monk plus one of the large prayer wheels which Gene will include.
After we went back to camp and let everyone know what we had experienced, Ang and Norbu went up in the jeep to check it out. Norbu gave us a more complete explanation of what we had seen. The monastery was built 850 years ago by the “footprint monk.” However, it was destroyed by the Chinese in the “Liberation of Tibet” in 1951. It is called the Nachung Monastery and was rebuilt in 1985. There are 18 monks living there now. The large Buddha we saw is the Lotus Buddha. The clay cast of the footprint is believed to protect the monastery from the mountain across the valley which they consider to be a ghost. It seems to be working because the monastery is in surprisingly shape given the small number of monks in residence.
Ang gave some antiseptic eye drops to the elderly monk who had gestured to us that he had eye problems and recommended the monk go to a clinic for cataract surgery.
It was a great walk up to the Monastery and all who went were thrilled with the experience.
The evening continued with our socialization waiting for dinner. There was a little doggie porn as part of the dog pack that caught our attention. Some of us tried to ignore it, others were mesmerized, some were critical (of the male dogs especially and those who were mesmerized by the activities).
Again, we had a great evening meal after which we retired for a cold, blustery night in our tents with a cacophony of dogs barking on-off through the night. All-in-all a great day!
Larry with Gene as “contributing editor”
