After crossing the boarder we met our Tibetan Liaison officer. Pemba was very quiet at first but as the journey unfolded he unfolded. We also met our drivers. We would be driven by Land Cruisers across Tibet traveling from East to West, until we reached the foothills of Mt Kailash and the beginning of our pilgrimage by foot. I had done this drive in 1998 and was excited to feel the vastness of Tibet. This vastness permeates every cell. It is hard to describe the feeling of freedom while crossing the 14200 foot Tibetan plateau. I can only imagine that when we leave this world we pass into a place or feeling similar to the feeling and place that Tibet exudes. It is a preview of the after life. As we loaded up our truck that would carry our gear I was excited to float through this vastness. I say float because space is so infinite that the physical is reduced. I feel like a half grain of sand on a windy day at the beach, the winds and the undulating terrain pushing me at their whim, a floating light soul.
Though the landscape spreads into an infinite painting and the days of driving long, you want to keep your eyes open and fight sleep. The colors, mountains, streams, high passes, huge puffy clouds, deep blue sky, and the characters on the road are wild and free. Every driving day was at least 5 hours and sometime 9 but I and the others rarely shut our eyes for chance we would miss something in this special land. I rarely blinked. Most of the hours were passed in pure silence. Three land cruisers, 4 people each car, rarely a word exchanged in the truck I traveled in. The driver of my truck was a larger man light on his feet. At one point he loaded a music CD and haunting Tibetan music came through the speakers. He began to sing and his voice melted our hearts, I could feel the land and his experience in his voice. His name was Pinejew (spelled phonetically) and he grew on all.
The characters on the road I will write about in the next blog. Imagine mad max meets Tibetan nomad. Also photos coming soon. Love to all.
Though the landscape spreads into an infinite painting and the days of driving long, you want to keep your eyes open and fight sleep. The colors, mountains, streams, high passes, huge puffy clouds, deep blue sky, and the characters on the road are wild and free. Every driving day was at least 5 hours and sometime 9 but I and the others rarely shut our eyes for chance we would miss something in this special land. I rarely blinked. Most of the hours were passed in pure silence. Three land cruisers, 4 people each car, rarely a word exchanged in the truck I traveled in. The driver of my truck was a larger man light on his feet. At one point he loaded a music CD and haunting Tibetan music came through the speakers. He began to sing and his voice melted our hearts, I could feel the land and his experience in his voice. His name was Pinejew (spelled phonetically) and he grew on all.
The characters on the road I will write about in the next blog. Imagine mad max meets Tibetan nomad. Also photos coming soon. Love to all.
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