Amdist changing oceans a life awakens through wanderlust
2/18/04
Well Tenzin’s butter sculpture came out pretty well. It had flowers on it and too fish, one was skinny and the other one was fat. Kind of like that. Anyway I woke up at around 3 a.m. this morning, I have no idea why though. Although it could do with the fact that I took a 3 hour nap yesterday. Tenzin got up at 2:15 a.m. so both of us are just sitting here. We did some reading and then we played go fish, and something else because those are the only card games we know. Read More
2/17/04
I woke up when I heard the monks cleaning outside of our room. I threw off my blankets and sleeping bag because I was so hot. My neck hurt really bad because of the way I slept on it. Oh well. Tenzin’s mom called at about 6:30 a.m. and we woke up to a monk pounding on the door. After she got off the phone with her we went and looked outside. You can see the Himalayas, it is so beautiful and it is a nice fresh smell in the air. Read More
2/16/04
We arrived at the airport in Delhi at about 3 a.m. Tenzin and I were worried when we didn’t see her uncle, so she asked another Tibetan family about something and said we could wait with them. The father of the family found Tenzin’s uncle who had been waiting outside for us since 1 a.m. How horrible! But at least things worked out. We arrived at a monastery guesthouse where we got our things together and headed down to breakfast. Read More
My first encounter with traveling came back in 2004 when my friend Tenzin and I decided to do our senior project on Tibetan Life in Exile. It took a bit of convincing to get my parents to agree to send me to India, but it was the start of a life long love of travel. Read More
At the end of May a few friends and I flee from Connecticut to Denver, where we met up with two other friends flying in from Boston. It was a friend reunion of 5 years! I’m sure everyone else has seen each other during the 4 years I was gone, but I haven’t seen some of these individuals in about 5 years, so it was really exciting. Read More
In late April my youngest sister, Jackie, asked me if I would be interested in accompanying her on a road trip around the USA. I said sure, why not?! We had to push it back since I am going with friends to Colorado the week before to hang out and visit a good friend who lives out there that I haven’t seen in 5 years. Read More
About a few months before I decided that I was going to move back to the states after my last contract in South Korea, my mom and I talked about meeting up somewhere. I told her I refused to fly back to the states for my vacation, as it seemed like a waste to me. I countered with Bali, but the flight was too long for my parents, so we settled on Hawaii. It was smack dab in the middle of the ocean between us and my mom and I have never been! Also, if it weren’t for my lovely parents, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it either! We were together for about 9 days and we spent 5 days on Kauai, and 4 on Oahu. Read More
The Pooping Grounds. Shitter. Wash Closet. The Porcelain Throne. The Bathroom.
Whatever you want to call the place you do your business let’s talk about it!
Throughout my trip one thing that stood out was the hospitality shown to me and my friend. Hospitality is one of those things that makes or breaks a person’s impression of a country or its people. Luckily, for me most of my Tibetan friends’ families back home have always been extremely warm, inviting, and more than happy to have you sit down for a cup of cha.
Indeed it was a trip to remember. I should have titled it something more catchy as to where I went, but most people won’t have a clue or will be like isn’t that China? I’d like not to give power to a place that deserves rightful mention by the people the land actually belongs to. I went on a trip overland through the Tibetan province of Amdo and a little bit of its neighbor, Kham. It’s been my dream to travel to Tibet firsthand, especially Lhasa. But the price tag of Lhasa makes that a trip for another time. So I decided instead to visit Amdo and Kham as in some parts it still retains a distinctive Tibetan feel. Read More