Multi-Cultural Personality Disorder

My final excursion in Tibet was a two day trip to Nam-Tso, a holy lake about 3 hours Northwest of Lhasa. I saved this trip for last because the elevation at the lake is about 1,000 meters higher than Lhasa, and I was already suffereing from minor headaches because of the altitude.

As seems to be the norm in Tibet, Nam-Tso was breathtaking. Clear blue waters surrounded by the Himalayas and monasteries. We spent the night in a tent and it was cold, cold, cold, but definitely worth it to experience the lake without the circus that begins when the tour buses arrive at 11am and ends when they leave at about 4pm. We met cool new people, took in breathtaking views, experienced unique cultural exhanges, and enjoyed some of the most memorable days of our lives. You know, the norm. At least when you’re in Tibet. [read on]

Tibetan women walking the circuit around the Jokang Temple in Lhasa

It was raining when we arrived in Lhasa at 8:00 pm on Tuesday evening. I didn’t have a ride arranged, but one of my friends did and he invited myself and two other girls from the train to join him so we could all find a hostel together. We had luck at the first place we went, the Yak Hotel, getting beds in the dormitory for about $4 a night. [read on]

View from the dining car There was a definite excitement in the air as we all waited to board the train to Tibet in the Beijing West Railway Station. ... [Continue reading this entry]

Late night shoe repair, Beijing I've been in Beijing for 8 days now and although I wasn't exactly excited about spending another week of my vacation here it was exactly ... [Continue reading this entry]

It took two trips to Beijing, but I finally made it to The Great Wall. Yesterday I hiked 10 kilometers on one of the less developed stretches of ... [Continue reading this entry]

It's over. I made it through a month of Kung Fu training in China without any broken bones or major injuries. Every part of my body was screaming ... [Continue reading this entry]

Entrance to the Shaolin Temple The Shaolin Temple is only 9 kilometers from my Kung Fu school. It is said that Kung Fu began in the Shaolin Temple and ... [Continue reading this entry]

It's been a long week. We loaded up two buses last Friday with all of our belongings and a ridiculous amount of swords and drove about an hour ... [Continue reading this entry]

Everything hurts. Everything. The first day I arrived at the Kung Fu training center, the two cheery German boys across the hall from me told me on ... [Continue reading this entry]

I'm now in Xi'an which, like Pingyao, is a city surrounded by an ancient wall. Xi'an was the capital of China thousands of years ago, but today it ... [Continue reading this entry]