Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Tiger Leaping Gorge was a wonderful stop and although we were there for only an afternoon and a late morning start, it provided a much needed break. We left the gorge on the same road we entered and then headed north to continue to Shangri La. The road was a little steeper than the previous days and we steadily gained elevation to a peak of 3336 m (10,950 ft). Ivor, Kuipwagen and Sterlin seemed to be handling the elevation with relative ease.
About 30 kms (20 miles) before Shangri-La the steep mountain terrain ended and was replaced with a high plateau. The change was quite sudden and obvious. The homes and building architecture also changed with a transition to a Tibetan style. We also saw a stupa with prayer flags, another strong indication that we had entered the “Tibetan Cultural Area”. Technically it is not within the borders of the Tibet Autonomous Region, but culturally it is closely related. There are still significant signs of Chinese influence including large roads and grand buildings.
Shortly after checking into our wonderful little hotel, we jumped back into the cars and headed to Ganden Sumtseling Gompa. This is the local Tibetan Buddhist Monastery which also serves as the town’s major tourist attraction. For the exorbitant fee of ¥115 (USD$20) per person, we took a 2 km bus ride up the hill to the monastary. But it was worth it. We wandered the grounds and enjoyed the clash between the old monastery grounds and the brand new buildings under construction. The monastery reminded us a little of the Potala Palace in Lhasa.
Later we went in search of dinner and the old town. We had great trouble finding the old town and got a little lost, but a quick phone call to Vaughan sorted us out. Unfortunately there was only rubble left from the fire that broke out in January 2014 and which destroyed most of the area. Some shops and restaurants survived and we found ourselves a Tibetan restaurant for dinner.
Shangri La is not really real, well at least this place is not the Shangri La mentioned in the novel by James Hilton. This town was renamed by the Chinese in 2001 from Zhongdian County to Shangri La County in an effort to promote tourism in the area. It seems to be working. It was hard to tell what impact the fire will have on the town and tourism.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Today we decided to take an unscheduled rest day. 3 out of the 6 convoy members were struck down with a tummy bug. Caroline unfortunately was one of them. Everyone was doing ok and just holding up in their respective beds.
The replacement parts for Sterlin arrived in Luang Prabang 2 days ago. And today they made their way to the Land Rover garage who shipped them onto Beijing. Once they have cleared customs there, our guide will arrange for them to be shipped to us. A bit of a convoluted path, but glad they were on the way.
