I checked my email this morning and found an email from yesterday telling us (BHSFIC faculty) that a picture of all the grade 12 students would be taken this afternoon, and the faculty was invited. I texted Josie at school, and she said several of the faculty were attending. This sorta shifts my afternoon plans (no TT practice).

I spent some of the morning working on our moving plans. Two companies submitted quotes. I had to get some adjustments so I would be looking at quotes for equivalent volume. I made it to the swimming pool. I’m still struggling with fatigue I wasn’t experiencing before Lhasa. I’m blaming it on the altitude in Tibet, not all the “yak” I ate while I was there.

After lunch I began making plans on how I was going to get to the BHSF main campus for the pictures, opting for the subway. I arrived fifteen minutes early, meeting several of the faculty at the gate. The picture was scheduled for 4:15. The students milled around for while, but eventually got into their groups and began loading the risers. This group was all the grade 12 students from the main campus and the international campus, combined as well as faculty. Probably around 550 (guessing) faculty and students were involved.

Some of our students waiting for the picture time.

Main campus students, also waiting for pictures

After the main shot, we cleared off and smaller groups began to take pictures. Eventually they took a picture of the International Campus grade 12’s (around 65) and faculty.   It was after 5:00, so I joined several of the faculty for dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant. It was nice meal and a fun group to sit and chat with.

Lots of excited 12th graders

I took the train home afterwards, arriving around 7:45. Judy and I spent time talking about movers, summer travel plans, and our trip back to DFW for Courtney’s graduation! Lots of details to iron out!

After all the fun last week, this week could be a drag. I start kinda slow, and Judy didn’t wake me up until almost 6:30 am. I had to rush to get the omelets fixed and her soup for lunch into the thermos before she left. I’m really tired. I guess the altitude in Lhasa (12,000 ft.) wore me down more than I thought. In the pool later, I really struggled. I only missed a week of swimming and my breathing is noticeably strained. I guess it’ll come back. I plan to try and swim everyday this week. We’ll see!

I managed to get a haircut appointment for this afternoon when our ayi arrives. She walks in and I walk out, heading to the bike. I get everything unlocked and loaded ready to ride out, and …………….I’ve got a flat tire?. I locked everything up and headed out to get a taxi. Fortunately, a taxi was waiting, and the traffic wasn’t a problem so I arrived a little early. I’m carrying all my table tennis stuff, planning maybe to go straight to the TT park. I opted to taxi back to the apartment and get the bike fixed. The bike shop where some minor fixes have been done is about a mile away, a long push with a flat tire, so I decided to try the local corner bike repairman. I’ve used his tire pump before, but that’s it.

When I walked up, he took a look at me, grabbed the bike, laid it down and went to work. He took off the tube, found the leak, then showed me the cut on the tire as well, letting me know they needed to be trashed. I agreed and 10 minutes later I was riding to the TT park. Total repair cost, new tire, tube, and labor, was around $13.50.

I rode to the TT park to get in some practice before my lesson. I started off with the little old woman that wore me out a few weeks ago with all the backspin. She did the same thing this time, lots of backspin shots pulling me in close, then suddenly, a smash the other direction, followed by a grin and a giggle. Oh well, she makes my backspin better.

My lesson goes well, I’ve definitely improved. My teacher is beginning to push a little harder, and speed up the ball. It’s a hard hour of concentration and work. Back home later, after the bike ride, I was feeling the “day” of activity.

The morning started off with some added interest – no electricity. At some point during the night, all the 5^th floor electricity shut down. Had to use the light on my iPad to see well enough to shower. We’re supposed to be picked up around 11:00 am, but we want to walk back to the Jokhang Temple and look around some more. We manage to start that direction around 9:00 am.

The weather has been great during our visit. It’s below freezing at night, and during the day, the sun has been shining and the temps are in the upper 50’s. The effect of the altitude (12,000 ft. in Lhasa) hasn’t been too much trouble. I’ve definitely had fatigue, and felt a mild headache last night, but not nearly the troubles many people have. Disposable oxygen bottles are available for around $3 usd., if it becomes necessary. Steve is feeling much better today and is up to the walk. He had several things he wanted to buy and the shopping around Jokhang Temple is a great place to find it.

The scene at Jokhang Temple is very active. There are many pilgrims walking around the building. We also saw several cases of the “prostration prayers. The most extreme cases were some girls (see video) prostrating themselves during the prayer, then taking 3 steps forward and going through the process again. Their plan is to do this all the way around the Temple. We later saw a guy praying (facing the temple), then moving 3 steps to his left, and going through the prayer process again. This is all done with people walking around them, and in some cases, stepping over them.

3 Jokhang Temple Video Links:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/79i52uf4fjjcmji/15.5.3.Jokhang1.m4v?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zy54rzrw9eyrwdo/15.5.3.Jokhang2.m4v?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wdmiabtehlf1qen/15.5.3Jokhang3.m4v?dl=0

One of the shops around Jokhang Temple.

Pilgrims queuing up to walk through the temple. The thermos bottles contain “yak butter” that would be poured into large containers with burning wicks in many of the rooms in the temple.

Incense burning. Some of the pilgrims carried incense to be burned on all sides of the Temple

A “victory pole”, with prayer flags attached.

We had a fun shopping excursion, and headed back to the hotel, arriving 5 minutes late. We grabbed our stuff, climbed in the van, riding over to our next stop, Norbulinga Palace. It was the summer palace for the 14^th Dalai Lama, currently living in India. Since it was built in the last 40 years, some of the interior furnishings were a little more contemporary, especially those rooms where he entertained family and official guests.

Norbulinga, summer palace for the 14th Dalai Lama.

After our summer palace visit, we ate lunch (no yak on this meal). After lunch we began the hour drive back to the airport. At the airport, we checked in without trouble. It’s easier to leave Tibet than it is to enter. The flight departed about and hour and a half late creating an equally late arrival in Beijing. I arrived home around 11:30, worn out, and ready for few days of recovery after my week of travel.

Heading back to the airport.

I met Josie for breakfast, but Steve didn’t make it. He had a bad night, nausea, headache, etc. I think he may have the dreaded altitude sickness. He eventually comes down, but he doesn’t look good.

We meet our guide at 10:00 and drive to the Drepung Monastery. It’s the largest monastery in Tibet and built in the 6^th century. At its’ height, prior to 1959, there were 10,000 monks living and studying here. There are only about 300 on the property regularly now. At festival times, several times a year, over 3000 will visit and participate in activities. Steve’s stomach and head are not doing very well. This is a tough place to be sick.

Video Link – Drepung Monastery: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2a8sxnmyw5u0xwp/15.5.2.Drepung.m4v?dl=0

Looking across the Lhasa Valley from the Drepung Monastery

Prostration prayers. The goal is to complete 100,000 in their lifetime. See the video.

Books in the Drepung library. Several are over 600 years old.

We eat lunch at another local Tibetan restaurant. I tried a yak burger and fries. It was good. I really couldn’t tell any flavor difference from a beef burger. Steve opted out of lunch and went back to the hotel.

Video Link – Yak herd: https://www.dropbox.com/s/r3wypzinq3nb2jt/15.5.2.Yak%20herd.m4v?dl=0

We walked from the restaurant to the Jokhang Temple, another site where several Dalai Lamas are entombed (#1 through #4). There are huge crowds outside the temple, walking clockwise around the temple in a pilgrimage. According to our guide they walk around it all day long.

Video Link – Jokhang Temple:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d82ljqbee104fyk/15.5.2.Jokhang.m4v?dl=0

Jokhang Temple

An inner courtyard

Some of the Jokhang Temple pilgrims

After our visit to the temple we joined the walk, stopping in a shop for a little souvenir shopping. Afterwards, we walked to the hotel where I crashed on the bed. I guess it’s the lack of oxygen at this altitude that creates the loss of energy (at least that’s where I’m laying the blame). We eat dinner around 7:00, taking some soup back up to Steve when we’re finished.

The hotel served a nice buffet breakfast with a mix of western and Tibetan foods. I tried Tsampa, an oatmeal-like cereal mixed from barley wheat, Yak cheese, sugar, and hot water. The restaurant smelled like the cooking was being done with a wood stove, another flash-back to ski cabin lodging from years back. Steve and Josie had the same kind of night and morning I had, kinda cold. We’ll check what kind of room heating options are available before we settle down tonight.

How about some Tsampa

Hotel lobby

Our first stop is the Potala Palace. The first sight of it for me was breath taking. It was the home of the Dalai Lama since the 7^th century. The last Dalai Lama left in 1959, and currently lives in India. We climbed to the top, no small task considering the altitude. At the top, we were able to visit tombs for previous Dalai Lamas #5 through #13. We also wandered through sleeping, studying, and meditation quarters. There are around 100 monks living on site, maintaining the property.

Potala Palace

Pilgrims walking clockwise around the temple

Heading to the top

Almost to the top

Now, back to the bottom

Lhasa Valley in the background

Up close on one of the prayer wheels

After the palace, we had lunch at a local restaurant. There were several “yak” dishes on the menu. I had sizzling yak on stones (served like fajitas back in the US). It was served with peppers and onions. Steve had a yak burger, and Josie had yak stew.

Finished off lunch with a cafe mocha

After lunch, we toured the Sera Monastery. It’s basically “monk” university. They have lessons in the morning and in the afternoon, they have testing sessions in the “Debating Courtyard”. I’ll post several pictures and a video or two of the debating session. The session begins at 3:00 and finishes at 5:00. One monk, standing, issues the questions, and the seated monk answers. After an hour, they swap places.

Video Links – Sera Monastery

#1 – https://www.dropbox.com/s/cs2zwu80i3o90cr/15.5.1.Sera1.m4v?dl=0

#2 – https://www.dropbox.com/s/6c8ag6mj0rahn06/15.5.1.Sera2.m4v?dl=0

The Debating Courtyard during a testing session

Back at the hotel, we were beat! We rested, then ate at the hotel restaurant. I had a yak kabob, Steve had yak ravioli, and Josie had Yak pizza. Pretty much anything we normally eat as a beef dish could be done with yak, and it’s all pretty good. As we head back to our rooms, we ask about heat. I was barely in my room before someone arrived with a small electric heater. It made such an improvement.

My Yak Kabob

Today starts like any other Thursday when I’m teaching early classes, up at 5:00, getting ready to leave around 6:15. But today I’m headed for the airport and Tibet. I’m pretty pumped about this trip. Tibet has always seemed like the end of the earth, and now I’m getting to visit!

None of the taxi drivers are interested in going to the airport. I finally have to entice one with some extra cash to get a ride. He was sixth in line. At the airport I meet up with Josie and Steve, have breakfast at Starbucks, and begin checking in. They carefully look at our Tibet travel permit. There is more close scrutiny of our paperwork at the security checkpoint.

The first leg of the flight is to Chengdu (2 ½ hrs.), where we get off the plane for 30 minutes, then get back on. The next leg is to Lhasa and is slightly over 2 hours. The plane isn’t crowded and the flight is almost relaxing. At the airport, we again have to show our passports and travel permit. It’s almost as if we’re entering a foreign country, instead of a Chinese region. Our guide and driver present us with our official Tibetan welcome, a white silk scarf (Tibetan version of a Hawaiian lei).

My first view of Tibet!

The view from the plane as we near the ground.

My Tibetan welcome scarf

Ready for the adventure with Josie and Steve

The next leg of the journey is a 65 km drive to Lhasa itself. The scenery is striking as we make the drive through the Yalong and Lhasa Valleys. The Himalayan Mountains surround us. On the outskirts of Lhasa, we have to pass through another security check of our passports and travel permit. We’re staying in the Dekang Hotel. It’s in the old part of town. It’s an older hotel, but clean. It definitely has a Tibetan touch.

View from the room

After checking in, the plan is to eat dinner, then relax and acclimate to the altitude. Everything I’ve read, and anyone I’ve talked to, mentions altitude sickness. We’ve been taking some Tibetan herbs for 5 days, so with rest, hydration, and the herbs, maybe we’ll be ok.

We walk down the street, eager to check out Lhasa. About 100 meters down the street, we find a little local restaurant. The menu looks ok, so we sit down for a dinner of duck, vegetables, Kung Pao chicken, and rice. The duck is different than the Peking duck we’re used to seeing in Beijing. It’s deep fried and crispy, instead of thin-sliced and served with the small pancakes. It’s also served with the duck head. I guess we could eat it, but none of us were interested. The food was really good, and a great way to start off our Lhasa visit.

Our crispy Tibetan duck arrives.

It comes complete with the head!

Our table full of food

Steve, our cook, and Josie

Back in the room, everything was fine, except I couldn’t find the heat controls. It’s supposed to get down to 25 degrees tonight. The room is already cold. I guess there isn’t any heat? I’m not sure why? Maybe after a certain time of the year, the heaters are taken out? I guess I’ll find out tomorrow morning. This is sorta reminiscent of some of the ski cabins I’ve stayed in. Under the blanket is fine, but the room is chilly.

I was worn out after yesterday, and slept soundly. Had a leisurely breakfast before heading over to the Championships. Saw some really good play. It’s fun to watch the crowd as one of the popular Chinese players comes by. I’ve seen a lot of the Chinese players on Chinese sports TV. Badminton and table tennis get a lot of airplay, along with soccer, NBA, and the occasional PBR (yep, bull riding). There’s also lots of billiards broadcast here?

I don’t know any of the foreign players except Timo Boll. He’s German, and as a former world #1 player, he draws interest. I didn’t see any sign of the American players. They had all been knocked out in the qualifiers or early rounds. The last ones were out of the brackets by Tuesday noon. I did get a chance to watch all of the top Chinese male and female stars play. Today’s rounds are more formal. I watched two rounds of women’s singles, one round of mixed doubles, and one round of men’s singles, eight tables per round. The players all come in together with spotlights and introductions. Yesterday, as a table finished, new players were immediately brought in without any formal announcements.

I left around 1:45, returning to the hotel to pick up my backpack (packed light this trip) and eat lunch. I took the subway back out to the train station, arriving 45 minutes before departure. They opened the gates 15 minutes before the train is scheduled to depart and we took an escalator up to the platform. Just as I came up, I saw a train light way off in the distance. Before I could open my camera on my phone, the train blew by. It’s frightening how fast and quiet they are, until they’re right on top of you.

On my way to the subway, headed home. This large “circle” has a sign that says “Square Dancing”.

In the subway station near the Expo Center

The ride back to Beijing was 5 hours, 15 minutes. The path to the subway from the train was really short. I was on the Beijing Metro headed home in less than 10 minutes from the time our Suzhou train stopped. I’ve been double-checking the Metro app, making sure the trains to won’t stop running before I arrive at Taiyanggong. The subway begins to shutdown at different stations at 10:45.

I made it to Taiyanggong Station, and walked to the apartment, arriving at 11:00. I unpacked and repacked, double-checking clothes selection, and especially paperwork. Without the correct paperwork and permits, there’ll be no Tibet trip.

I woke early, nervous about over-sleeping. I walked out the door at 5:05 am, arriving at Taiyonggong Station in time to catch the first train of the day at 5:20. It was as empty a train as I’ve ridden since we arrived in China. After transitioning to another train, and a few more stations, I arrived at Beijing South Station at 6:15. Found the McDonalds, had a sausage sandwich, and headed to the gate area. The gate opened at 6:30 and people began flooding in. I waited till the crowd cleared, then walked in and found my seat. The train seemed full. As we traveled to Suzhou, we made six or seven stops (less than 2 minutes each stop). Every time someone got off, someone else got on and filled the seat. The trains here have their act together. It’s hard to imagine a high-speed train in Texas connecting DFW/Houston/San Antonio, etc., wouldn’t be a huge hit. The people fighting it probably would have opposed the interstate highways.

Got off the train in Suzhou right on time at 12:10 pm. Walked to the nearby subway, and boarded, heading to the hotel. Suzhou only has 5 million people and two subway lines. Beijing has 15 lines now, I think. The trains here are really new, and they just finished the line that goes to the hotel and the Expo Center where the World Table Tennis Championships are being held.

Suzhou city sites

I really enjoyed the table tennis today. I checked into the hotel, hurried back to the train, and rode over to the Expo Center. I had reserved tickets online last week, so I picked them up. There were two sessions today, and I’ve missed half of the afternoon session. I thought seriously about buying tickets from some scalpers for tonight’s session (sold out last week when I checked). I’m glad I didn’t. By the time I got back to the hotel at 7:00 pm, I was beat!

Video Links for short Championship clips of high-profile Chinese players:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/r6scukvm5l593m3/15.4.28.Suzhou%20TT1m4v.m4v?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/843767f6h3klp6q/15.4.28.Suzhou%20TT2.m4v?dl=0

I was so busy getting to the site this afternoon that I didn’t eat lunch, and my stomach is screaming for something. We’ve been staying in so many hotels the last two years, I decided to try and accrue Marriott points. We finally reached “Gold” level. This Renaissance is a Marriott property and Gold status means a room upgrade and access to the Executive Lounge. They advertise snacks and drinks, but by most people’s definition, it was a full-blown meal. It included salads, fruits, vegetables, several main course items, and desserts, more than enough to get me full. The room is a suite. I wish I wasn’t so tired so I could really enjoy it.

View from the room