Post 5: Friday

Friday 28

In my last update I mentioned one of the guides crashed his bike into a cart.. I must confess, I considered him slightly buffoonish even before this mishap. I now know this 'buffoon' has summited Everest no less than 8 times and from both sides. Until recently he has been employed by Adventure Consultants - you may remember this is the company founded by Rob Hall, the New Zealander who died on Everest with many others in 1996. Who's the  buffoon now.

Yesterday's ride was 100 Kms of almost flat straight riding. A mostly tedious affair, though I did get face to face with a yak (the Tibetans refer only to the males as yaks and not being brave enough to explore between this beasts legs I use yak in the generic sense). This large bovine stared at me with a look of complete disdain and this, coupled with the two scimitar like horns arcing from his head, persuaded me to get on my bike so to speak.

For dinner last night we dined at a restaurant associated with this hotel. The service was so farcical we began to refer to the place as Fawlty Towers, and our waiter as Manuel. To everyone's surprise and pleasure we had lunch today at a Tibetan restaurant where you could order a leg of lamb among other highly edible morsels, and even a cold beer (surprisingly hard to get here). It was such a treat after the fare we have been surviving on.

I forgot to mention that Amy managed to get lost yesterday. She had the good sense to stay on the main road and was found by a search party in good time.. Her disappearance did upset our guides though. Manga was very relieved when he found her and said, "Amy, we have been so worried. I had to call Ann and tell her, we have no Amy, we have no Amy."

Tomorrow we head off on the hardest leg of the journey. Our briefing this morning told us to expect living conditions to get harder and the colder temperatures and higher altitudes to take a toll. After the last couple of weeks, no one is taking these warnings lightly. We stocked up on chocolate bars and nuts as this will be the last chance to do so for some time. Amy and I have decided that she will not continue to do all the cycling; it is too exhausting with the other responsibilities she has. We will see the Himalayas for the first time tomorrow.

After some reflection during the hours of tedium yesterday, I thought it only fair to provide more balanced reporting on the state of affairs in Tibet. To date, I have criticised the Chinese without providing a alternative view, even going to the extreme of running over the toes of a member of the Public Safety Traffic Police force.

We all know of the Dalai Lama, he with the beautific(sp) smile who promotes peace and harmony around the world. A less known fact is that there are many Lamas in Tibet, who are spiritual leaders of the numerous schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai lama's line gained ascendency sometime in the 17th Century, or thereabouts, after a rather brutal coup against another prominent school. From then until the Chinese invasion in 1951, the Dalai lamas ruled Tibet as a kind of feudal theocracy. The monasteries (and other ruling classes) owned the land, which was worked by the Tibetan peasants, allowing the monks to go about their scholarly and political business.

No doubt I've made some errors in the brief summary above but the gist of it is correct I think. My point is this, who among us would choose to be ruled over by a theocracy, where the land is owned by the aristocracy and the common people are bound to be subsistence farmers supporting the activities of the church? Count me out. I have no more faith in the ability of the Dalai Lama to make good decisions on my behalf as I do The Pope, God forbid.

Still, would you choose Chairman Mao and his bloodthirsty Red Brigades to lead you to a brighter fairer future.

It may not be possible to post for some time but I'll try. Wish us luck in navigating the road to Base Camp.


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