October 08, 2005 Shangri-la, Yunnan, China
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I woke up with stomach trouble, which meant I had to spend some time squatting among the turds in my hotel’s horrifying bathroom. I decided not to eat until dinner.
My stomach, coupled with the fact that it was another cold, rainy day, made me not want to go anywhere. But I forced myself to take a bus out to Ganden Sumtseling, and I’m glad I made the effort. It was a huge monastery complex, surrounded by Tibetan buildings, on the side of a hill. Even though it was being renovated, it was still nice.
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Back in town I climbed up to the Guishan Gongyuan, a little Chinese style Tibetan temple. There was also an enormous prayer wheel. It must have been three stories tall. I couldn’t turn it by myself, but with two Tibetan guys we got it going.
The people were dancing again tonight. They really enjoy it, and watching them is fun, except for the cold, which forced me back to my room where I put my feet in a bucket of hot water. The music they dance to is excellent. So I found a little shop that sells the CD.