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From the first -class lounge at AA at Heathrow. "Delhi Belly" has caught up with me and even though we can't afford it, we splurgesd for the 1st-class lounge on the last leg of the trip home. It was a beautiful vacation to some magical places and the only sound track was the natural one of the natives, which is often the best one of all. We had a beautiful time with family, soared to mountains in Tibet and tastes the best these cultures had to offer. What is overwhelmingly apparent is that the developed world has missed it, somehow. There is a closenes in sharing when people are poor or of smaller ethnic group that is more than endearing. You have to see what I mean and everybody should take a trip outside their own culture for comparative purposes. Anyway, this report from a "Deadhead in Asia" is officially over. And it'll take a couple weeks to recover!! ~ Nailed a retread to my feet and prayed for better weather! ~

It seems redundant to say that Tibet is a spiritual place. It is not just that Buddhism took firm root here and preserved itself for 1200 years, indeed flourishing. It has more to do with the vast, wide-open spaces, the expanse of space rollloing out infinitely from the side of a mountain and the extremely low density of people and people-made machinery. Throwing oneself back in time and living among nomads herding yaks or traders in a caravan or beautiful secret paradises lieing plainly open but blithely unobserved -- all of these are an integral part of Tibet. I was only there five days so really didn't get a chance to fully taste but the glimpse was revealing and has reenergized my spirits. I didn't know whether to go or not but now I'm absolutely certain I made the right decision (for me). Enough of my blah-blah about Tibet. Tomorrow we be departing back to the West. The culture shock is going to be a real bitch this time... My last post to wrap it up tomorrow. Sorry there were no photgraphs (wouldn't do it justice anyway!) ~ Long, long, long way to go home. ~

It will always be my prayer that the culture of Tibet will survive the persection they have been subjected to.Hopefully the Chinese will pay for the physical damage they have done and the Tibetan people can survive as a " tourist attraction " until they are free to show the rest of us the WAY....

Most people visit Tibet to observe aspects of the spiritual lives of the Tibetan people which are still very much alive today. The Chinese actually pay the monks and bankroll restoration of destroyed temples. They know the payoff will be a lot of tourist dollars . Of the Chinese leadership-- the attitude seems to have evolved to: "If you don't go down the Communist Road with us then we'll bury you as a distinct race of people within a very few generations." Enemies of this proportion and ruthless efficiency are hard to find, Uncle Joe Stalin and Pol Pot along with Hitler may not have had the commercial aspects of exploiting your opponent's religion, but they were all on the genocide track.... It is indeed a sad thing to experience first hand.

i dunno what, else, right now, that i can say, that would be more appropriate, other than, i wish them a great healing.

My trip to Tibet in the first week of March coincided with the start of the month, March, when Tibet had it's major historical uprising (3/10/59). On that day after 8 years of harsh occupation by the Red Army, 30,000 Tibetan people surrounded the Potala Palace of the Dalai Lama in a spontaneous attempt to thwart a plan by Mao to get the Dalai Lama out of his seat of power. Through various methods such as the state oracle and the CIA, the Dalai Lama dressed in simple monks robes slipped past the Chinese cordon of troops who had begun shelling the Potala Palace with artillery.. He eventually made it to the Indian border and was given refuge by the Indian Prime Minister Nehru. In 2008 the Tibetans erupted in protest against Chinese rule in a pent up show of emotion. Their spirits have still not been broken by the military and ideological machine and a massive crackdown ensued that tortured and jailed many innocent Tibetans. When I was in the Barkor a few days ago there was a massive presence of several types of paramilitary, machine guns at the ready. The Tibetans are on notice to not agitate for their independence on no uncertain terms. To see and feel all of this was stirring and thought provoking. The Tibetan's beliefs in the Dalai Lama and in Buddhism will never be broken and this may lead to their own genocide by an uncaring Chinese godless bureaucracy.

Just back to Kathmandu after 5 days in Tibet. Sorry I haven't posted regularly, but there was no lack of censorship on the part of the Chiese communists (reference the latest company to see the light in China re: censorship on the net' -- Google Anyway, flew in to Lhasa from Kathmnadu and had quite a 5 day trip like no other experience in my life. The sky so close, the wind so persistent and irregular, the wildlife so plentful and adapted to the climate. The etched browns, greys and in between shades of mountains rsing off the 12k foot plateau. The old temples and archiectecture of pre-1959 , And, of course, the Tibetans themselves. Will write more soon. ~Black throated wind Keeps on pourin' in~

missed yer b-day!!....happy belated birthday!!..cake and ice cream?...how traditional! hope ya had a pleasant time!!

Lama....Lamagonzo....Do you read me Lamagonzo?Happy belated birthday wishes for you and positive healing vibrations for the Tibetan people....

Is about the coolest way to celebrate a birthday that I ever heard!! Have a great one, and best wishes for a happy and healthy next year of your life!********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain