Culture

Chanting Monks In Shigatse

16.10.2007 in Culture, Locale, People

Today I was able to hear some monks chanting at the large monastery here in Shigatse. Unfortunately people were talking while I was recording (one Chinese woman was even chatting on her cell phone) but hopefully you can tune the talking out and enjoy the…

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Beautiful Lhasa

14.10.2007 in Culture, Locale, People

Lhasa…where do I begin? This is a bustling city boasting the most amazing monasteries, markets and of course the honored Potala Palace. The smell of yak butter candles permeates everywhere, pilgrims prostrate on the street beside you, people sing as they complete their errands (the…

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Tashidelek from Lhasa

12.10.2007 in Culture, Locale

Kim’s last post has us arriving in Lhasa and already we have seen a lot today. We visited Jokhang Temple and Drepung Monastary (all those steps were extra difficult when you can barely breath) today, but rather than type about it we’re going to let…

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Last Day In Beijing And A Long Train Journey

12.10.2007 in Culture, Locale

Our last day in Beijing was quite a whirlwind. We started promptly at 9am with a short subway ride with our group to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen is massive and serves it’s purpose well by being very impressive and overwhelming in size….

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Photo Update

09.10.2007 in Culture, Locale

I found an internet cafe with USB so I was able to upload a few photos, but the speeds are still pre-broadband here (like, less than 28.8k) so there are just a few for now and we’ll update more when we get a chance. Some…

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The Great Great Wall Post

08.10.2007 in Culture, Locale

Today we drove out to the Mutianyu section of the wall, which is a little further outside of the city than other sections, and is thus less crowded. This section has been mostly restored to show what it originally had looked like, so we weren’t…

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Something In The Air

07.10.2007 in Culture, Locale

There is something about Beijing… something in the air, you can almost taste it… wait, you can taste it, it IS the air. My nose and throat itch with every breath, and when you go inside to get away from it everybody is smoking. Even…

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Incheon Our Way There

05.10.2007 in Culture, Locale

It could have been excitement, nerves, or maybe the fact that I had a lot to do still at the last minute, but I haven’t been able to sleep much for the past few days. This could have contributed to the poorly timed cold I’m…

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Around The World In 40 Days

01.10.2007 in Culture, Locale

Or close to it anyway… Ever since our 10 week excursion around Europe Kim and I have longed to take a more extended vacation.  Not that we haven’t had a good time on our long weekends. We just want to explore the cultures in places…

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