Thuchen, Guanyin in Chinese, is spectacular!!!!! We stayed in a lovely guest house; delicious spicy meals and great beds!! There was only cold water in our ‘private’ bathroom, but it was only for one night (and was in fact luxury compared to what was ahead!)
Some of us went an hour and a half by car and then swapped to the back of motor bikes to travel high up into the mountains to see the planned RIME meditation retreat site. Simply stunning – the drive up and the valley itself … The bike ride was pretty full on (understatement!) but amazing!!
We found that we were easily puffed with any exertion at that altitude. 4,500-5,500 m up – was a challenge!
That evening we strolled out, cameras in hand to explore the town. To our amusement, we were the tourist attraction and entertainment for the night! The photos we took of people caused huge gales of laughter and in some cases, hysteria! They were certainly beautiful, friendly people and absolutely fascinated by us. So much so that we had to give up any sense of personal space as some curious souls came right in close for an extended stare!
One topic of conversation between the locals in the restaurant was how to manage the fly population. Being Buddhist, they had no intentions of killing the flies. Would love to be able to send them some traps to collect and then release the unwanted critters outside. Pest strips on the doors would be a good idea too!
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