Art Refuge UK

the ghost town

2008-04-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

Spooky, very very spooky- the Centre is deserted- it's a ghost town- no new arrivals in sight anywhere (apart from 2 resting in the clinic with eye trouble and a fractured leg). I have never seen it so empty and it's really sad. According to the Director who came in especially to meet us, the border is tightly closed, probably until August after the Olympic games, but when it reopens there will be a flood of refugees and the Centre will be exceptionally busy. So now is a good time to prepare and to get supplies in. We have decided to get a new floor for the classroom, and to replace the windows as they keep breaking.

Back at our new hotel later that afternoon (we moved into Dwarika's, an exceptionally beautiful place, an oasis in the midst of the bustling city), we started the interview process to select a replacement for one of our staff members, who resigned a few weeks ago.

We also had a long chat with an old friend who has returned here to live after a few years away, with her husband and young child. They are very concerned about conditions in Kathmandu as some of their friends have been arrested in the recent protests, and apparently foreigners too, although they are mainly released after a few hours. They are also worried as her sister-in-law returned to Tibet a short while before the recent riots and they have had no news from her and no one can get hold of her.

And now, Thursday, Nepal is closed and we have no choice but to rest and relax at the hotel- a good time to catch up on notes, start thinking of articles to write, draft assorted letters, compile to-do lists for back home, have an occasional swim, drink copious cups of tea and start to unwind after the frantic busy-ness of the past 10 days. Looking forward to Delhi (not many people would say that) as it is Karen's birthday and we plan to spend the day in an air-conditioned cinema watching Shah Rukh Kahn movies.

That's all for now- if anything exciting happens between here and home on Sunday, I will of course let you know. Hope you enjoy the travel tales, I'm sure more will emerge from our memories when we get home. Byee.

Kathmandu

2008-04-10T22:07:00.001-07:00

Arrived finally in Kathmandu after that long but fascinating drive to Delhi, but with a stop over and a proper rest at La Sagrita for a few hours before the flight here. But, shock, someone had stolen the Himalayas- they can usually be seen on the flight in from Delhi, but on this flight, no sign of them, so I can only guess that someone has indeed nicked them- so keep a lookout for someone with a very large melting package under their arm.

Our trip, which as I mentioned previously has changed drastically from the original plan, we've now discovered is curtailed even more, as Thursday is election day and everything will be shut down with no vehicles on the road, plus the Centre here is shut for 2 days holiday. So basically, we have to do everything we need tomorrow! Many phone calls later and our day of running around is planned in fine detail. Off for internet and momos at Utse (best momos in Kathmandu!) Back at the hotel (Nirvana Garden), and no power- it turns out that Kathmandu is experiencing 8 hour power cuts every day these days. So nothing to do but sleep.

A very special day

2008-04-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

What an amazing day, and one that Ama-la, Rinchen and the director of the Centre had been trying to arrange for days and which involved numerous changes of plan and flight tickets. After 2 alarm calls from friends, we got up early and off to the Dalai Lama's Palace where were checked by security and kept waiting in assorted rooms, until finally being ushered with all the new arrivals into a hall where His Holiness came out to greet everyone and to give a supportive talk to his fellow Tibetans. He mentioned the importance of education; that Tibetans inside Tibet are facing very challenging conditions as there are some very tough officials in charge; that he is not seeking independence but autonomy; and the economic benefits of being part of China but retaining their culture and faith. He also thanked them profusely for having stayed inside Tibet until that point and keeping Tibetan culture alive and living, and that when they return to take what they have learned in India to teach to their fellow Tibetans, especially the philosophy of Buddhism. After that, everyone received a personal blessing, and we were introduced by the Centre director who explained who we were and what we do. His Holiness was very grateful, shook our hands firmly saying an equally firm 'Thank you' to both of us in turn. We had taken some of the recent artwork to show him, some of which he was quite startled at (the first appearance in the children's art of Chinese tanks) but appreciated it...and kept it (much to my dismay as I'd wanted to bring it back to the UK to use in future exhibitions. Oh well, I guess you don't argue with His Holiness!). I also handed over a pot of my mum's homemade strawberry jam- 'Homemade?' he said, then chuckled and took the jam appreciatively.

The next few hours were a bit of a blur as we raced back to the Centre for final farewells with Ama-la and Rinchen, and with the director, had a last dish of momos at Gakyi's (returning Dickyi's iron which had borrowed to smarten our outfits for the morning), then stuffed the last few bits and pieces in our bags, just finishing as Tender arrived with our taxi. We were snowed under with the farewell kata that Tibetans are so fond of wrapping round you when you leave- even Nakahara turned up to give farewell kata and hugs. And off we set, for our 10 hour taxi ride to Delhi- good time for a snooze...zzzzzzzzzz

yummy cake

2008-04-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

A nice day to start with- sunshine at last. Went to the Centre with Tenor, a very helpful friend, who had translated the mission statement and purpose of the Programme into Tibetan. He explained it thoroughly to Ama-la who seemed pleased that we had taken the time and trouble to do this. After seeing the Tiblets off on their journey back to school, we returned to the hotel to meet Rebecca Novick, the Executive Producer for the Tibet Connection, an English language radio and web show about Tibet. She wanted to interview us about the programme, which she thinks will be broadcast on April 22nd, and can be heard online (www.thetibetconnection.org). At dinner that eveing we were joined by Nakahara, the owner of Lung-Ta, for whom we'd had some prayer flags made- he was delighted. and very chatty that night. We walked with Dolma after dinner back to her friend's place- Jamyang is the longest serving baker in Dharamsala. She’d requested a banana cake from him for us and we tried a piece- it was delicious; he is an excellent baker, and supplies the hotels and restaurants in town. We have been so well taken care of on this trip- it's a real treat :)

monsoon

2008-04-10T21:54:00.000-07:00

Ugh- a winter monsoon has descended- pelting rain, howling gales and general sogginess all day. We couldn't even see the mountains outside- it felt like we were right in the middle of a vast cloud. And it was cold, so cold that Karen and I ended up buying 2 very colourful and soft blankets and wrapped ourselves up for the day. It should have been an indoors day but we decided to return to the Centre for one final art class. There isn't usually a program at the weekends, but Ama-la made a special exception for us as we were there for such a short time. Because of the torrential rain, the class was held downstairs in the women's dormitory, and the tables had been carried down so the children could draw properly. They seemed very happy to see us again, and we found another visitor there, this time a reporter from Finland who is based in Beijing and was acompanied by Lobsang, a local photographer who has been to the centre many times before.

Back at the hotel, we chatted to Steve who was leaving later but keeping his bag in our room until it was time for him to catch his bus. Apparently he has emailed many of his friends back home in the hope that some of them will be interested in helping Art Refuge UK. He also promised to meet up with us in Nottingham in May when the Dalai Lama comes over. I look forward to seeing him again and hope we can include him in the charity somehow.

In the evening, the Tiblets wanted to join in the candelit procession as it was a very special evening. Children from the 3 major Tibetan schools in the area gathered in Mcleod Ganj to lead the procession, along with banners they had prepared in school, the most gut wrenching of which read: Stop Killing our Parents. We watched them all pass by our hotel, then joined in with the rest of the locals. It was an incredibly moving time, walking in solidarity with the Tiblets, holding hands, them chanting the prayers as loud as they could, over and over; elderly Tibetans passing us and acknowledging our presence with a nod and a broad smile of gratitude; video cameras from news reporters recording faces and banners, the overwheming feelings of sadness and anger and frustration...The march ended at the main temple, where there were speeches, and video footage and photos of the troubles in Tibet. The Tiblets got a little agitated and wanted to leave at that point, not wanting to stay for the beginning of the Tara prayers that the other children were settling down to do for the whole night. So we returned to our room, after dinner, and chatted and watched TV. A slightly more sombre evening than the previous night.

Friday

2008-04-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

A very intense day. Arrived at the Centre late morning to find my Tiblets had already arrived. For those of you who may not understand this statement- my 'Tiblets' are a group of children I first met many years ago at the Reception Centres and have kept in touch with since- we meet up every time I come over and we have grown to be like a family. I have even met their family members, those who are now in Kathmandu and those who are still in Tibet, and sometimes I carry messages and photos back and forth. The Tiblets are very special to me and we had managed to get permission for them to come here to Dharamsala for the night so we could spend time together. It is a particularly intense time because they are worried about family back in Tibet but can get no news about them, and I was overwhelmed with sadness when I greeted them, maybe from my own worry about their families or had picked up on their anxiety. Some children in their school heard the other day that some family members in Tibet were killed recently, and now there has been another riot and more Tibetans have been killed. So as you can imagine, the mood in Dharamsala is very somber- the candle lit vigil this evening was attended by many more people than usual and had us in tears as we watched them pass by. Mind you, I have been fighting back the tears all day starting with our first greeting, and then in class this afternoon, one of the Tiblets drew a very poignant picture of the death and destruction in Tibet and it was heartbreaking. Added to this, there are posters and pictures all over Dharamsala of the dead in Tibet, their wounds, blood etc. Very gory and gut wrenching.

You read in the papers back home about there being prayers, candle-lit vigils, protests, etc, but to actually experience it is a completely different matter- it really pierces you to the bone. Our favourite restaurant owner was telling us earlier about the hunger strike here, and how every business has pledged to send one person from their family to join in- it's a relay so each person goes on hunger strike for 24 hours, and she was telling us her son had volunteered as he wanted to do something important to support their people in Tibet. We are now waiting as there is a programme about Tibet on the Indian news tonight and we want to see if there is any more news.

More tomorrow..

Thursday April 3rd

2008-04-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

Gosh, there's a lot to write about. We arrived in India ok (luckily leaving from Terminal 4 not 5) and had a very smooth flight up to Dharamsala - if anyone is planning a trip I enthusiastically recommend the plane journey- it's so quick. However, if you suffer from motion sickness it might not be an idea as it can be quite bumpy if you meet clouds and your tummy will move up to your mouth and then back down again!

But I'm sure some of you want to know our journey details. You're all dying to hear what's going on considering the world's eyes are on the Tibetan issue right now.

Dharamsala is a very interesting place to be currently. There are many Tibetan flags fluttering in the breeze, and over people's shoulders; many posters for a Free Tibet, and a candlelit procession every night with prayers to Chenrezig for all the Tibetans who have died in the conflict. Sitting in the internet cafe we saw the procession of the night passing by, led by monks it seemed and followed by nuns, as manay local Tibetans as possible and assorted supportive Westerners, all of whom cradled a candle and prayed. The sound of their mantras filled the night air and lingered, touching the heart deeply.

At the moment in the Centre, there are 9 children. A few left last Friday, and 3 arrived last night. But these will be the last ones for a while. In my email report today from Kathmandu, I was told there are none left there now and I'm guessing that until the Olympic games are over, no more will be able to leave Tibet. Apparently there are Chinese soldiers patrolling up to twenty miles within the Nepal border in civilian clothing so any new refugees don't stand a chance!

At the centre today, we met with a lovely man called Francesco who is writing a book on memories of Tibet and so is interviewing adults and children to find out their stories - he is going to include some drawings from the children as well.

We also met with the owner of Lung-Ta, the Japanese restaurant here - he has been here for 20 years, helping the Tibetans - he wants some pictures to send back to Japan to exhibit, so we will meet with him tomorrow to discuss further.

It is very busy at the centre for obvious reasons, and there are many film crews around, as well as journalists, Tibet activists and the curious.

On a more updating note, the India Football Captain has decided to pull out of the Olympic Torch relay as he is a supporter of Tibet, and the previous India Defence Minister has recommended that India blockade the Olympic Torch so that it doesn't come to India at all.

And on top of it all, the Dalai Lama has cancelled all meetings as he is not well..it's not that he is physiaclly sick, but he is sick from sadness over all the troubles and deaths and violence.

Spring 2008..changes afoot

2008-03-28T14:06:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know, no blog since last August, and that's not the point of a blog is it? Well, I feel that a blog should have something interesting to say, which is why I only do it when I go travelling, in particular when it's traveling for the charity. So on Monday, Karen & I (she's our charity secretary and my good buddy) are going to Dharamsala for a few days and then on to Kathmandu for a few more days. She's not been to Kathmandu before so it will be her introduction to the Art Refuge Programme there and our staff. well, I say our staff except we seem to be one short now; Kyiso is currently traveling in the USA. Probably safer there, as many Tibetans in Kathmandu have been protesting over events in Tibet, and many have been arrested, so I hear.

The purpose of this blog, then, is to keep you updated as to events there, and how they may impact on Art Refuge/ Art Refuge UK. But there will probably be other bits and pieces thrown in for good measure- just to keep it entertaining...

More on Tuesday when we (hopefully) arrive in Dharamsala( we are flying BA to Delhi- fingers crossed that they've got their act together by then)

Home safe and sound

2007-08-24T02:26:00.000-07:00

So we made it. We got to Mount Kailash and have returned safe and sound. Our journey over the border went smoothly, thanks to Tenzin and Gyaltsen. The journey back to Kathmandu was long (many strikes and road blocks) which was frustrating. But we arrived back in Kathmandu 2 days earlier than expected due to the army troubles in Tibet, so we treated ourselves to a luxurious stay in Kathmandu's best hotel, Dwarikas (www.dwarikas.com)- it's incredible! If you ever get a chance to go there- do- it's like staying an an ancient village in Nepal, a serene oasis of tranquility right in the heart of the city. That helped our flagging spirits and energy recover. We'd been to this place on our previous visit, when we took Basant out to dinner at the Nepalese restaurant there, called Krishnarpan and had a 6 course meal (they offered up to 22 courses as well). Good traditional Nepalese food- yummy.

The boys went white water rafting the day after we arrived (honestly, they can't sit still for a minute!) while I spent some quality time with Prerana, Basant's wife, and her mum (I desperately needed female company- after all, I'd just spent the past 2 weeks with 8 men!) We also visited Boudha again and met up with some Tibetan friends, including the mother of 3 of my Tiblets in Dharamsala.

After that we flew back to Delhi, left Rik there for the night (he flew back to the UK the following day) while Tim, Tom & I got the train up to Dharamsala where we spent a busy 3 days checking on the Art Refuge program and staff, reconnecting with Ama Adhe, meeting Moina our new volunteer, bumping into old friends and hanging out with the 5 Tiblets.

And now we're all back in the UK, resting and recovering from jet lag, travel lag, assorted tummy bugs, and culture shock. I haven't heard a thing from the boys since we got back (though had a quick call with Rik) so hope they're still talking to me and will forgive me for dragging them to such a remote, inhospitable part of the world ;) I hope one day they'll go back, that in retrospect they'll find they enjoyed themselves.

In the meantime, Rik (I think) has raised about £1500 on his website for this trip, which he's splitting between Art Refuge UK and Aspire (he's an anethetist and works with spinal injuries patients, so that's fair), and I've raised about £400 so far, so even though we lost a few brain cells on the way. at least we were able to put them to a good cause!

If any of you feel like attempting this journey yourselves, contact our wonderful friend who put it all together for us, Basant (bate@mail.com.np) but make sure you ask that Gyaltsen be part of the package. No trip to Kailsh is worth it unless you have Gyaltsen bringing you tea in the mornings- makes the days worthwhile!

And that's it- hope you enjoyed reading about our adventures. I'm off to potter in the lush greeness of Suffolk caused by weeks of rain (seems the monsoon has followed me)-hope summer comes soon.

thanks for reading this far; there are some final photos below for your amusement.
may you be inspired to travel too,
love
Frances

Spot the 2 weary travellers resting under the stupa's watchful eyes...

...joined by a bearded Rik (he didn't shave for the whole trip)

3 bearded wierdies and 2 lovely Tibetan ladies

Our footprint left in that restaurant in Kathmandu (whose name I can't remember right now)- artwork by Tim

from right to left: Prerana, Basant, Kundu their son, and Sailendra (who works for Basant and who is gorgeous!)

A courtyard at Dwarikas

The pool at Dwarikas

A bearded new arrival at the Dharamsala Reception Centre comtemplates his next move

A second bearded new arrival in Dharamsala does the same

A strange Indian beggar who collected money by whipping himself- ouch!

Assorted Tiblets, travelers and Ama Adhe

Ama-la herself

Back to Nepal

2007-08-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

I felt a bit like a fugitive today- we had 2 checkpoints to get through, one of which appeared out of nowhere, a landcruiser on the side of the road marked: Border Defence Police' (we were nowhere near any border at this stage). The 2nd checkpoint was cleverly by a petrol station so you couldn't get past it if you wanted to proceed any further along the road (petrol stations are few and far between). Interestingly, at the petrol station there was also a very large truck full of Tibetans all heading towards Kailash...or trying to. None of them had travel permits so they were stuck where they were. It turned out that several of the people on board actually wanted to go further than Kailash, according to Tenzin, by which he meant Indis...i.e. they were in the process of escaping! So now I've seen all aspects of the journey of Tibetans who escape from Tibet right up to their new homes and lives in exile. Full circle, so to speak. Quite sombering...

It was a long drive today and tee car broke down at one point and had to be push started (Rik & Tim tried but were too breathless to have much effect- we had to wait for the truck and our superheroes Gyaltsen and Prem who managed with no trouble. Due to really heavy rains, the river was swollen and a disgusting colour, so we decided no camping tonight (I didn't fancy having food that had been cooked in that water). Instead we headed into Saga and checked into what could've been their version of a 5 star hotel...except that they had no running water at all. Gyaltsen and Prem set up kitchen int eh hotel garage while Si-Shi-la went to ge th car fixed and Tenzin ed us to the public showers round the corner. Rik managed to break his shower and at one point had both the owner and the owner's wife in there with him (!). And to our amazement, Gyaltsen served up our usual 3 course dinner...in the hotel lobby. And to our extreme amazement, Prem managed to produce a chocolate cake with icing! That man is a genius!

Our 5 star lobby

...with compulsory washing machine

The following morning 'Excuse me, tea please' was served in the hotel rooms and breakfast back down in the lobby. We then had a delightful journey back to the border via a shortcut road from Saga to Zhangmo. It was a lovely journey- hardly any traffic at all-in the first 2 and a half hours of driving we saw 1 other car, 2 trucks, a handful of tractors, 1 motorbike, 1 marmot, several sheep, many nomad camps, quite a few yak...and no Chinese! Bliss! There were a few high passes, then it was all downhill. We dined at Nylam at 6:30, hten joined the queue of cars waiting to drive to the border town of Zhangmo- apparently hte government were working on the road here too, so it was a case of only being able to drive along it after dark or early in the morning. Our driver was determined to get us to the border asap. And what a fantastic journey- I've always loved this part of any journey to or from Tibet- the landscape changes dramatically, going from dry desert landscape to lush tortuously winding narrow roads, passing under waterfalls, completely tropical, fresh air, tons of oxygen, and high spirits. And it was misty which lent a certain magic to the situation. The boys loved it, I could tell. We had a minor delay when the car in front of us lost a rear wheel- we saw it falling off which was quite dramatic. All the drivers stopped to help, and refused to return to their cars when a Chinese official looking person came and barked at them. They stick together, out of necessity- trips to Western Tibet are hard going on any vehicle, so when one breaks down, they all help each other out (unless you're Chinese).

We stayed in a mildewy hotel on our last night, no dinner from Prem tonight (we'd dined in Nyalam earlier) and were accosted by the 'money changee' man a few times until we told him to come back in the morning. Good thing we'd dined earlier- the truck arrived really late as a tyre had burst and they'd had no spare on board. They'd had to send for one by a passing motorbike!

Some views on the way...

...including a bizarre jumping sheep

The last high pass

signs of life again

greenery appearing again

view from Zhangmo hotel room

Kailash, Day 3- Drama at Darchen

2007-08-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

That was a nasty storm the night before- I was worried all night that the tent would blow away or that we'd get flooded.

Thankfully, we were all feeling better this morning...probably because we knew the end was in sight. It was only a 2 hour (ish) walk to the meeting place arranged beforehand with Tenzin. I popped up to the Zutul-puk Monastery before we left camp (feeling I really ought to visit one monastery before leaving this area. It was small and has a 'miracle cave' out back where Milarepa (a Tibetan saint) was supposed to have raised the roof with his head and hands- you can still see the imprint!

After a lovely almost leisurely walk of about 2 hours, we found Tom waiting for us, with Tenzin, Si-Shi-la, the car, the truck and all other staff. Hurray! Tom was looking much perkier and smiling- what a relief! He'd even got us a bottle of mineral water- the hero (we'd got tired of drinking sterilised river water- didn't taste great!) After many pictures (which I don't have as my camera batteries went flat- hopefully someone will send me some), a rest and update on events, we set off rather quickly. Apparently, some stupid foreigner at Darchen had handed out photos of the Dalai Lama. The Chinese army didn't like that so surrounded the town, started searching everyone in sight (Tibetans included), tore up travel permits (Tibetans included) and shut down all businesses and restaurants. Darchen had suddenly become a no-go area. Tenzin, our guide, decided, probably sensibly, that we should flee just in case the army decided to tear up our permit which would cause huge trouble for getting out of the country. we still wanted to visit Lake Manasrovar though so headed that way, only to find that the army had control of that area too, so we couldn't go down and take photos by the shore, only from a point far above. Very disappointing as it is a gorgeous Lake and we had all been looking forward to staying there. Mind you, Tom was still suffering terribly from altitude sickness and the Lake was almost the same height as Darchen, so we carried on moving just to get a bit lower. We could tell things were hot as we had 2 check points to get through on our way (although that could've been my imagination, fleeing as we were).

We ended up at the same campsite we'd been at 4 nights before- the one with the goats pretending to be reindeer. It had been a long day and dinner was very late but we were on our way down so all were feeling much more cheerful and with improved appetites. Good thing too, as Prem outdid himself: pizza and chips for diner (how do you cook pizza when you only have a 2 ring stove, a presure cooker and a couple of other pots and pans?)

resting after breakfast, before the final trek

A handsome beast before loading

Zutul- puk Monastery

Gyaltsen cheekily riding Yak man's pony out of camp

A marmot, the highest mammal in the world, which sounds eerily like a seagull!

Lake Manasrovar, possibly with army presence

Kailash, Day 2 continued- a downward journey

2007-08-23T10:21:00.001-07:00

Yikes- 2 hours of going down hill, over rocks and scree is really tough on the knees! We passed a serene lake called Gouri Kund, also known as the Lake of Compassion into which the Indian pilgrims are supposed to immerse themselves, but Tibetans shudder and walk right past (they have a phobia of washing!)

We stopped for a rest and to give our knees some time off, and found that Tim was still struggling- his altitude sickness hadn't gone, although we'd gone down about 400 metres, so continued our journey slowly along the banks of the Lham Chukhir River, stopping every now and then to give Tim some oxygen. A few hours later I was getting worried about our slow progress so sent Gyaltsen scurrying ahead to join Prem and the yaks to set up camp, and to find a pony to bring Tim to camp- he was getting slower and slower. Rik had already gone ahead by this stage but we found him waiting for us once he was overtaken by Gyaltsen. About an hour later, we spotted 2 ponies galloping towards us- "your taxis are coming" said Rik who immediately headed off towards camp. Gyaltsen, bless him, had sent a pony for me too. It was a very pleasurable ride to camp, cos I was knackered and Tim was worn out too by looks of him.

Camp had been set up on a marshy drainage area near the river just under which was fine when we first got there, but a torrential monsoon downour started shortly after and contiuned all night. It was so bad that Gyaltsen, the hero, brought us our tea and our dinner in the tents- luxury, eh!

a bit of a glacier to cross

Eek- it's steep

Our last view of Kailash

A very tired Tim with tiny figure of Rik in the distance

Kailash- Day 2

2007-08-23T09:36:00.001-07:00

Ok, so we cheated, well Tim & I cheated and hired ponies, but only to the top of Dolma Pass. Just to help us get up in time to get down the other side and to camp before dark. Rik, the super fit super human being that he is, managed to walk to the top before even the sherpas got up there!! This is Yak Man with his pony which he kindly let Tim have. I had some grotty nag whose bones I could feel under me and which was the stinkiest pony I'd ever come across. Every time it farted, poor old Tim was nearly knocked off his pony!

Actually, I was really relieved we could take ponies as I had the worst altitude effects so far on this trip when I woke up. Had problems sleeping, kept waking up feeling incredibly thirsty but couldn't bear drinking ice cold water (it was cold that night) and had one of those crippling headaches that stops you moving. Lots of pill popping later and I was fine and really to scramble onto the back of my nag and head off to the wild heights.

Anyhow, we made it- we reached the hardest part of the journey, Dolma Pass, a mere 5600 metres high (that's 18,000ft or so) and had hot lemon squash courtesy of the sherpas, who were puffing and panting away like all other respectable walkers. It was quite a rocky journey up, especially the last bit which was very steep, so the pass was a natural resting point.

Gyaltsen and Prem did their religious rites (offering kate (special scarves), burning incense, tying up prayer flags, etc) and I watched avidly so I'd know what to do later. I felt a bit silly doing it on my own and wasn't sure what to say- this was supposed to be the pinnacle of all pilgrims journey, with fervent prayers to whatever gods for whatever desires and dreams one had. All I could think of was to hope that we all got down ok and that all altitude sickness would pass quickly. Oh, and there was also a small wish for world peace tucked in there too. I tied up all the kata we'd been given so far (and it was a lot) plus some I'd bought as well as special prayer flags. Tim had bought some beer to make a beer offering up there, and as soon as he'd finished we headed down hill.

flags at the top of the pass;

One of our gorgeous yaks, a white beauty

Gyaltsen, Prem and Nyima having a well deserved break

Proof that the 3 of us made it to the top (although it could really be anywhere in Tibet, couldn't it...)

Kailash kora-Day 1

2007-08-23T02:03:00.001-07:00

All woke feeling a bit rough this morning, especially Tom who was quite content to stay in bed for the next 2 and a half days and just sleep. I must admit, I was
beginning to wonder if I'd make it round Kailash I was feeling so weak, but decided I had to try. We left Tom in the hands of Tenzin and headed off to Tarboche in the car. Tarboche is about 2 hours or so from Darchen and our guide and driver had decided to drive us there as it would be quicker. There is a flagpole at Tarboche which is replaced every year at Saka Dawa (the major festival for Buddhists representing when Buddha reched enlightenment) and apparently it is vitally important how the flagpole stands when it is erected- if it is perfectly vertical, all is well, but if it leans one way or the other, it's not a good sign.

The Tarboche flagpole

..with me & Kailash included

Rik & Tim by a flag pyramid

Chuku Monastery

Yet another view of Kailash

We then drove a bit further to await our yaks. Met up with a large group of Indian pilgrims (a party of 40) who were doing the kora at the same time- they didn't look too happy, and most had arranged to go by pony round the whole course. The yaks took ages to arrive so Rik & I decided to try heading up the nearby hill to Chuku Monastery. We got halfway up when we saw the yaks approaching so headed back down...only to find the yaks and their owners had stopped for tea a little way away. Harumph! So the 3 of us set off slowly as we couldn't be bothered hanging around waiting any more. We left Gyaltsen and the others to take care of it- we were pretty sure they didn't need us around anyway.

The walk wasn't too bad too start off with, with steep hillsides on either side, and the trail following the Lha Chu river for the most part. Apparently this whole area is full of legends about the main Tibetan mythological hero, King Gesar, but I was too busy putting one foot in front of another to notice. Same goes for the terrain- it was stunning but I was too busy focusing on breathing to take note (we were at an altiude of 4,700 metres by this stage, and rising). It got progressively tougher and we all started flagging. However, for some bizarre reason, I got a second wind and so scooted off to find the camp site (we'd already been overtaken by our 3 gorgeous yaks and cheeky yak driver, as well as the 2 sherpas and the Tibetan truck driver who had come in place of Tenzin the guide). And boy, what a place they'd chosed to set up camp- it was amazing- in full view of Kailash and Dira-puk Monastery across the river! Fantastic! Mind you, we were all too pooped to appreciate it that much.

More views on the walk, and our campsite

The hell-hole named Darchen

2007-08-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

So 2 days later of gruelling travel and we've arrived at Darchen, a real hell- hole of a town. Medieval but sleezy; Tibetan but filled with soldiers and aggresive Tibetan shop keepers; Dirty and shabby and full of obnoxious tourists (just hope we're not included in that last bit). The journey here was long, with a night of camping west of a town called Puryang ( a dust ridden no-horse town with a shop in a tent). The camp site was ok- surrounded by goats and aggressive local kids who wouldn't go until Rik handed out some balloons (wonder who told them he had balloons?) and some tents where our driver and guide spent the night drinking and carousing. Only after dinner did we find out that there was no spare oxygen provided by the tour company- it was supposed to be included but Rik couldn't find any in the car. So me & Gyaltsen went over to the tents to shout at the guide who professed no knowledge of it. And amazingly, there happened to be a fellow Tibetan in the tent who just so happened to have some spare cylinders with him. So we purchased one, for Tom just in case, and retired for the night- this time Rik sharing Tom's tent to keep an eye on him, which made me & Tim tent buddies for the night. It's like playing musical chairs!

And then on the way to Darchen the following morning...I got sick- Giardia, the bane of all travellers. I apologise now for the eggy burps everyone! I know they're vile, just didn't realise others could smell them too (groan!) And all this just as we were approaching Kailash too- our first sighting and all I wanted to do was find a loo! Mind you, at lunchtime (which was a trial) I swear I saw some offering dakinis (goddesses) in the clouds- long floating creatures with arms held out with offerings in their hands, heading in the direction of Kailash. I'm pretty sure I wasn't hallucinating. Was a quiet source of comfort.

Anyway, arrived in Darchen and sent the boys to research rooms- I refused to stay anywhere there wasn't a toilet! Ended up in a guesthouse which was sort of clean but which had the worst toilets in Tibet- made me even iller and I spent the afternoon sleeping it off. Tom also spent the afternoon sleeping, or holding his head in his hands frozen in pain, poor love.

Later that evening there was intense discussion about Tom and what to do. It was clear he wasn't well enough to make the kora round the mountain, but Rik wanted to stay with him. We persuaded Tenzin, the guide, to stay instead with firm instructions that if Tom got worse, to find a car to drive him to a lower altitude. And we all went to sleep, anxious about what the morning would bring...

Some goats at our campsite pretending to be reindeer

A river crossing on the way to the camp site

First sighting of Kailash

Excuse me, tea please...

2007-08-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

.... was the daily routine wake up call from Gyaltsen, our superhero sherpa from Nepal. He was amazing, and I can't sing his praises loud enough! We met up with him, Prem (the cook) and the Tibetan truck driver (Nyima) at a place called Saga, a rather desolate town more than a full days ride away from Shigatse, and were very glad we weren't staying overnight there. We'd spent the previous night in a very basic Tibetan guest house in Sansang, all 4 of us in one small room, on bench beds lining the walls, a thermos of hot water and toilets outside way across the other side of the courtyard (delightful Tibetan basic squat loos too, which faced the outside wall, so anyone walking by could see you when you stood up). A bit smelly... and potentially embarrassing.

We also started suffering a bit from the altitude in Sangsang- minor headaches allround, and loss of appetite for Rik. It's only 3900 metres up here, and Dolma-la Pass is 5600- how on earth are we going to manage?

We were up and on the road again by 6 the following morning- a necessity because the government were working on the road and close it at 8am until the evening, so in order not to have to spend another day in the guesthouse in Sangsang, we legged it out of there. Mind you, it wasn't easy to leg it with 3 members of the party with upset tums and splitting headaches- the journey was a very quiet one, with tempers fraying and lots of miserable faces. At least they could sleep in the car, on the mysteriously tarmacked bits that appeared out of nowhere. But then they were jolted awake again when we had to make detours down onto the dried river beds, or forded a few rivers that had decided to cross the road.

But as soon as we arrived in Saga, the sherpas (who had only just arrived as well) leapt into action and before we knew it the tents were all set up (including the all important toilet tent) and lunch was served shortly after (chips!!! with cheese and tomato sarnies! cor!) Splendid chaps these sherpas ;)

After lunch, Rik must have felt better (either that or he was delirious) and decided to walk up to the top of the nearby hill- Tim & I watched his progress with the binoculars. When he came back down, tea and biscuits were ready in the mess tent. The rest of us attempted the same hill later, but from a more gentle angle, with Tom petering out near the bottom (he still has a splitting headache). Mind you, it got better later that night, just in time for the 3 course meal from Prem, followed by choice of hot chocolate, coffee or tea! Rik's appetite had returned and Tim was cracking jokes again so all is well.

local kids begging, so Rik brought out the balloons

Our first nomad camp sighting

First yak sighting

Not all yaks are black!

Tom trying out his instrument at the guesthouse in Sansang

Breakfast after our early start from Sansang

Our campsite at Saga and the mountain that Rik climbed

ALTITUDE SICKNESS?

2007-08-01T07:17:00.001-07:00

We were woken this am by Tim knocking to say Tom wasn't well. A worrying start to the am, but Rik decided to let both of them sleep in and we'd just have a later start to the day. They were both looking a bit rough round hte edges so we took it easy. Luckily Shigatse, our next port of call, is only a 2 hour drive away, across fairly smooth roads- it was bliss compared to yesterday and lots of sleeping took place. Checked in to lovely hotel, rested, had lunch in fab place that served a whole host of different nationality foods, then off to Tashi Lunpo Monastery on our own as Tenzin the guide had to go arrange our permit to Kailash. It was ok, but without a guide we got a bit lost and all the rooms looked kinda the same so we left, having taken photos of Chinese tourists taking photos of each other, and returned to our fav restaurant of earlier. Afternoon shopping and post card writing, back to hotel for rest, then dinner...back at our fav hotel! Luckily Tom is back to normal but Tim's suffering from the beginnings of a cough to go along with his cold, poor lad.

Tomorrow we leave civilisation and probably won't find any more internet access until we get back to kathmandu on August 13th. So don't worry about a long pause between blog entries. We should, all being well, reach Kailash on 7th or 8th of August, so think of us then, starting at 1000metres or so higher than we are now (we're currently at 3,800 metres) and going up to 5600 metres. Hope there's some spare oxygen somewhere! And that the sun stays out for our day time wanderings. So long, till the next missive....

Left- Bizarre statue at our hotel in Shigatse
Below- Tom and Tim at Tashi Lunpo Monastery

Rik & Tim in racing rickshaws back to the hotel

ON THE ROAD

2007-08-01T07:16:00.001-07:00

Day 1.An early start, lots of sleeping in the car as well as experimenting with the drivers music (Chines and Tibetan pop and hip hop). Drivers name is Choden, and his title is 'Si- Shi-la, which means 'driver' and he cracks up every time we call him that. It was a very bumpy drive to our destination, Gyantse, as the roads are being repaired in 2 places so we had to take diversions through tiny ancient villages (medieval ages) on treacherous tracks, which Sh Shi la handled very well- thank goodness we're in a 4 wheel drive land rover!

Checked in to hotel and whizzed off to monastery just as it started to rain, or pelt down, accompanied by thunder and lightning! Quick trapse round and then to the Kumbum, an amazing stupa with 108 chapels all aorund it. Not all were open and had no lights so we had a candle (lent to us by teh staff) and a tiny torch to light up the walls and statues. And we made it onto the roof- slightly scary as there is no barrier around and it's quite high up- but fantastic view of the town and fort on the other side. We left before getting locked in- it was 8pm and hte monk in charge wanted his dinner) and wandered off to find dinner for ourselves too. The hotel's not brilliant- they haven't swept the floor in ages so slippers are essential, and the shower was dodgy looking (so we didn't try), but it was an ok night all in all.

our guide and driver during a rest break

The town of Gyantse with the fort in the background

A selection of transportation styles: truck, horse and cart, bicycle truck or tractor

More Lhasa

2007-08-01T07:15:00.001-07:00

So far we've seen all the important bits of town- the Potala Palace, Sera Monastery, the Jokhang Temple, Drepung Monastery (though I opted out of tht one as my back was playing up), bits of the Barkhor market, assorted restaurants, assorted public toilets (and hte boys are adjusting well to squat loos), an art gallery and n art studio, and had 2 amazing meals (hte 2nd of which was on our last night and was arranged by Jigme in gratitude for our generosity and helpfulness- he arranged for the cook in his guesthouse to put on a special banquet of Tibetan food- it was incredible! and too much- dish after dish after dish! we ended up waddling out of that place barely able to walk!). It took us a while to vbe able to walk up to our rooms on the 4th floor without puffing but eventually we got over it. Sadly, our rooms had no view (unless you call a brick wall a view) but it was a lovely place to stay- called Kyi Chu Hotel, I'd definitely recomend it, and it's right on the edge of the Tibetan quarter so it's fab.

Our last night we did last minute shopping for road supplies- water, biscuits, sweets- the essentials of road travel. Handily, there's a chinese supermarket right near the hotel (I guess the equivalent of a 'Tesco Metro'). And an earlyish night for a fresh start in the am. zzzz...

The Potala with Tim in foreground

Rik at the Jokhang Temple

Debating monks at Sera Monastery

Our farewell/thank you meal from Jigme

The traditional goodbye photo with Jigme and our monk

Lhasa

2007-08-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

1.
LHASA
Well, there we were on Saturday afternoon, having just arrived in Tibet, and had decided to go for a gentle potter up the road to get a cuppa from a restaurant I knew, and had just crossed the road when a flash of maroon went by. I did a double take when I realised I knew that flash of maroon- it was my monk buddy who I've know since 95. I hailed him and he grabbed my hand and started shaking it up and down grinning madly while we both gabbered away in outr relative languages trying to work out what on earth the other was saying. He'd say things that I thought I understood but couldn't remember how to answer, so he eventually gestured towards his monastery and led us all back there. I introduced the boys on the way (saying that Rik was my younger brother as I couldn't remember the name for older brother) but it got the message across. Luckily he had hte phone number for another fried who speaks great English and 5 mins later he arrived to do the translating. Which was good timing really as I had told my monk that Rik was a doctor and he'd suddenly sat at his feet and proffered his wrists for his pulses to be taken! Tom took over and tested his pulses and we just about managed to clear up his confusion by saying that Rik works at a Western hospital and Toma t a Chinese hospital (not quite true but it got the message across...again). So a bit of diagnosing later nd between them tehy'd sort of worked out his problem, for which he was extremely grateful. He ran off and reappeared witha thermos of sweet tea, after which we left and spent the rest of the evening with our other pal, Jigme back at the hotel. We'd actually arrived laden with goodies for him, including a laptop, an mp3 player, surge protectors, memory stick, digital camera, etc. It was like Xmas, and he was so embarrassed and happy and overwhelmed! He agreed to join us for dinner too so the boys got to spend more time with him. So that was their introduction to Tibet!

The boys and a monk

We're here...

2007-07-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

We made it- we're now in Tibet. Actually we've been here since Saturday but we were so busy, seeing people, seeing sights, etc, that i just didn't have time to go anywhere near an internet cafe. so here I ma, in Gyantse, a 10 horse town, on a computer that wil only let me do things in Chinese, so I'm hoping an d praying that what I'm typing comces out ok. So please excuse hte typos.

We've had a great time so far- catching up with my pals, delivering presents, aclimatising to the altitude. All ok so far, apart from minor effects, suc as mild headaches, loss of appetite, sleepless nights, etc, and each of us has had only one of these, so I think on the whole we're doing really well. My back started playing up the morning we flew to Tibet (for those of you who don't know, I have a slipped disc which happened a couple of weeks before the trip) so I've been doing my exercises whenever I can, inlcuding on the roadside when we stopped for a pee break today.

Weather has been awful- just like being home. But yesterday the sun came out at last and today too. Mind you, we had a fantastic thunderstorm last night!
Wish I could write more, but it's 10:30 pm and I'm going to be locked out of the guest house if I don't hurry back. Not sure if there will be any internet access before we get to Kailash but if there is I'll try to write more and update you on Kathmandu and Lhasa. Bye for now :)

The sweatbath called Delhi

2007-07-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

Ugh- Delhi was HOT, and wet. It didn't rain, it just humiditated. I had a waterfall of sweat pouring down my back from about 5 minutes after landing, until I hopped in the shower, to get wet again, but clean, before bed. But we managed to get some sightseeing done- we hired a car and driver who took us to see Humayun's tomnb, which was lovely, but hot, and then to the Red Fort, which was big and slightly disappointing. it looks very grand and gorgeous from the outside, but inside it's rather derelict and empty. Sad, really. Just as Tim was about to fall over from starvation ( we hadn't eaten anything since breakfast on the plane, so his tummy was
good reminder to the rest of us), we headed off to Majnu-Ka tilla, the Tibetan enclave in Delhi, to get some mo-mo's and tea (oh yes, and a beef sizzler). It was a filling meal and came to about 4 quid for the lot of us. We had planned to drive by a few other places too, but found ourselves falling asleep in the car, so we turned round and went back to the hotel instead. See if you can spot Tim, Tom & Rik in the photo below left at Humayan's Tomb (below right is at the Red Fort)...

And today we flew to Kathmandu. Ooo, it's wonderful to be back- despite the clouds stopping us from seeing the Himalayas on the way in, and despite the rain this evening. It's still wonderful :) And I dragged the other 3 on a whistle stop tour of Pashupatinath, one of the oldest Hindu temples in Nepal, and cremation site, where they burn the bodies on slabs by the river then brush the ashes into the river, and then onto Boudanath, which was encased in darkness by the time we got there, so I've promised we'll go back after Kailash.

Pashupatinath was amazing: there were the glowing embers of bodies still burning, plus 2 new pyres that they lit while we were watching. A young Nepalese guy started telling us the history and explaining all about the place, then led us to some caves where various Hindu and Buddhist holy men live (or rather, they stay in them during the day smoking marijuana, and then go home at night!) Sounds like a cushy life! They were also some very cute and adorable baby monkeys around too- the parents were'nt quite so cute- looked like they wanted to steal our cameras or anything else they could lay their hands on! And there were a couple of saddhu's (holy men), one covered in ash and wearing a loin cloth with dreadlocked hair. Apparently one of the 2 we saw had pierced his privates (I'm not sure who's reading this so don't want to use hte 'p' word)- that must be a very effective meditation focus!!!

Tomorrow we go to the reception centre. I'm looking forward to seeing the new garden they've built. It should be quite lush with all this rain! Don't have the camera with me at the moment, so will add some pictures tomorow.

The plan

2007-07-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

Gulp- it's the day before D-Day, and I'm 3/4 packed. But I have a TON of administrative stuff to do still, plus photos to print out, an itinerary for mum so she can follow our progress, parcels to prepare for the PO, etc. I'm quite impressed that I'm packed already- it's usually a last minute panic the night before. I guess I didn't want the cat sleeping on (or getting lost in) the pile on the bed in the spare room- he could've ended up coming with me. And I'm trying to be gentle on my back: I found out a couple of weeks ago I have a bulging disc, more commonly known as a slipped disc. I now have a corset to wear when it starts playing up!

So the grand plan is this: we fly to Delhi first, stay one night, fly to Kathmandu, stay 2 nights, fly to Lhasa (capital of Tibet), spend 3 nights there, and then begin the long journey west to the Mountain. Takes about 5 days by land cruiser (probably takes the same time in any other vehicle too) and we'll be camping for part of it. Tis a real adventure. I've been reading quite a few books on the subject- lots of people who've been there have published their journeys, probably out of relief that they made it (see list to the right).

Then we wend our weary way back to Kathmandu, stay one night, fly back to Delhi where me, Tim & Tom part from Rik and catch an overnight train up to Dharamsala (or Pathankot, the nearest station), stay a few nights, pop into Bir on our way back to teh station on Saturday to say hi to my Tiblets, then head back to the Capital to fly back home. I'm guessing we'll be quite knackered!

And just in case any of you are wondering what Tiblets are, they're some Tibetan children whom I met several years ago and have sort of been adopted by them. I visit htem every time I go to Dharamsala and spoil them rotten, if I can. They're not children anymore either, the older 'boys' are in their early 20s.
Tiblets and me a couple of years ago

Kailash

2007-07-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

Mount Kailash...home to Shiva, home to Demchok (the Buddha of supreme bliss), the place where the founder of Jainism attained liberation, and the seat of all spiritual power, according to the Bon religion. So that's 4 different religions who consider it sacred. As such, it's not permitted to climb it. Ok, so walking round it is the only alternative, which sounds easy in itself...except that you have to take in to account that it is not at sea level. In fact when you start at the beginning of the 3 days walk round it, the altitude is 15,000 ft, going up to a glorious (!) 18,000ft (5,600m) at Dolma Pass on day 2.

And on July 24th, me, my brother Rik, and 2 of his sons, Tim and Tom, are heading to Mt. Kailash. Why? Good question. I've wanted to go there for ages, but every time I was in Tibet I either didn't have enough money or enough time. So I decided to arrange it from over here and make the time, otherwise life would flow too quickly by and I'd miss the opportunity. And bizarrely, Rik, Tim and Tom wanted to come too! So it's a Fox family outing and will be the first time we've travelled together (unless you count the weekend in the Lake District a couple of weeks ago). This will be interesting!

The Fox family up a mountain in the Lakes, having a rest

Hope Rik doesn't take a step forward absent mindedly!

Someone very kindly put some steps into this mountain for us- wonder if they'll have done the same in Tibet?

update July 07

2007-07-15T04:18:00.000-07:00

Crikey, I haven't written anything for ages. Well, at least we know that Ama-la and Tsering got back ok, and had a great time regailing people with their stories of life in the UK.

The charity is running along swimmingly- one of the trustees very generously donated his 50th birthday monies to us, and we have a bit more publicity now as people came to hear of us through the exhibition.

Talking of which, if you are anywhere near Milton Keynes, it's on show at the Open University until August 26th. I believe it's hanging in the exhibition space in the Library, so go check it out. Hopefully I'll be there on the last day to give a talk, with Karen, our trusty secretary.

But the big news is the upcoming trek to Tibet...

more later...

Farewell

2007-07-07T16:19:00.001-07:00

A sad and winding down day: Ama-la and Tsering did their packing in the morning, and I arrived in the afternoon for tea with Ama-la and Rinzen, and farewell chats. Ama-la did a little thank you chat on my camera/ video for my mum who had offered to pay for her new glasses, and Rinzin had hysterics over a particular translation (can't remember which now) but it was contagious and she soon had Ama-la and myself rolling around clutching our tummies too with tears streaming down our cheeks!

Finally, Tim arrived with his car to drive Ama-la, Tsering and myself to the airport while Alyssa and Shira took the tube. Due to delays though, I kept getting frantic texts from them asking us not to let Ama-la leave before they got there. So we made our way to a cafe to wait for them, after they had checked in, and we'd bumped into Hitendra who was waiting by the entryway for us, bless him! He is so fond of Ama-la, he couldn't let her go without saying goodbye.

He'd brought with him some Comic Relief noses to give to the children in Dharamsala so here she is trying one on for the camera by the check-in desks. And the photo she is brandishing is one of her and Hitendra at the talk on Friday.

It was a quiet and sombre party in the cafe as we were all sad that Ama-la and Tsering were leaving. Their time here had whizzed by so quickly. I wish now that I'd asked them over for longer instead of just 2 weeks. So many people wanted to host her for dinner, for weekends, for tea that she could have easily stayed for a couple of months. Ah well, maybe we'll do it again one day.

As Heathrow is quite big, we'd requested a wheelchair so she didn't get exhausted walking all over the place, and because of that she got preferential treatment, so when the time came, we all gathered to say goodbye, and waved her and Tsering off as they went speedily through the fast track and through to immigration...

Now, time to catch up on my sleep!

Penultimate day

2007-07-07T16:05:00.000-07:00

Sniff, sad to think Ama-la will be leaving us tomorow- I've gotten used to her being around, her beaming smile, her pointing to her teeth and exclaiming gleefully: 'good, good'. And today, to make a slight difference, we took her to the opticians. Dolma and Rinzin were unhappy that she'd been going round with her glasses tied round her head with a piece of string. So we decided to treat her to a full eye exam and a new pair of glasses. It was an entertaining session: Dolma and I were convinced that the glasses she had were prescription ones, only to find they weren't, and Ama-la was then tested using an eye chart for those who don't speak or read English- it's very clever- they use what looks like a large letter E and change the size and direction of it, which tells the optician all sorts of things. Ama-la ended up with a beautiful new pair of glasses, that change into sunglasses when she's out in the bright daylight, but revert back to normal quite quickly inside. She was thrilled, and on walking outside started shrieking in Tibetan, which Dolma translated as 'I can see the car tyres'! Turns out the glasses she'd been wearing all this time, were just ones that a friend had worn on a visit one day and she'd complained about the sun so had tried his on..and kept them! So she now has her own pair.

We then did some shopping, and it was very sweet hearing her calling 'Francey, Francey' when we got separated in W. H. Smiths- apparently she hadn't known my name before but had thought I was a nun (I had very very short hair back then) so just called me 'Ani' (Tibetan for nun). It was only a few days ago she learned I had a name too, so she was practicing it!

And then off to Shira's for a farewell dinner. A slightly fraught time as Tsering had planned to do all the cooking, as his gift to us. However, he'd been kept in Oxfrod by Bino (not sure why) and consequently didn't arrive until after Shira had cooked a meal at very short notice with her good friend and almost had a nervous breakdown in the process. Tsering arrived after we'd all eaten, after Ama-la had started asking if he'd be back in time to take her back to India. He was in big trouble when he finally arrived! But it was a great evening, apart from that, and the meal was brilliant- Shira is a fantastic cook and proved to be a real star! And Gonkar and his wife came too, livening up proceedings no end. It was a lovely way to end the whole event.

Oxford

2007-07-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

Almost a weekend off: Ama-la and Tsering went to Devon early on Saturday morning and stayed the night, meeting Karen and myself in Oxford just after lunch on Sunday for an afternoon at the Magic Cafe in Magdalen Road. This afternoon had been arranged by Bino Tulku, an interesting young Tibetan who has settled in Oxford and is very very passionate about the Tibetan cause. Ama -la also talked a lot about the charity and the work she does with the children, to the bemuesment of many people there who didn't know anything about Art Refuge, and Bino hadn't mentioned us at all, so there was a bit of confusion.

Afterwards, Ama-la requested to go back to her London home as she missed her new found friends so Karen and the lovely David offered to be the drivers and we deposited heron their doorsetp a few hours later (we'd had to do a slight diversion via Milton Keynes). We didn't get away that easily though, as Dolma and Martin her hubby dragged us in for a cuppa, and unbeknownst to us were busy cooking us dinner while we chatted to Rinzin. We couldn't really say no to that could we now! They'd told us they were cooking dinner anyway...but then it turned out they'd had a very late lunch so weren't planning on having any dinner at all! What a family! Lesson: never trust a Tibetan in the kitchen!

Dentist and Tibet Foundation

2007-07-07T15:25:00.001-07:00

Well well well, it turns out that the reason Ama-la wasn't eating anythig sweet was because she was having tooth trouble. Don't know why she didnt tell us before- maybe she was too shy. So Dolma, from the host family, arranged a visit to her local dentist, a man who was used to Tibetans as he'd been treating her whole family for years, and was more than happy to see Ama-la too. But it was a very funny visit as Dolma couldn't go, so I took Ama-la along with Rinzin, Dolma's mum who speaks only a few words of English (but understands far more than you realise). So we had lots of translating processes going on- the dentist would ask or expain something, I translated to Rinzin who translated to Ama-la who then nodded her understanding. Apparently she had an inflamed root, so the dentist took care of it, but cound't do the proper canal work as it would take another appointment to do that, so he wrote a letter explaing what he had done so that she could get part 2 done back in India. But she was so happy- no more pain!! she kept grabbing my arm, pointing to her tooth and exclaiming happily: 'good, good!' We went home for tea, and happy chatter, then Karma Kabs again, this time to Tibet Foundation, where Riga and the other lovely ladies from Tibet Women's Association and those from Tibet Youth Foundation were organising a talk for the Tibetan Community in London. We arrived earlier than expected so took Ama-la off for a walk through Leicester square, accompanied by the lovely David again, and Dhala. It was cold out though so we repaired to a coffee shop for soem warmth.

The talk later was fantastic, well attended by (mainly) Tibetans, and according to later reports, several tears were shed after hearing her story and the sad history of Tibet from a survivor. Lots of people wanted to talk to her afterwards and have their photos taken with her- she was the real star of the night! The organisers had arranged dinner for her afterward too so I left them to it and got a lift home from the lovely Hitendra again, who had turned up to support us. Like I said before, he's a poppet, and I'm getting quite used to having my own chauffeur ;)

Thursday's talk

2007-07-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

Eek! Today's the day of the talk, and I wasn't prepared at all. Luckily an old school friend had got in touch and arranged to meet up for lunch so my mind was well distracted until we turned up at the gallery and started preparing for the evening.
Ama-la arrived courtsey of Karma Kabs again and Tim did a video of Tsering interviweing her about Art Refuge, the program and the children. As it was all in Tibetan, we have no idea what her replies were so will have to wait for a translator to go through the whole thing for us.

We borrowed loads of chairs from the restaurant across the road and waited anxiously while people filed in. I gave a brief explanation about the history of Art Refuge, the programme and Art Refuge UK. I then introduced Alyssa and Shira, 2 of our past volunteers and they talked a bit about what it's like from a volunteers experience. Then we introduced Ama-la who talked about what it's like for her there and how important it is for the chilren. We then encouraged quesions from the floor. We ended with Ama-la displaying a large piece of fabric onto which she had placed photographs of the children, and some of the artwork and explained her way along the rows of images. It was very poignant and the whole evening seemed to have a buzz (or maybe that was just my adrenaline flowing!)

And to end the day off nicely, I was called by a lady from Radio Free Asia who wanted to do a radio interview with me about the charity and Ama Adhe. That was fun!

Somehow though, no-one took any photos of the talk so you'll just have to imagine it...

Wednesday

2007-07-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

A quiet morning for Ama-la, then after lunch we explored the London Underground and went to visit the folks at Free Tibet Campaign who had asked for a talk by ama-la about her experiences and the situation in Tibet. They have a lovely office and quite a few staff and volunteers. Strange, but Ama-la seemed to talk more about Art Refuge and the children than her time in prison, which I think is what they wanted to hear more of. And some of them didn't know about us so I was asked to explain about the charity more at the end. Ama-la was presented with a huge bouquet of flowers afterwards, much to her surprise, and I was presented with a gorgeous plant, much to my surprise (Tsering got a t. shirt)!

And that evening we went out for a drive which we thought was going to be a short one, to Hitendra's sisters' house for dinner...but got caught up in traffic and didn't arrive till an hour and a half later- oops! Luckily, Meena was very understanding and it had given her time to make an outstanding feast and to organise her husband and sons! There was so much food (and I fell in love with her cauliflower curry -it was divine!) Hitendra's mum and dad were there too, and his mum felt a special bond with Ama-la- they made a lovely pair. And after it all, poor Hitendra drove us all the way home again- going out of his way to take me over the other side of London where I was staying. He is such a poppet!

Suffolk...

2007-05-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

Well, actually the day before the trip to the Suffolk seaside...Ama-la had been invited to the Office of Tibet in London. The Representative of HHDL’s office, Mrs Taklha, was due to have left a few days before, and there had been a great reception in her honour on the previous Friday. When we turned up on Monday we discovered to our delight that she was still there, tidying things up before handing over to Tsering Tashi, the new Rep. And of coure, Jampa, the previous assistant director of the Centre in Dharamsala was there as well, having been posted there a few months ago, so it was a lovely reunion for him, Ama-la and Tsering. I think they chatted a lot about Art Refuge from the few Tibetan words I was able to understand- it sounded like Ama la was explaining why she’d been brought to London and what we do exactly for the children. I now feel we have been formally introduced to the Office here, which may help in the future.

Following this was a trip to the Houses of Parliament, organised by our wonderful David, one of the seciurity guards there. Ama-la had taken a shine to him so when he produced a wheelchair so she didn't have to walk too far, and proceeded to be her companion and escort all the way, she was thrilled. I was beginning to worry about what her husband Rinchen would say! David is a great tour guide, and kept Ama enthralled by Britsh history and stories of past misdeeds done on that site (in particular the Gunpowder Plot). She said by the end of the visit that it was a highlight and she'd have lots of stories about our Government to take home.

And on Tuesday there was a trip to the seaside. I’d been hoping that I could bring Ama-la and Tsering up to Suffolk to meet my mother and to see the sea. It’s a particularly beautiful part of England that I live in so naturally I wanted to share it. Thankfully, Ama-la agreed, so early that morning I met her, Tsering and Alyssa, our fab ex-volunteer from the US who had flown over specialy to be with us, at the station and we set of for our adventure. Within minutes we had left the business and buildings of London and emerged into fields galore which thrilled Ama-la who couldn’t get over how green it all was, then yellow (fields of rapeseed), then light blue (flax?) and the woods, and the cows, and sheep, and also some llamas (which confused her as when she heard the word mentioned started looking for signs of maroon robes in the fields!)
When we arrived at my home, mum was waiting outside to greet them, and Ama-la gave her a great hug, and clung on to her hand, yapping away in Tibetan without waiting for Tsering to translate, while mum looked very baffled by the whole thing. It was so sweet!

After a wonderful lunch from mum with strawberries for dessert, we disappeared down to the beach for a walk. I wasn't sure how Ama-la would fare on the shingle which can be murder on the legs, especially with a walking stick which tends to sink into the stones never to be seen again. But she loved it! And Tsering and Alyssa were so happy to be by the sea that they went for a paddle!

Back home, mum had prepared a traditional cream tea- using the left over strawberries to make some last minute strawberry jam when she found none in the cupboard! Ama-la couldn't get over that when she heard- guess they don;t make jam that much in Dharamsala. We had a cople of friends come over to join us who were delighted to meet Ama-la and Tsering, and we only just managed to get the party away in time to catch the train back to London, tired but full!

Sunday afternoon

2007-05-27T07:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the first of Ama-la's talks, held in London in the same building as the Comic Relief offices, and scheduled to start at 3:00pm. Joe had set up the room beautifully, and even made us all some tea before things kicked off, bless him.

Hitendra who had organised the talk and who had set up the room beautifully, gave a thorough, clear intro to Ama-la and the Tibetan situation, backlit by the cover picture of Ama-la's book projected on the wall behind him (courtesy of Tom) which made him look rather star-like. Ama-la talked for about 40 minutes before answering questions and there was some fine translating by Tsering who looked very smart and official. Ama was as graceful and dignified as ever, keen to share her story and update events in Dharamsala. She'd been dropped off by the wonderful care hire company Karma Kabs whose cars are amazing! (http://www.karmakabs.com/) They certainly draw attention and you can hear them coming from miles away :)

The event was filmed by Tim, our fantastic media person with the hope that one day we’ll make a film for Art Refuge. Not sure what format it will take yet, but let’s wait and see...

Thanks Hitendra for arranging this!

The Launch

2007-05-27T04:58:00.000-07:00

A very busy day, starting off with some very serious shopping for a launch outfit! Well, ok, it wasn't that serious; it was fun, and not something I do that often in such high speed. Accompanied by my big sis, Su, we sped round assorted shops in Angel, Islington, and much to my amazement found 2 tops and a fab pair of sandals in about 5 mins! Exaggerating? Me? Hmm, ok, maybe it was more like 30 mins, but seeing as it usually takes me 30 mins in a shoe shop before walking out emptyhanded, this was a miracle. And the final top I purchased was incredible!!! Purple sequins on a stretchy tank top- ab fab or what!

OK, I know, this is supposed to be about the launch...

Had lunch with Trinley, the mad monk, our tame printer who'd come down from Scotland just to help out. Little did he know, but after lunch I was going to drag him round Sainsbury's then lock him in the kitchen so he could prepare the food. Well, it's his fault for being an ex-chef!

And to his credit, he didn't complain, and he did in fact turn out some gorgeous grub, which assorted trustees and helpers trotted round to all the guests who arrived. I think about 100 people came to support us, friends, family and odd people off the street too. Ama-la came and was duly treated with the respect, importance and adoration given a celebrity these days, and it was lovely to see a good turnout from the Tibetan community too. I suspect that a good few of them were there to chat to Tsering, as a couple of times I had to run off to find him for translating duties when a guest wanted to talk to Ama-la, and he'd wandered off to chat. Ama-la brought with her the elder of the family she is staying with, so we had 2 Ama-la's to entertain, and Ama Rinzin was wonderful- such a great twinkly smile- she is so adorable!

And there was the hilarious offering of kata to all the important people. Slight misunderstanding as I wanted to give them to Ama-la & Tsering for coming over, as well as Gonkar for letting us have his gallery, but Ama-la wanted to give them to all the trustees and helpers! So it was a slightly chaotic ceremony, with lots of laughter, and kata being thrown around necks galore. Ama-la also gave a short speech thanking everyone for showing up and supporting Art Refuge, saying that she wouldn't talk about her story because she would be doing that the following day.

And that was it. By the time we'd cleared up, it was time for a late dinner across the road, where we found many other people from the launch already digging in. What a tiring day, but a big success :)

Settling in

2007-05-27T04:37:00.000-07:00

Well, the first couple of days have been quite gentle. We took Ama-la and Tsering to the gallery the day after they arrived so they could see the exhibition. I think they were very impressed. Especially with the drawing that we'd had framed which depicted Ama-la being tortured- she remembered the class where the teenager had made that picture- it made quite an impression on her! They also sat and watched Sergei's video of the Nangpa Pass shooting which he had made for us- it was very moving! He is a great cameraman and film maker and if you ever get a chance to see his work, do so.

See how many Ama Adhe's you can spot in this photo!

We also went for lunch with Gonkar in Bethnal Green, to a wonferful archetypal English cafe which sold meat, meat and more meat! Oh and mashed potatoes, and lots of gravy! Not much good for a veggie like me, but surprisingly they did an all-day veggie breakfast! And there were some very intersting characters there...it was like mingling with the cast of Eastenders!

On Friday, after meeting up with Hitendra (who was organising the venue for the Sunday talk) and the delightful Joe (the building manager of said venue), we took Ama-la and Tsering out for a meal...a great Southern Indian restaurant. We were very concerned that Ama-la was comfy so brought with us the entire stock of blankets that Hitendra had in his car/people carrier- she was well padded!

It was good to meet Joe earlier- he has a permanent twinkle in his eyes, and who made you feel that he would do anything you asked, with a smile and a skip in his step, and his enticing soft Irish brogue! He's gorgeous! Hitendra is a poppet too, and is very fond of Ama-la, having interviewed her a few years ago for a book he's writing. In fact, I first met him in Dharamsala while he was waiting to meet with her, and was observing the Art Refuge class. He was very touched by the artwork the kids were producing and we got talking and kept in touch afterwards. When he heard Ama-la was coming over to the UK, he was delighted, and offered to help...and may regret that offer by the end of the 2 weeks!

She's Here!!!

2007-04-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

Ama-la has arrived safe and sound, albeit a little weary. But it was a good flight apparently, and Tsering took great care of her. Her host family are Wonderful- Dolma, her husband Martin, and her mother Acha Rinzin, who took to Ama-la like an old friend she hadn't seen for a long time. So I feel she's in very good hands.

We took them to see the exhibition on their first day, and they both seemed very happy with it (I think we are approved officially now). And they watched the great video that Sergei made- he's the Romanian cameraman who was there at the Nangpa-Pass shooting and caught it all on camera. He very kindly made us our own film especially for this event and it has some very powerful images. Ama-la had also brought over some drawing she had collected in Dharamsala of the Nangpa-Pass incident- they are incredible, and we'll get some of them framed for the next exhibition. She has also put together a sheet of photos of the Art Refuge Program that we can use anywhere- like a travelling exhibition, which will be very useful. We were later taken out for lunch by Gonkar, to a typical English East End Caff, with lots of meat, and 2 veg.

So, so far, so good. Tomorow is the opening party/ launch- lots of people expected- just hope I don't have to make a speech! Will report later. By the way, if you want to make a comment, just write in as anonymous- then you don't have to go through the whole registering palavar!

Setting-up

2007-04-24T17:17:00.001-07:00

Tom, Karen and I with the magnificent help of Gonkar, managed just about to get everything set up today. Ok, so we have some tidying up to do tomorrow, titles to display, catalogues to copy, sorting out the merchandise, etc, but for the most part, it's ready to roll! Very exciting :)

And we have a lot of merchandise: handmade paper notebooks, bags, incense, 2 books, (inlcuding Ama-la's own book), postcards, photos, and a lovely glossy catalogue. Karen sat on the steps and drank copious cups of green tea while trying to wake up, I wandered round and round in circles worrying about the arrival of Ama-la tomorrow (until I was told I was only allowed sequential panics and to focus on panicking about setting up the exhibition), and Tom and Gonkar put up the artwork, and sorted out the projector for our slide show (and it's a great slide show- hope you get to see it).

And then Mike turned up and gave his tuppence worth before dragging us all off to the Thai restaurant across the road for dinner (minus Gonkar who'd had to leave earlier).

Found out it would take 2 weeks approx for more of Ama Adhes' books to be delived from the USA, so have decided to go ahead and order some, which she can sign before she leaves and we can take orders for (so if you'd like your very own copy signed by her, let me know soon).

That's all for today- the grand opening is tomorrow- wish us luck!

ps. Will add photos tomorrow

Oops!

2007-04-23T23:17:00.000-07:00

Oh dear, I seem to have a fried brain at the moment. The flyer that we have made to advertise Ama-la's talk has 2 errors on it, and I only found out about them (or had them pointed out to me, rather) one at a time. So in case you're reading this and wondering exactly what is going on and when, the first talk is on Sunday APRIL 29th at 3pm, and the 2nd talk is on THURSDAY May 3rd. All my contacts on my email list are going to get sick of me sending them corrected flyers every day! Good thing we weren't having them printed out in large quantities! Anyhow, we're still waiting to confirm the venue for the first talk but I'll keep you updated.

But we have some transport arranged for a few of the talks (just need to confirm times and locations) and have enlisted the wonderful services of Tobias and Karma Kars- check them out on his website- they are amazing! http://www.karmakars.net. Hopefully, Ama-la will feel right at home in them ;)

I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that the printers get everything ready on time, and that I can fit everything into the smaller suitcase...I don't particularly want to take the pink monster into town with me (it's huge, that suitcase- and one that you need to view with strong sunglasses on).

Tomorrow we're meeting at the Gallery around 3pm to start setting up. If I can I'll take some photos during the proceedings and post them later. That's all for today...

AMA-LA IS COMING!!

2007-04-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

Such exciting news! Ama Adhe has been granted a visa to come join us at the exhibition. For those of you who don't know who she is, she's a Very Important Person. An elderly Tibetan lady from Eastern Tibet, she survived 27 years of prison by the Chinese, and once in exile, wrote a book about her experiences: Ama Adhe: The Voice That Remembers. She also just happens to be one of our staff members in Dharamsala, Northern India, so her presence here is a vital part of the exhibition. She arrives in London on Wednesday, accompanied by Tsering, who looks after our volunteers in Dharamsala and works as the data entry chap in the Office for the new arrivals. He'll be her travel companion and translator.

If you want to see Ama-la, she'll be giving at talk on Sunday April 29th at 3pm 'Tibet: a Voice that Remembers.' (venue to be announced in the next day or two)

She'll also be participating in the talk mentioned in the previous post on Wednesday May 2nd at the Sweet Tea House.

And as an extra bonus, Tibetan Youth UK and the Tibetan Women's Association are organising a talk on Friday May 4th- Ama Adhe: A Personal Account Under Chinese Occupation. Venue, Tibet Foundation, 1 St. James Market, London. 6:30pm. Refreshments provided. Admission- free.

Do come see her- there are not many women like her around any more- ones who remember Tibet before the Chinese arrived and who survived years of torture and torment. Within the Tibetan communities worldwide, she is considered a Tibetan heroine! These days she devotes her life to helping the newly arrived children from Tibet, and to prayer. She is an inspiration to see, hear and be around. Hope you get to see her while she's here.

The prelude to our London Launch

2007-04-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

The whirlwind has started
Our big London launch has been in the planning stages for several months now and we're counting down the days before it begins, a few days from now. As usual, a whirlwind of activity begins in this period, and I feel like I'm a spinning top, directing the orchestra of trustees and volunteers as I turn. So, details of our exhibition: Journey into Exile- Artwork by children who escaped from Tibet into Exile. Venue: The Sweet Tea House, 264 Globe Road, Bethnal Green, London. It's a lovely gallery, set up by Gonkar Gyatso, dedicatd to promoting contemporary Tibetan art. Gonkar is a fantastic artist himself- in fact, he's one of the foremost (if not THE foremost) Tibetan artists in the West. He's very kindly letting us use his gallery for the launch of Art Refuge UK, so if you are anywhere near London, do come visit. The exhibition runs from Wednesday April 25th to Saturday May 5th 2007, Wednesdays to Saturdays, hours 1-7 pm. It includes some artwork by survivors of the Nangpa Pass shooting from September 2006 as well as (hopefully) some of the video footage taken by Sergiu Matei, the Romanian camerman who was in the vicinity at the time- powerful images indeed! And there will be a talk on Thursday May 3rd at 6pm entitled: Creative Journeys: Therapeutic Artwork with Tibetan Refugee Children, for those of you who want to know more about the Art Refuge Program.

I aim to update this blog on a regular basis during the exhibition to keep you informed of interesting things that may occur, fun and supportive people who may turn up, comments in our on-the-spot visitors book, etc. One thing I can guarantee- it's going to be an interesting 2 weeks!