Motley Blog

On the occasion of the Dalai Lama's visit to Seattle let met tell my two tibetan stories. I'm not very religious at all, though I do have some sense of faith - call me, if you will, 20% Budhist, 10% Catholic, 10% Protestant and who knows about the rest.

I had the opportunity to visit one of the last pockets of unblemished Tibetan culture - pockets of which exist in northern Nepal, near the Chinese border. I was 18, less than a year out of High School and it was definitely a formative experience. I did the Annapurna Circuit, half of which had only opened to foreigners the previous year. It's a 3 week hike around the Annapurna Massif, best examples of Tibetan villages are Manang and Pisang. That valley is awesome The floor at the lower end is ten thousand feet up and the ridge above is another 15, all in all probably 30 miles or so long, leading to an 18,000 foot pass.

It would take a feature length movie to give the experience it's full due. One interesting story - Tibetan rebels had operated out of the area with CIA funding. Nepal put a stop to it, and still keeps a small military presence in the area. I had the chance to spend an evening with the Commanding Officer in small Inn. He was probably checking me out, but it was well done. I don't remember his name, but he definitely had an influence on me with his stories.

Second story is about the Dalai Lama himself - I had the opportunity to see him in Eugene in the days before that Nepal trip. It was a date with one of my best relationships ever (in hindsight, sigh) - the crowd was probably less than 50. I do remember making eye contact with him, a strange remembrance as one passes his image in the press and films. Perhaps the best of which is Heinrich Harrer's '7 years in Tibet'.

No great conclusions, save perhaps though I do respect the Chinese history they really should step up here and do the right thing.