Day 4: October 1, 2006
Gyantse Kumbum - Shigatse
















Inside the walled compound of Pelkor Chode Monastery, founded in 1418, and once a complex of 15 monasteries that brought together three different monastic orders. Most of the monasteries were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.










































A wall of texts of the Buddha's teachings and their commentaries.












































Door to the protector shrine...




















Next to the monastery is the Gyantse Kumbum (='100,000 images'), commissioned by a Gyantse prince in 1427. A 35 meter tall stupa with a clockwise route that takes pilgrims up through the 6 floors and 77 chapels that line the walls. The 14th century murals inside are said to be a mixture of Newari (Nepali), Chinese, and Tibetan styles (only distinguishable by an art expert!).

































Ruins around the Kumbum.





















1000-armed Avalokiteshvara (Tib: Chenresig) the Bodhisattva of Compassion reaching out to suffering beings...










































Pilgrims exiting one of the upper levels





















Hmm, not the most polite figure...





















Peter admiring the murals in one of the chapels.





















Mural of a mandala


















Looking out over the compound





























































































































































On the road to Shigatse, Tibet's second largest town, at 3,900 meters above sea level.
Some kind of animal hide being transported...





















Cory sending and SMS to Sara in Seattle--and she received it!

















Biking across Tibet?! Some Dutch travelers we met.


















Rows of greenhouses
















Harvesting, and mud bricks laying out to dry...
















Another greenhouse--sustainable living...

















The Coors Trian welcoming us to Shigatse
















Putting up some MORE banners?

















Crazy exhibit in the Manasarovar Hotel lobby
















hotel lobby

















PLUSH rooms!
















And AMAZING (handsome!) service--check it out!!
















Evening walk around the Tashilhunpo Monastery (from 1447), traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas...

















Long rows of prayer wheels line the route...
















Gilded roof of one of the chapels holding the funerary tomb of the previous Panchen Lamas.

































Small furnace for burning sage...





















Giant wall where massive silk brocade thangka paintings are displayed during festivals.


































Piles of yak horns
















Looking down over the monastery and city...

















Shigatse--check out the Everst 'model' in the right foreground..





















Carved mani stones lining the route






































In the distance is the Shigatse Fort, like a mini-Potala Palace, once the residence of the kings of Tsang (Tibet's south-central province), and destroyed during the uprising of 1959. China is now rebuilding it with massive amounts of concrete....the newest 4 star hotel?
















Prayer wheels lining the route....





















Curb-side billards!