Through lectures and visits to the homes, monasteries and workshops of local Tibetans there will also be time to learn about the various aspects of Tibetan culture that make it so unique. Tibetan Buddhism, medicine, music and painting are a few of the many aspects of this unique culture that we will explore. After our time in Boudha we will move up into the Himalayan region. We will not yet cross the border into Tibet but remain just South and visit one of several areas of ethnically and culturally Tibetan people who were never directly affected by the Chinese. We will trek into a high community and settle briefly in a village.
Village life is slow paced and relaxed.
We will visit the local monastery and lamas and meet the people who inhabit the high Himalaya, a tough breed mixing humor, common sense, and kindness. It is interesting to hear their perspective on the Tibetan situation and to get a glimpse of Tibetan culture untouched by the massive changes which occured just a few miles north in Tibet proper. Finally we will travel to Tibet, to the heart of the culture we have been exploring. In Lhasa, the most important city in Tibet, we will visit the monasteries that once bustled with monks and the Tibetans who remained. Tibetan life is centered in the old part of Lhasa where we will stay.