When the clouds touch the earth.

So, story behind my new banner -- other than I was procrastinating in a BIG way.

It is a picture I took on my 48-hour train ride from Xian to Tibet. Was it crazy long? Yup. Worth it? YES! And not only because it acclimates you slowly to the altitude, and therefore reduces altitude sickness (though one fellow traveller still got hit bad. poor chica!).

What really made it worth it was seeing the Plateau.

I love mountains anyway, (particularly snow-capped peaks and glaciers in the middle of summer!). But I've never been on one to see what they really mean. I've always just admired them from afar, not being the climbing sort.

Look a that blue!

 That pictures like this were the first impression I got of Tibet is a godsend. I can't describe how amazing the sky is so high. It's so much bluer, and every cloud is in sharp relief, not just blurs of slight shadow.

I mean, this is the highest lake in the world.
I would have missed it on a plane

And that amazement never went away. On the hills outside of Lhasa, I could see the shadows of the clouds and go "this one's a dog, and this one an umbrella, and this one an octopus on crack."


Tibet in and of itself is an inspiring place. It's ancient and mystical and beautiful in its rough edges. But seeing the clouds touch the earth is perhaps the most inspiring part of all.






Be sure to check out freetibet.org. It's terribly sad, how the Chinese occupation is slowly sapping the beautiful culture from this place. I don't want to get all dramatic and sappy, or preachy, but when you can see the Chinese military armed and ready a rooftop away from your restaurant window, something is wrong. And I've studied Native American history enough to see the parallels, and can guess where this is going.

Gold Star to all the little kids who dreamed of touching the clouds. And six to the Dalai Lama.