While I was in occultation I got an email from Sevgi, my friend in Istanbul, announcing that back in early June she had successfully completed the 30-mile long Khora (circumambulation) around Mt. Kailash in western Tibet. Sevgi, Ms. Dao from France, and I had been in a group which had gone to Mt. Kailash back on 2002, but Sevgi was unable to actually do the Khora at that time, so she went back and tried again. The 30-mile walk around Mt. Kailash is not easy, including as it does a traverse over 18,500 foot Drolma (Tara) Pass, but Sevgi was able to complete it. She also sent a photo of the Potala in Lhasa.


Sevgi’s Photo of the Potala

This got me thinking about the trip I did to Tibet last December, again with Ms. Dao. This was my fifth time in Tibet. We visited a plethora of places including Samye, the first monastery ever built in Tibet.


The inner courtyard at Samye


Ms. Dao (lower right) and the Leshan Buddha (upper center) in Sichuan Province, China


Ms. Dao