New Fronts in the War on Terror: To digress from the Gobi for a moment, here is the newly selected Miss Afghanistan. For details see Afghan Beauty Queen Makes History.

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Quick, all you linguists out there: how do you say "luscious cheesecake" in Pashtu?

The old caravan route to China and Tibet. This is the way the 13th Dalai Lama came to Mongolia in 1904.

Our little caravan sets out from Amarbuyant Monastery for Shar Khuls Oasis, 104 miles to the south.

Tumen-Olzii, cook and disiplinarian on the Gobi trip. Mother of eight children, she knows a thing or two about cooking (and discipline).

The debonair Davakhoo, one of the camel-handlers on the trip.

Eighty-three year-old Gonchigjav (left), currently the oldest monk at Amarbuyant, with his son-in-law and grandson.

Another view of Amarbuyant Monastery. In 1904 when the 13th Dalai Lama visited here there were about 1000 monks in residence. In 1937 the monastery was largely destroyed by the communists. The older monks were shot and the younger ones drafted into the army and sent to fight against the Germans.

Amarbuyant Monastery in Bayankhongor Province, on the edge of the Gobi Desert. From here we traveled by camel 172 miles to Ekhin Gol Oasis, near the Chinese border. There were only two wells on the way, one 51 miles south of Amarbuyant, and the other 104 miles south of Amarbuyant, at Shar Khuls Oasis, so we had to take along 60 gallons of water. We bought two sheep in Amarbuyant, which provided the food for the six of us - three camel handlers, one cook (wife of one of the camel handlers), translator, and myself. We followed the route used by the 13th Dalai Lama when he fled from Tibet to Mongolia following the British invasion of Tibet in 1904. The 13th Dalai Lama stayed at Amarbuyant Monastery for ten days.

Just returned from a grueling camel trip in the Gobi Desert. Details to follow . . .


The Mummy Returns . . . Oh my God No! Run for your life!

Great blog (Monday, Sept. 29) on Iraqi Family Ties from the "Virtual Sheikh." Very informative (if the blog doesn't come up the first time click on it again or reload).

The Twin Pagodas

Although its residents never tire of pointing out that Taiyuan is 2500 years old very little of the old city remains. Taiyuan is now a gritty industrial hub centered around coal mining and other heavy industry. One oasis of tranquility amidst the skyscrapers, immense blocks of apartment buildings, and huge billboards touting not socialist slogans but women’s undergarments is the Shuangta Si, or Twin Pagodas Temple Complex. This consists of two 160 foot high, 13 story pagodas, several temples, and nicely manicured gardens. The complex was built in the years 1699-1716 by a monk named Fu Deng.

For news from Baghdad see Girl Blog from Iraq . . . Let's Talk War, Politics and Occupation.

Young Chinese woman (she liked to be called "Michelle") who happened to be on the bus from Taiyuan to Wu-Tai Shan. Although she had been born and raised in Taiyuan she had never been to Wu-Tai Shan, one of the area's most famous attractions. The night before I arrived in town she had a dream that she was going to meet a foreigner. The next day she quite by accident happened to bump into the bus driver who said that a foreigner had signed up for the trip next day to Wu-Tai Shan. She decided to take three days off work (she teaches English to kindergarten students) and also go to Wu-Tai Shan. We ended up spending three days in Wu-Tai Shan together. A more delightful and charming person could hardly be imagined.

Wu-Tai Shan in Shanxi Province, one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in China

It would appear that Saddam Hussein's Worst Nightmare has come true. But not really: see Mongolians Return to Baghdad, This Time as Peacekeepers.