Chow Fun Tours Travel Blog - Chow Fun Tours, LLC

Tibetan Plateau Part II

2/19/2020

The Tibetan Plateau is in far western China. Due to the high altitude, we made sure to ride horses out to the nomad families' tents; walking would have taken too much energy when the air is so thin. The views were breathtaking. We all enjoyed riding over the undulating hills of the plateau. The altitude only allows certain flora and fauna to survive.

We had a lovely picnic with our guides mid-way through the ride. Due to the language barrier, we could not communicate with our guides, but we used hand signals and a lot of laughter to get our points across. The Tibetan Plateau is an adventure. It is fun, inspiring and breathtakingly beautiful, but not for the faint of heart.

Tibetan Plateau Part I

2/9/2020

I brought a small group of students and a best friend from college to far western Sichuan Province last year, to the Tibetan Plateau. I had never traveled this far west in China before. I was equally surprised and inspired by the landscape and the people. We spent an overnight with a nomad family that raises and herds yak. We learned about their lives and contributed what little we could to doing chores. I shoveled yak dung into piles so that the family could use the dry dung for fuel. (The community basically has no carbon footprint.) I tried my hand at yak milking, but was mostly unsuccessful. There were three issues with my being able to contribute: 1. I do not know their local dialect and therefore could not understand them; 2. I am uninformed on farming; and 3. I had an altitude headache and dizziness. I had no idea that the Tibetan Plateau is over 13,000 feet above sea level. I drank a lot of water and moved slowly, but that was not enough to avoid symptoms.

Despite a little sickness and my ineptitude, this was one of the most exhilarating and inspiring trips of my life. It was China, but it was also not China. The lives of the people here are so vastly different than those of other families I have visited. If you are interested in an adventure, this is a trip for you.

Moxi

1/29/2020

Moxi is the small town that is the gateway to Hailuogou Glacier Park. Although the glaciers are the main draw, the town is adorable and worth a visit, in and of itself. Old buildings are interspersed with newer cafes and bars. The shops house really cool gift items. I have a pair of slip-on shoes that I often wear back in the US. Some of the shop owners paint with bright colors and bar owners decorate with painted bottles. At breakfast, some small restaurants make fresh noodles (noodle soup is a popular breakfast item here and in many places in China). There is a dichotomy between the old and the new, but it all seems to work together in this quaint village.

Children of Western China

1/19/2020

One of my favorite photography subjects is children in China. They are not only adorable, but they are rarely sad. They have a great respect for their parents and elders, which shows in their genuine happiness to be in their company, a welcome change to western culture. I think their happiness is tied to their love of family. Although in the cities, kids have the same exposure to technology as western children, they respect their elders enough to not let their phones or video games distract them from family (at least, not in my observations). In the countryside, there are no distractions and the kids are even happier. Happy with a stick or piece of cardboard. The good old days.

Hailuogou Glacier Park Part II

1/9/2020

After taking the cable car up to the glaciers, we disembark SLOWLY. The altitude is high, about 12,000 feet. But the views of the glaciers, the surrounding clouds and greenery and the serene Buddhist temples and statues counterbalance the lack of oxygen.

Buddhist prayer flags dot the landscape. The flags are used to promote peace, wisdom and compassion. The flags are believed to be blown by the wind to carry prayers and mantras to spread goodwill and compassion. A lovely sentiment that feels real in the presence of nature, with the colorful flags blowing in the wind.

The five colors of the flags represent the elements, which, when balanced, bring health and harmony: blue = sky and space, white = air and wind, red = fire, green = water, and yellow = earth.

Hailuogou Glacier Park Part I

12/29/2019

Hailougou Glacier Park is located in Luding County, Sichuan Province. It has a high altitude so it's important to take things slowly.

We arrive on the glacial mountain via cable car. Although the most beautiful time of year is in the winter, the glacial melt in the summer causes a beautiful rush of waterfalls on the mountain.

We chose to walk partway down the mountain in order to see the beauty of these falls. The primitive forest coupled with the sound rush of water makes for a peaceful journey.

Notice in the pictures that, despite being the heat of summer, we are wearing long sleeves and pants. Hailuogou is much colder in the summer due to its altitude. Dress accordingly!

All the Tea in China

12/19/2019

Depending on where you are in China, there are tea farms where you can do everything from picking to drying to tasting. This past summer, I visited what is deemed the birthplace of Chinese tea, in Sichuan Province on Mengding Mountain.

The tea in this area is called Mengding Ganlu which means "Sweet Dew of Mengding." The tea is hand-picked and hand-roasted. We had the opportunity to pick and roast the tea.

We are instructed to pick the newest baby tea leaves. While we thought we were following this direction, when we bring our bounty back to the tea growers, they pick through and remove about a third of our leaves.

The roasting is done in an enormous wok over a blazing fire. The fire is stoked by the woman of the house while the man mixes the the leaves around...using his bare hands! The leaves need to be constantly mixed so that they do not burn.

After the hard work, we sit down to a tea ceremony in which the growers show us how to steep the tea and let us taste several varieties. Join me on a Chow Fun Tour and taste some of the best teas in the world!

Tibetan Macaques

12/9/2019

Macaques live in mountains all over China, but I had the privilege of meeting the Tibetan Macaques on my recent trip to Emei Mountain in Sichuan Province. What a lively group! My favorite duo were the mom and very little baby, but the monkey drinking milk comes in a close second. They grab some of their food from unsuspecting tourists, like the cookies and milk and yogurt, but some of it is purchased with the monkeys in mind. That would be the fruit and nuts. Their mannerisms are so close to human that I marvel each time I see one. On this day, we saw so many that all my marveling set us back about an hour. Time well spent.

Emei Mountain

11/29/2019

Emei Mountain is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China. It has over 30 Buddhist temples and monasteries, most of which are housed near the top of the mountain. People flock to the mountain to pray to the thousands of Buddha statues on the mountain. Due to the altitude and climate, it rains on Emei Mountain over 250 days per year. The rain, however, does not ebb the flow of tourists and pilgrims who flock to the mountain for the magnificent views (even in the rain, the mist and clouds are spectacular) and for pilgrimage. Come with me to China and visit one of its beautiful mountains!

Buddhist Prayer

11/22/2019

I love observing Buddhist rituals: lighting candles, burning incense, counting prayer beads, bowing, kneeling. The harmony and sense of peace is unparalleled. I suppose that this might be said in prayer rituals of any religion, but in my experience, the Buddhist way seems most tranquil. I think a lot of this has to do with the content of the prayers: selflessness, connection, gratefulness, peace, humility, light, compassion, goodness. A traditional Buddhist prayer:

May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness;
May all be free from sorrow and the causes of sorrow;
May all never be separated from the sacred happiness which is sorrowless;
And may all live in equanimity, without too much attachment and too much aversion,
And live believing in the equality of all that lives.

Lauren Drazen

I have traveled all over the world, including adventures in China, Uganda, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Argentina, Vietnam, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, England, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Dominican Republic, Mongolia, Netherlands, Canada and Mexico! My greatest love is introducing Americans to the sites, traditions and people of China. My hope is to give travelers a new lens through which to see the world.

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