We drove about 250 km on a winding road cut into yet another series of mountains. Our driver negotiated continuous switchbacks as we drove into higher altitudes, past rock-slides and narrow stretches of dirt road before we reached our final destination, Deqin, the highest city in Yunnan Province.
On the way, Sunny told us about the two types of burials used by Tibetan Buddhists, the water burial and the sky burial. When someone dies, the local Monk decides which type of burial will be performed. In the country, farmers usually perform the water burial whereby the village “undertaker” cuts the body into small pieces, which are thrown into the lake for the fish to eat. The sky burial is usually chosen in mountainous areas, where the small pieces are scattered on a mountain top for the animals and crows to eat. Chinese ethnic minority Buddhists in the area, such as the Yi, cremate the bodies while the Naxi bury their dead. The deceased person is affixed with a silver earring, and for a person who may later happen to find this earring, it is considered very fortunate and will bring good luck.
In response to another question, Sunny told us that her first choice of an English first name was “Elf,” but when her brother told her she wasn’t built like an elf, she chose the name Sunny instead. He also advised her to watch American movies to improve her English. Good advice, we would say, as long as you don’t assume that the movies reflect Western reality.
Since Deqin is only about 63 miles from the Tibet border, we had to provide our passport information and travel itinerary at a military checkpoint before heading any further. This checkpoint was put in place following the recent unrest in Tibet because it is temporarily illegal for non-Chinese to enter Tibet.
We stopped for a short hike down to a panoramic overview of the Big Bend in the Yangtze, which was interesting and gave us a chance to stretch our legs. To breakup the drive, we also stopped at yet another Buddhist monastery called Gaden Dhonga. This was built in 1692 for the White Hat sect, but after being restored following the purge by the Cultural Revolution, it became a Yellow Hat sect.
Farther along, we stopped at the highest point to view 22,000 foot Snow Mountain, where in 1991 a team of 17 Chinese and Japanese climbers attempted to summit but did not survive. Two years later, local people found some of the bodies. This blog entry is turning out to be quite gruesome, eh?
Continuing our drive, we were later stopped by a rock slide that was in the process of being cleared using heavy equipment. With vehicles backed up in both directions as the road crews worked, Tamara took the opportunity to take Polaroid photos of the workers, some Chinese tourists, and a few local women. After some initial shyness, the local women began primping themselves to get a better picture. The women were giggling and had a great time posing; however, most of the men were weren’t as willing to have their photos taken but eventually a few joined in. Three young women from a Chinese tour group wanted their photos taken with Garry, who was more than willing cooperate. We are still an oddity.
After a full day of hairpin turns and beautiful scenery, we arrived at our guest house.
Good night,
Tamara, Rich and Garry
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