The Surreal Day I Have Dreaded - The End of My Hike Through Kham - Tibet!

SATURDAY AUGUST 11 post in progress

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\nUp the.hill to GouZhuang dont have.to.stop anymore, even the.stairs.to gomoa... altitude and 4wks hiking helpef! .
\nThought I had missed the chance to pick pepper corn but I found a Bush,full of fiery red. The scent remains on my hands and it's yummy.
\nMuch has changed in four weeks,however,as group four feet and four weeks. Buildings are near completion.Summer growth along the path has been trimmed back. The monastery is getting new gold roofing.And new building is near completion.
\nContemplate my intertwining wheel of happiness.: Health, connection, security, hygge, passe temps, Creative expression. How can I fill my life with these upon I returned to Chengdu?
\nI want to find huking near Chengdu nd nature opportunities in

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My final visit to Lhamotse Gompa, the 1100 -year-old Tibetan Monastery  in Kangding, before departing for Chengdu.  The "Fairy Top"  (Lhamo Tse) was blessed by many high Lamas from two orders of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as by Kublai Khan. It was destroyed twice: once by Mongols and recently in the 50s, by you know who, Mr. Big Red Brother. 

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 Last meals at Kangding Guozhuang Nan Wu Hao Boutique Inn with new friends; a Tibetan family that lives in Chengdu!  Milk Tea boils in a beautiful Tibetan kettle and breakfast includes pickled radish, momos, and a tortilla-like flatbread.
When I returned to the Inn after 4 weeks of hiking across Kham and up to Gyegu, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Chinese: Yushu, Qinghai), Nu Wen had painted Tibetan symbols all over the guesthouse--beautiful!  Gyegu is over 800km from Kangding!  Views from the guesthouse include Paomasan, directly out my window to the east, and Guodasan to the north.  The Inn sits on the sloping side of Juiliansan mountain.  At night, thousands of "fairy lights" light up the face of Mt. Paoma.  "San" means "mountain" in Mandarin.
​Click "read more" to the right for more photos!

Last visit to Lhamotse and to say farewell to my monk friend, Dorje.  I picked a few fresh Sichuan peppers to take home.  The flowers above my head are twice my height!

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A beautiful drive back to Chengdu, about  4 hours (~315km).  The surreal aspect is being surrounded by cars and traffic and noise instead of quiet mountainsides of flowers and silence! Yuk!