#derge

Tibetan Cultural Area The Kham regions are located in the three major provinces of China such as Qinghai province, Sichuan province, and Yunnan Province. There are 3 Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures in those 3 major Provinces of China. The Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and Dechen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture are located in Qinghai Province, Sichuan…

1 – Her bir nesne ikilisinin ortak bir özelliği olan uzambilgisel nesnelerin derlemi.

derge kelimesi Türkçe Sözlük’te yer almaktadır. derge sözcüğü ‘D’ ile başlayan, ‘E’ ile biten ( 5 ) karakterden oluşan bir sözcüktür. Kelimenin sözlük anlamına bakıldığında tek anlama sahip olan bir kelimedir. derge kelimesinin anlamına ilişkin detaylı bilgiye verilen açıklama metninden ve ilgili resimlerden…

The iconic grey (or sometimes dark blue), white and red stripes of the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism colour these houses in Derge Town making it very clear which school dominates religious practice here. 

Derge Town, the last outpost in Sichuan province before the modern Tibetan border, is an interesting mix of old and new. 

At the start of last week I was still in Ganzi, loving the friendly atmosphere and abundant hiking and pilgrimage opportunities. But I felt I had been there long enough and it was time to move onwards on my journey.

So I went out to the highway and started hitchhiking west. After no more than ten minutes I was picked up and felt the thrill of once more heading into the unknown on an adventure. Hitchhiking here is relatively easy, provided you speak either some Chinese or some Tibetan - enough to at least say the name of the place you’re going to. Locals and pilgrims hitchhike between towns and monasteries regularly, so people are accustomed to sharing their car or motorbike with anyone who needs a lift.

A couple of motorbike rides later I found myself at a small monastery for the evening, in a very unpleasant situation from which I had to literally escape in the early hours of Wednesday morning. It’s quite a story so I’ve written about it separately to do it justice. It served as a good reminder that not everything in Tibet is great and not everyone has good intentions.

The wheel of fortune swung back around pretty quickly for me though, because on Wednesday I found myself in the most beautiful hermitage surrounded by snow mountains and grasslands, being taken care of by two lovely monks who took on the role of parenting me - for my first 24 hours there I was exhausted and in some shock from what had happened the night before, so the monks were very concerned about me and even brought me tea and breakfast in bed because they were worried I was sick!

Over the following few days the hermitage became my home, and the monks became my good friends. I also found myself putting my Tibetan language skills to good use as an interpreter for a travelling German homeopathic doctor who returns to this area annually to treat the local people using her natural remedies.

I’ve taken a short break now for a few days to travel to Derge - a small town on the border between Sichuan and the Tibet Autonomous Region, that used to be the capital of an ancient independent kingdom. It feels strange to be in a town again now after the peace and quiet that was the hermitage in the grasslands - all the people, traffic, construction, and shops are so busy and loud.

I only arrived yesterday and already I miss the peacefulness of my hermitage home, where there is no traffic or construction and the closest shop is a 45 minute walk away. Of course it’s nice to be in civilisation again with an inside toilet, hot water, and internet, but at the price of all this noise and bustle? No deal.

I hitchhiked again to get here, this time having nicer luck with cars (some fancy luxury SUV’s!) but less luck with timing, meaning I had to walk for about an hour and a half along the highway in-between rides. This is when I’m glad that I’m travelling light!

After a few days I’ve promised both the monks in the hermitage and the homeopath that I will return to stay for another week or so, to continue my role as translator for the patients. Despite the fact that I speak Lhasa dialect, not the local dialect, with effort from both sides we make it work and enable the patients to explain their problems, so the doctor can provide solutions. 

I feel so privileged to be able to work closely with helping people in this way, it’s very rewarding and has brought me close to the community. Plus I’m picking up the differences of the local dialect as I go, making each day a little bit easier as I learn more and more. 

These days I’m speaking more Tibetan each day than I am English, which is great! In many of these remote areas the Tibetan people only have basic Chinese language skills, and zero English language skills, so there is no choice but to use Tibetan and adapt as best I can to their local pronunciation and vocabulary. I have a Tibetan dictionary app that has been incredibly useful with the doctor and patients, but that also requires effort at guessing the spelling of words since in these areas many people are also illiterate in Tibetan. 

I have so many photo and stories to share, I could keep writing for days about it all, I’m sure I’ll never be able to show everything!