I have now arrived in the land of China, to one of the largest cities in the world lumbering away with over 30 million inhabitants, its extremely crowded and busy streets overflowing with cars, people, electric light and ancient history. Though it is cold; visibility is low due to the fact that there is more pollution here than I have ever experienced in any city I have thus far visited, there is still something very unique and otherworldly about this place.
I have only been here 36 hours, I’ve seen very little, and I am somehow already beginning to feel like I’ve been here before, like in a dream perhaps. Armed with nothing more than my camera phone and a strong and powerful urge to explore and discover, I leave the jetlag and the big guns at home and set out on my own.
I am here on a month tour with Chogyal Rinpoche, and our first night we were graciously treated to a night at the National Theatre which was a wonderful impromptu evening. Regardless of my lack of understanding the language aspect, the visuals were gorgeous, and the music played almost entirely on Koto guitar was eerily haunting in an extremely pleasant sort of way. Today I passed the afternoon meandering around the Forbidden City, the center of town where ancient landmarks are everywhere, sharing the space with newer and more modern government buildings that still somehow look to have been built thousands of years ago. The air is cold, the sky is grey, but it's still a strikingly beautiful place, adorned with glowing yellow lanterns and dark reds against the grayish and foggy white lit sky. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s someone’s birthday - the one and only Chogyal Rinpoche celebrates 32 years old today and I feel so lucky to be here with him to share in the occasion. A special dinner was held in his honor, and we were all there for him to help him eat his cake too :)
Happy Birthday Rinpoche!!!
