Tashi delay :-)

Last night we decided to go and burn off our late dinner of salad and chilli potatoes by taking a walk around the kora of the Johkang. It was a great idea because in the dim light the experience was quite different to that which is experienced during the busy daytime...

The stalls which normally sell Tibetan handicrafts, religious tokens, clothes etc were for the most part packed up so there was not the usual hustle and bustle of trade. At the front of the Johkang there is a small, low level hall, within which there are housed many hundreds of burning yak butter lamps which are placed in rows. We took a look through the unpaned window and felt the heat as the glow fell against our faces.

Joining the pilgrims who were still doing the kora even at this time of night we began our slow meander through the narrow streets flanked by the whitewashed walls and store fronts. There was missing the smoke from the burning juniper offerings that is abundent throughout the day and stings your eyes.

There were many people begging for money. Many of these were monks as well as pilgrims although we are not quite sure how to tell the difference between a genuine pilgrim or anyone who may be taking advantage of the tourist dollar. Pilgrims often need the donations in order to be able to return home again. We had both been saving our Jiaos for moments like this. As we walked in the dim light there were pilgrims who were doing the kora by falling onto their knees and lying face down on the floor, then moving to where their hands were and starting the process again. These people will go around the Johkang 3 times for a full kora. I can imagine how much their abs must hurt when repeating this process so often, it would take many hours.

There were many women who sat with very young children. Both were equally as grubby. The women would outstretch their hand waiting for some money to fall upon it, their eyes would look pleadingly at us. The children (sometimes well trained) would run up and follow us, their hands pressed together, they would mutter in Tibetan and look at us with such sad eyes. Some of the children took a more gleeful approach and would smile, sometimes bringing laughter amongst their desperate situation. A grubby, chubby mother and child both smiled sweetly at me. I had already placed a Jiao in the woman's hand but the child had not witnessed this and she proceeded in grabbing my thigh by hugging it and would not let go. Luckily K made the right motions with her hands and the sound of the words from her mouth to make the child return to mother.

The monks who sat on the kora asking for money also varied in their approach. I was feeling apprehensive last night about giving money to any monks because while I was in a phone booth last night a monk grabbed hold of my arm and repeated "money, money" at me with his hand outstretched. Some of the monks, who mostly sat in rows of no more than five, would be chanting mantras together. In front of them sat a pile of money, more so than the pitiful amount that we had seen in many of the pilgrims hands. We saw many monks who seated together on the floor were counting up their mound of cash. We found this a little disturbing, we had seen people who looked hungry nearby and the happy monks looked greedy in their success in comparison. There were also nuns who were asking for alms and were singing too, they also had a decent size amount of cash but it is really quite obvious that the monks receive more than anyone else. I am not sure whether the monks also need the money to get back to their monastery that may be located far away I guess the competition can be quite fierce. Within 5 minutes of walking the kora I was down to my last Jiao, both K and I had been particularly selective about who we gave money too, we had decided that only those who were disabled or women with children who would get our Jiaos.

There were people who walked the kora very fast, speeding around it as though it was an everyday occurrence for them. We know of one Tibetan who does a full kora of the Johkang every morning. There was the sound of mumbling mantras and the sight of spinning prayer wheels that people held in their hands. There were people out with young toddlers who cried in their arms, it being past a decent time for someone so young. Chinese tourists were taking photos (I do not remember seeing any other "western" tourists last night).

As we came to the end of the kora we reached the front of the Johkang. Children were playing on the scaffolding of the empty stalls. There were a few people out selling their wares, their overtired children nearby. I think of how hard it must be to have to stay out so late trying to sell the most smallest thing in order to make some money. A couple of women who sat with their backs against the butter lamp hall spotted K and I walking. I had spotted them first and watched as they spoke to their children who were obviously sent straight over to us, having singled us out, in order to gain some donation. I kept hold of my last Jiao, I did not like the situation especially as the mothers were drinking beer. Perhaps I am harsh, it is always difficult to know who to give money to, guide books advise that you give it to an organisation but when it is as little as 1 GBP I wonder how beneficial this would be, it is more likely to be appreciated in the hand of an individual.

We left the kora and walked through the narrow alleyways back to the Beijing Donglu on which our hostel is located. There were people still working, selling bread, stitching clothes for example. Other businesses were restaurants (with various degrees of styling), bars or just a pool table that was momentarily hired out to willing punters.

I have some photos to post which show the various types of people that we see walking the kora, these will make it onto the blog soon.