Lhasa – Diarrhea :(
August 20, 2005
All plans are cancelled today, as I got diarrhea. Cant go to Namtso (The Heaven Lake) as all buses depart in the morning, and my stomach didnt want to cooperate with me at all. My visa is limited so I probably wont have any chance to see Namtso in this trip. Disappointed, of course, as Namtso is always in my dream. Maybe God wants something else that we dont expect. Anyway, the weather was nice in early morning, but cloudy again in the midday. All my days in Lhasa are cloudy….. where is the blue sky of Lhasa??? 
But I have to keep moving, hopefully can catch the bus the day after tomorrow to Shigatse.
During the day, it was very sunny. During my 3 days here, it’s the first time to see the sunny Lhasa, but it lasted only for few hours. It’s raining again now.
When walking around the main road, I was stopped by two monks. “Thasidele,” they started the conversation. Then they asked for money for donation for their monastery, any amount is OK, they said. I gave them 2 yuan. Then they gave me amulet, asked me to write my name in their book, then asked for more money. I refused. I am sure for donation, there’s no limit on amount of money but the sincerity of donating. I didnt give more and I ran away. They chase after me, insisting of asking more money. Then they asked the amulet back…… I am really sad seeing the attitude of the people using religious symbols here….
Sorry to hear that your trust and sincerity was abused, Ming. I know what it feels like to be honest and giving, and then for that to be abused. When you get to India,that is something you’ll need to watch out for. I have many many Indian friends. But trust must be kept at 50/50 there, because India is full of Gems and Rogues. You have the most beautiful people there, and the most devious too. It takes some time to work out who is who. But you do develop a sense for who is genuine and who is pseudo.