Gyantse – “The Town with Least Chinese Influence”
August 23, 2005
There are many cars going from Shigatse to Gyantse. Cost 20 yuan for a 2 hour trip. Gyantse is written in a famous guide book as a Tibetan town with the least chinese influence. But my guidebook was published in 2000. But today you will be able to see a bunch of Sichuanese restaurants and chinese department stores scattered on the main roads.
Fortunately, there is the old town session of the city, where you will see almost no Chinese shops. Only Tibetan. This road will lead you to the Pelkor Chode monastery. The official ticket fee is 40 yuan, but after negotiation with the ticket selling “monks” I made it down to 20 yuan. The monks told me that the average monthly income of the monks here is just around 300 yuan, but monks who sell ticket earn much more.
Everyday there is prayers session in the assembly hall. I took a picture, and then a young monk came and fined me 20 yuan photography charge. I didnt know about this, and I paid without negotiation (although I have heard previously even this can be bargained). Apparently this is also another method for the monastery to earn money. This young monk can be really rude to tourists who bring camera but refuse to pay, he even can shout “Close your camera!!!” 
The Kumbum stupa is a stupa with ten thousands buddhas. Again, to bring your camera inside you have to pay 10 yuan. And the greedy monk even will not accept any negotiation, and he was very very rude. “If you dont pay just go down!” Actually you can climb to the top without paying, but leave your camera on the bottom where they charge for ticket. So actually you can hide your pocket camera and keep taking photos without paying. I just dont want to support this kind of commersialization of Buddhism so I didnt pay. When I tried to take pictures with my pocket camera which I successfully smuggled, suddenly my camera was out of battery 
. It seems that the Buddha doesnt approve my cheating either 
As my stomach is getting better today, i tried to taste Tibetan food. A bowl of noodle just cost me 2 yuan, in a very Tibetan restaurant near the temple.
BTW, as everyone was curious with my Indonesian cap, everyone wants to try to wear it. And apparently that Tibetans have a custom to spit into the cap before wearing, now my Indonesian cap has very strange smell, mix of the odor of dozens of people’s saliva… uuuurgh. 
Hello ,
Do you remember me ? I am that Hong Kong Boy you met . Do you get well now? I hope you are always lucky . I have visted your gallery . It is great . Keep On .
Form: Fai
Yeah, the monks in that part of Gyantse were quite strict about checking people didn’t take snaps without paying. At the time, they asked for Y10. But many of us would not pay this because they tried to enforce it “each” time for “every” room, in 2002. Absurd. Y10 for the whole Monastery is ok,perhaps. But Y10 for each room? Crazy. Most of us took sneaky shots instead, and by the time the monk came running to shout, we’d already taken it and he could not tell who had taken the photo. It was quite funny, and even the monks found it funny at one stage. It was a game of hide and seek. I agree that it’s frustrating to be asked for money with every move you make when you’re visiting a place. Everyone has to make a living and add to their income i know. But all it tends to do if done constantly, is make visitors resent being seen as a walking wallet. Glad you’re getting better. Noodles, Nooddles, Noodles. The hat spitting doesn’t sound so cool though. Wash it soon…..PLEASE!! Tuberculosis is quite common when you get to that part of Rural Asia. YIKES!!! :O
ih jorok bgt…….. peci yg mana yg kamu pake??? bener tuh si adam, ati2x tbc sama penyakit lain >_
whoa ….the monk charge you outrages !!! I wouldn’t say a thing but any relation with religion. Not taking snap shot…nightmare
Indonesian Cap? what kind of cap is that? Peci? songkok bugis? well, i think you’d better no lend it to anyone you don’t know well, the diseases are terrifying enough there. By the way, have you met “YETI”, the tibet’s legend about snow monster in the himalayas? well, have a nice trip there… eventhough i prefer japan.. hehee, no offense, guys
very interesting story, Gus…kind of difficult updating ur blog day by day…can’t wait the next stories ( the photo’s i mean)…veel succes verder, en hoop dat je camera snel hersteld is…
Is that the Tibetan way of ‘cleansing’ the hat from evil spirit… hahaha. OMG, if I were you I will bring a spare hat.
One for spitting purpose and for the stranger to wear. The other one for personal use.