Beautiful Amdo

So as I promised, I figured I would post some more photos for y'all. This batch is from our excusrion to Quinghai Lake, a beautiful place to visit. It was the first real opportunity we had to get out of the city and see the countryside, which I think is one of the best parts of China...in the China there is noise, dirt, foul odors...in the country it is like another world...untouched is a good word for it. This is a friend of ours, who may end up being my tibetan tutor. He is a Lama and drove us to the Lake. Most of the pictures speak for themselves, you may actually find them boring, but my Mom wants to see where I am, and the fact is, the country is very beautiful.













Sorry I don't have a zoom lense...there are lots of sheep grazing on that hill.















Yakety yak...





Something you would never see in America!!


So I don't think those needed words, the landscape speaks for itself. So when you get out into the tibetan countryside what do you eat you might ask??? Well tsampa of course!! Below you can see yak cheese, barley flour, sugar and yak butter. Now the yak is a blessing for tibetans, not only can it survive in the cold and high elevation but its butter and cheese don't require refrigeration. I don't quite care for the cheese myself, but a little extra sugar does the trick. It takes some practice but you take some butter tea, throw your flour cheese butter and sugar in and mix that puppy by hand. As you can see there is a definate technique and it's a bit messy at first. When you have little balls of dough enjoy...




Quinghai Lake...






Next time...Lhasa and the stupa above Xining