Tongren (pop 257,000)
Qinghai Province
China
September 9, 2016
The Longwu Tibetan Temple and Monastery is the main site in Tongren. I saw very little of it. In fact, I almost missed it.
I stroll from my hotel towards the Temple along the main street but as usual, I am seduced by shops and shopkeepers and the local population at work or at leisure.
Xining
Qinghai Province
China
September 10, 2016
Xining is a city with a history of more than 2000 years. It was a vital link to Tibet to the south and to the city of Lanzhou to the east.
Xining lies in the Hexi Corridor and served as a transportation and trading hub for the ancient Northern Silk Road route. The city now serves as a hub for the Modern Silk Road providing connections to multiple-lane highways and bullet trains in all directions.
Qinghai Province
China
September 11, 2016
Kumbum Monastery (Ta’er Si) lies just south of the city of Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province.
The Monastery was built in 1577 at the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Further south, on the road to Qinghai Lake, lies a lovely scenic spot and a Tibetan version of a Petting Zoo. The official name is Sun and Moon Mountain or Sun and Moon Pass.
Qinghai Lake
Qinghai Province
China
September 12, 2016
Qinghai Lake is the largest lake in the People's Republic of China.
Located in Qinghai Province on an endorheic* basin, Qinghai Lake is classified as a saline and alkaline lake.
Qinghai Lake has a surface area of 4,317 square kilometers (1,667 sq. mi.); an average depth of 21 meters (69 ft.), and a maximum depth of 25.5 m (84 ft.).
The current Chinese name "Qinghai," the older Mongolian name "Kokonor", and the Tibetan name translate to "Green Sea,” "Blue Lake" and "Teal Sea" respectively.
Jodhpur, Rajasthan
India
February 28, 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
Jodhpur is blue. Yes, blue.
I am sitting astride the barrel of the cannon, ten feet long, perched on the muscular ramparts of Mehrangarh Fort. From here, 125m (410 ft) above the desert, the roofs of Brahmapuri village are a "washed blue." [*]
At Sea
Aboard the MS Nordstjernen
Svalbard
August 8, 2015
My friends,
Here are a few facts about Svalbard:
Svalbard formerly known by its Dutch name Spitsbergen is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Situated north of mainland Europe, it is about midway between continental Norway and the North Pole.
Svalbard is the northernmost settlement in the world with a permanent civilian population.
