Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

Pelkor Chode Monastery in Tibet was once a complex of 15 monasteries that brought together three different orders of Tibetan Buddhism in one compound: a rare instance of mutidenominational tolerance. Everything in and around this complex in Gyantse is huge from the fort or Dzong overlooking, to the Kumbum which rises 4 floors surrounded by a golden dome. When I spotted the young monks it brought an intimacy and human nature, that the huge structures could not. I will never forget the moment when I asked if I could take a photo and two of them smiled and said yes. What was I to do? I took just one shot and expressed my thanks with Namaste, and I feel so lucky that I could capture that moment. It constantly reminds me of the duality of the people we came across. Whether shy and reserve or smiling and inquisitive, the people of Tibet are a great treasure.