day 8–tirthapuri

 

the day is expected to be somewhat relaxed, with a program to visit tirthapuri – typically a half day program, advanced to today due the non-availability of the yaks for parikrama.

apparently not everyone visits tirthapuri – which requires a separate permit, which may not always be granted.

as a photo-clicking tourist visit, there were a few spots to be seen [and ticked off the check-list!].

first was mini Kailas: obviously man-made, the belief was that whoever is not able to do the main parikrama can go around this mini Kailas and get the same effect.

the next was basmasura hill: the spot where basmasura was reduced to ashes. compared to the other hills around it, this was the only one that seemed to have a lot of ash!

the next check item was the ‘assess your sin level’ hole, next to the kala chakras.

a small hole, on which one would sit, close eyes and put a hand into the hole from one’s back and pick one stone.

if the stone was black, it meant that you still have some sins in your baggage and coming on this visit would help dissolve them. but, if the stone you picked was white, then, all is well and you should continue to do good.

i could not get any link to any other mythological story.

this and the mini Kailas, seem to have the indications of making this a tourist spot..

as we got down the hill, we saw the hot sulphur spring.

on the way back, we got a good views of the west and south faces of Kailas.

back at the guest house, and darchen – some exploration and interactions with the ‘gypsies’ who sold things that were ‘cheap, no cheating’, but discovered that the prices for some of their items were so inflated, that even after bargaining, one could not be sure if the price paid was right – or could have been lower.

the seemingly flat road outside the youth hostel made one gasp for breath, if one walked a little fast. the gradient was certainly very gradual, but raised doubts of whether we can make it to the parikrama.

a slightly indisposed stomach – from mansarovar was also getting stabilized, along with our acclimatization. [ah! finally got to use this word, which was one of the most frequently used terms in the last few days by most of the persons]

though there was an option of a public bath @ 20 Yuan across the street, considering the cleanliness and that we would not be able to take a bath for the next 3 days, decided to skip it.

the bath at the hostel was open only for a limited time and was not very convenient.

all set now for tomorrow morning.. hoping that the yaks and porters and ponies would all be there..