Tango time

There are two monasteries ~15 miles north of the city, Tango and Cheri. Tango has been turned into a Buddhist university. We (my apartment mates and I) hired a cab for the morning and drove up to Tango. My two roommates are devoted Buddhist converts. Their sincerity and genuine interest prompted the cabby to join us for the mini-pilgrimage and to act as guide and interpreter with the monks, completely spontaneous.

It was quite interesting to drive there; I had not been on the north side of the city before. We steadily ascended, passing through some more upscale neighborhoods. Leveling out, we passed a small shrine dedicated to the Guru Rimpoche, a stunning painting of him was also seen on the rocks.

We parked and ascended a very steep path through a rhododendron and conifer forest. Some of the rhododendrons were in bloom.

We first visited Tandinay, a small outlier chapel built into the side of the hill. To reach the chapel, we needed to climb ladders through natural passageways in the rocks.

My roomies!

Some of you may wonder why there are no interior pictures. That's because it is considered extremely impolite to photograph the inside of the temple.

We continued to Tango proper. Again, built into the side of the mountain it was a rather large complex. We explored the interior and visited the library. My roommates and our driver did some devotional activities. In one room, the monks were praying and playing music. One of the horns was made from a human thigh bone.

Came back to the city and stopped at MK's for lunch. My guilt was assuaged by a late afternoon trip to the hospital, where I found out there was only one stable patient in the unit. In retrospect, a perfect day to do other things.