Still on my 'to do' list

One place I'd still like to visit is Kangwu monastery near Muli - known to Joseph Rock as 'Kopati'. It was one of the Muli king's three residences and seems to be the one he favoured as being more personal and homely compared to the grandeur and formality of the big monastery complex at Muli proper. This is one of the few modern pictures of Kamgwu that I have been able to find on the Chinese interwebs:

Tibetan pilgrim on Kawa Karpo kora, Oct 2012

Tibetan pilgrim on Kawa Karpo kora, Oct 2012, originally uploaded by jiulong.

The pilgrims travel in family groups and use bamboo rods as walking sticks.

Tibetan pilgrim female on Kawa Karpo Kora, Oct 2012

Tibetan pilgrim female on Kawa Karpo Kora, Oct 2012, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Got my Epson V500 scanner working on my Ektachrome 120 photos so will post a few highlights from our Kawa Karpo/Doker La trek from last October soon. Here's one to start you off ...

Intermission - Digging through the archives

Been a bit quiet lately as I have been moving between the UK and Australia. Now back in Sydney and hope to post a few interesting snippets about the Joseph Rock archives that I perused at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. Fascinating to read Rock's diaries and see some of his correspondence with people such as Alexandra David-Néel (touchingly asking him for hints on how to get published). Will post more pics of my photos once I get my scanner unpacked and sorted.

Dokerla Doker La Duokela 多克拉

Dokerla Doker La Duokela 多克拉, originally uploaded by jiulong.