July 18, 2010 - Zhongdian (Shangri'la), Yunnan, China

Tibetan Greeting: Tashi delek Translation: May all your wishes come true. There are two ways to say potato in Mandarin, yang yu (western taro) and tu dou (dirt bean). We have finally come to the Tibetan Plateau, elevation 10,000 feet.  Through a friend in Oregon, I've been put in connection with an wonderful Tibetan adventure guide in Zhongdian.  Tashi has lived an amazing life; once cooking for the Dali Lama in India, speaking four languages, and learning to raft guide.  Just being in his presence is magical. A few local Tibetans also know the Oregon friend, a river guide who runs Yunnan rivers, and their first question asked of me is, "Are you a good kayaker?"  Disappointing them, I let them know that I can "read rivers," but don't have kayak skills.  On our way from Lijiang to Zhongdian, also called Shangri'la, we read different kinds of river obstructions.  Paralleling the upper reaches of the flooding Yangtze River, we passed at least seven dams on the 180 km (120 mile) drive.  There are currently over 100 dams on the Yangtze River and tributaries - which can be helpful for controlling some of the destructive flooding currently taking place downstream. Stopping to view the Yangtze's first major bend, we also walked a swinging wooden bridge over a swollen tributary, but first we picked up two rocks to make a wish.  One rock thrown upstream to wish for something to come into our lives, the second rock-wish thrown downstream for something to leave our lives.  My 'into-life wish' was very Chinese: fortune - financial stability for my next week solo China travels.  The out-of-life wish was not as easy.  My life is amazing and I want nothing to change.  Recognizing this is a weakness, I made a Buddhist wish: to be released from Earthly attachments.