Another Wonderful Year Draws To A Close

As 2017 draws to a close in just a couple of weeks, we're taking a moment to celebrate what we've achieved this year and looking forward to what's already on the agenda for 2018 and beyond. 

Beyond The Clouds

This year our Beyond The Clouds director, Fionna Heiton, took a month out of the office to explore the Kham and Amdo regions of eastern Tibet with her twin children. The journey was part of Beyond The Cloud's expansion into running tours in Tibet now, alongside our ever-popular options in Nepal and Bhutan. You can check out her previous blog posts about her journey for some travel inspiration here. 

We also added a new staff member to our team in the office in Nelson: Becky Carruthers, who's spent the last four years living on and off in Tibet and the Himalayas, and has come home to put her knowledge and skills to work at Beyond The Clouds. Becky volunteered with First Steps Himalaya in Nepal in 2011, and is excited to be a part of the office team now. 

This year we've run 15 tours across the Himalayas, 3 of which have been our famous yoga journeys. Bhutan was our top country for 2017, with Nepal coming in second, and newcomer Tibet at the end. Let's see which country will be the top of 2018! 

First Steps Himalaya

Our charity, First Steps Himalaya, has also been achieving great things in 2017: we had a busy season of volunteers at our project site in Nepal helping to build earth-bag classrooms in the local village, aiding the transition from temporary learning centres that they have been in since the earthquake of 2015. 

Volunteers came from all over the world to help build two earth-bag classrooms at Dyali school, which are now nearly complete. We would like to give a huge thank you to Court Construction, who raised over NZ$70,000 to build these classrooms and also returned to Nepal to help with the build. 

As well as builders, we also had several international teaching volunteers dedicate their time to developing our teachers in Nepal this season by providing some amazing training on classroom management, use of resources, encouraging oral language and introducing new games and songs. 

We had another important campaign running in 2017: this year we fundraised for a very special project, to get Sita, her child and her husband who was paralysed in the 2015 Nepal earthquake out of the tin shelter they were living in, and into a wheelchair friendly home. We are very excited to announce that the $25,000 target was exceeded, and Sita and her family's new home will soon be completed. Thank you to Katey Lane for initiating The Sita Project and working hard to fundraise, and thank you to everyone who donated.

Due to the success of this project, and the great need of other disabled people living in sub-standard conditions due to the 2015 Nepal earthquake, we will be keeping this project running to help others in similar situations.  We will keep you posted on the next recipients of this fund.  If you would like to donate, please contact us here. 

What's next?

In 2018, we've already got over 10 tours running to Bhutan, Nepal, and Tibet again. These tours include treks, yoga journeys, and festival experiences in some of the most remote parts of the world. The Himalayas are an incredible destination, and we're sure that our guests will have an experience they'll never forget. 

We're already planning yoga journeys to take off in 2019, too! You can check out our web pages for our Nepal and Bhutan yoga journeys on our website. 

In 2018, Fionna will be returning to Nepal and Bhutan to continue overseeing the work of First Steps Himalaya and Beyond The Clouds in both countries, ensuring that - with your help - we can most effectively benefit the communities we work with. 

We're excited for 2018, and excited to take you with us. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

From the team at Beyond The Clouds & First Steps Himalaya, Nepal and New Zealand.  

Discovering The Real Tibet

A couple of years ago if someone had told me that I’d find more authentic Tibetan experiences outside of “Tibet” than inside it, I’d have laughed at them. But after travelling in the Kham region – an area that is in China’s modern day Sichuan and Yunnan provinces – my eyes have been opened to the untouched world of Tibetan culture and traditions that have been preserved in this remote corner of the Tibetan plateau.

Historically, Tibet was made up of three main provinces: U-Tsang (central Tibet), Amdo (northern Tibet), and Kham (eastern Tibet). These days, what we see marked as “Tibet” on our maps is in fact only central Tibet and is now called the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). Provincial borders were drawn through Amdo and Kham to assimilate these regions into the Yunnan, Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu provinces of modern China.

In Kham these lines on the map haven’t disturbed the strong Tibetan traditions that have been deeply rooted here for centuries. In fact, due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of many of the Tibetan villages in Kham, they’ve been left relatively untouched by the modern developments going on in Lhasa and central Tibet.

Khampas, as the people are known, are famous for being horsemen and proud warriors. You can see them strutting through small towns such as Tagong or Litang, patriotically adorned in their traditional clothes and jewellery. In the grasslands their horses graze alongside herds of yaks, beneath snow-capped mountains and perfect blue skies.

Nomads’ black yak-hair tents dot the mountains. The warmth of their tents is only surpassed by their kindness, as you are welcomed into their home for a brew of tea or a taste of some local food – fresh yoghurt, dried meat jerky, and their staple tsampa. The food takes a little getting used to, as it’s simple and often lacking in flavour except for some chilli paste, but it’s hearty and what you need in the high altitude weather.

Appearing in brilliant contrast against the blue sky and green rolling hills is the golden glittering roof of a monastery. The grandeur of monasteries in Kham can be overwhelming at first as they are richly decorated with paintings and statues dripping in colour and gold. Is this really a place of renunciation? But then you see the modesty of the local pilgrims offering their prayers and money to the temple as they have done for centuries, and the monks humbly accepting it on behalf of all sentient beings for the purpose of bringing enlightenment to all. This is a place of real compassion.

Tibetan Buddhism has been able to flourish in Kham and Amdo in a way that it couldn’t possibly do in central Tibet. Because Kham and Amdo now belong to Yunnan, Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu province the regulations are far fewer – including a notable lack of permits required for foreigners to travel there. Visitors to central Tibet must acquire Tibet Travel Permits through a registered tour agency, and must be part of a guided tour for the duration of their time in the TAR, whereas in eastern Tibet these rules are relaxed and visitors can travel far more freely and easily.

The freedom of eastern Tibet allowed me to meet many more monks, nuns, nomads and ordinary Tibetan people than I ever did in central Tibet, and form good relationships with many of them. I was welcomed into their homes and hosted at their monasteries, taken with their families on pilgrimage and shown around their mountains and valleys that they call home.

Now, when people ask me about going to Tibet I tell them to head east – go to Kham and Amdo if you want to experience the real Tibetan culture, see the towering peaks of snow mountains, and explore the untouched land as it has been kept for hundreds of years. Even Tibetans have a saying: “You go to Lhasa for the monasteries, you go to Kham for the scenery”.

The road to Shangri-La

{Part 7 - Our Founding Director Fionna Heiton is currently travelling in Tibet with her teenage twins}

We have almost reached the end of our Tibetan Journey and finally, after driving right across the Tibetan plateau, over high passes inhabited only by passing nomads and yaks, we have arrived at our final destination, Shangri-La! Nervous that it wouldn’t live up to its reputation, we stop first at Napa Lake. No need to worry, there are yaks and horses grazing by the grassy lakeside surrounded by mountains shimmering in the midday sun. It reminds me of Phewa Lake in Pokhara, Nepal in the 1980s before the hotels sprung up along the lakeside.

We stroll through the old town, which despite much of it being destroyed by a devastating fire in 2014, it has been rebuilt and is perfectly charming! We explore handicraft shops and have a wonderful Indian style meal at The Three Brothers Cafe. After dinner, we join around hundred local Tibetans at the nightly community dance. Tibetan circle dancing is not as easy as it looks. I felt like a contestant on the amazing race, trying to learn the steps before getting my next clue! It didn’t really seem to matter and they seemed delighted that we had joined in! Each dance was different, always in a circle and all quite exhausting in the thin 3,300 metre air.

Our gorgeous Tibetan owned boutique hotel is set in a small village overlooking the Songzanlin Monastery, Yunnan’s largest monastery. Modelled on the Potala Palace, construction began in 1679. Filled with treasures, it once housed 3,000 monks.

The head lama has just died and thousands of locals come to pay their respects, wearing their colourful regional dress. We watch monks praying and debating and chat to an elderly monk about his life. Back at the hotel, we learn that by staying there we are not only helping to employ local Tibetans but that the hotel also supports anyone from the village wishing to go to a higher education institute. The hotel group is opening in Lhasa soon and we meet young Tibetans aspiring to be chefs and restaurant managers. This is a wonderful way of supporting over 300 Tibetans. I join morning meditation class looking out on the monastery before feasting on a wonderful buffet breakfast. We save some bread and cheese for a picnic lunch overlooking the monastery.

The next morning, we join pilgrims pushing the worlds largest prayer wheel which was so heavy it took at least 10 people tugging on ropes to make it move. Our journey in Kham has been a wonderful and highly authentic cultural experience.

We wish we could stay on or continue across the Tibetan plateau but sadly it is time to return to New Zealand, cherishing memories of this very special place. We visit one last monastery, turning prayer wheels for one last Om Mani Hum.

View all our Tibet journeys here

Lost Horizons

{Part 6 - Our Founding Director Fionna Heiton is currently travelling in Tibet with her teenage twins}

James Hilton wrote Lost Horizons in 1933. He in fact travelled extensively in Kham before writing Lost Horizons which would go onto become one of the most famous books on Tibet. Although very dated, it tells of a plane that crashes on the Tibetan Plateau. The passengers meet a monk who takes them to a beautiful place, Shangri La.  Since then, people have searched for Shangri La. Some say it exists only in your mind. For me, I think it can be anywhere that you find special. The day I travelled from Yading down from the plateau, I think I found my Shangri La. The road from Xiangcheng climbed steeply affording incredible views as we reached high passes. Mile after mile, we travelled through forests and empty valleys. Any plane crashing here would indeed be lost.  Dropping down into yet another valley, we were amazed to find only a village or two. We were miles from anywhere and glad that our driver knew the way.

Eventually a larger village had a small Tibetan restaurant. We devoured the fried rice before continuing towards the Yunnan border. We have booked into a hotel just outside Benzilan for the night. Benzilan was one of the key places on the old tea and horse trading route connecting Tibet and India. With 15 kilometres to go, we look forward to a hot shower and dinner. However road works on the Yangtse River Gorge, meant a 2 hour delay. We reach our accommodation for the night in time for a lovely dinner.

Looking out on a small temple the exquisite boutique hotel was authentically Tibetan in style, service and management. Sun poured through colourful stained glass and fruit trees flourished in the garden. The days journey melted away.

Want to find Shangri-La?  Find out more about our Road to Shangri-La Joruney here

Heavy snow on the plateau

{Part 5 - Our Founding Director Fionna Heiton is currently travelling in Tibet with her teenage twins}

Yading National Park is renowned for its outstanding natural beauty, turquoise lakes and snow capped mountains. The pictures I had seen were stunning and my excitement grew as we drew closer. We check into a stunning brand new hotel to be greeted by Khampas who turned out to be nomads tempted by the easy job of greeting and singing to guests! The guys have enough English to explain that they come from the plateau near Lijang and will get 4 days off a month to visit their families. They seem delighted with their new roles which seems a lot easier than tending yaks.

The next morning, the weather does not look good. Rain turns to snow. Determined to visit the national Park we head to the ticket office to catch the shuttle bus to the national park. We have forgotten our passports and officials refuse to let us go until we quote our passport numbers. Luckily the hotel has our passport information and we head up the mountain accompanied by excited Chinese tourists who have never seen snow before.

The snow gets deeper and deeper as we reach the entrance to the park. It is freezing and are glad of our thermals, down jackets, hats and gloves. Visibility is poor, yet there is a great beauty in the pristine snow scenes.

We discover a brand new monastery being built and head in out of the cold. Artists from a nearby town have been commissioned to paint Buddhist murals.

We warm ourselves by their electric heating ring and chat about their work. Outside the snow piles down and locals invite us to join them around a roaring open fire. The atmosphere is wonderful and we linger with these generous folk. However away from the fire, it is bitterly cold and we return to the hotel to warm up. We may not have seen the stunning views of Yading National Park but we did have a unique Tibetan experience that we wouldn’t have swapped for anything!

Want to experience Tibet for yourself?  Find out more about our Road to Shangri-La Joruney here

Mountains, Myth & Magic

{Part 4 - Our Founding Director Fionna Heiton is currently travelling in Tibet with her teenage twins}

The drive from Danba to Tagong is spectacular. Rushing rivers and forests give way to rocky outcrops and eventually climbing to the plateau home to Tibetan nomads and their herds of yaks. Every corner offers breath-taking views of snow- capped mountains, as we climbed back to the grasslands at an altitude of 3700 metres.

Tagong Monastery is one of the most important in Eastern Tibet and pilgrims flock here, particularly those unable to afford the trip to Lhasa. The monastery was founded when the Tang Princess, Wencheng who was to be married to the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo was passing through Tagong en route to Lhasa in the 7th century. A statue of Jowo Sakya–Muni Buddha fell at the exact spot where the monastery stands today. A replica of that statue remains today (the original is in Lhasa) attracting pilgrims. Inside the monastery, an unusual key and lock are believed to heal ailments. My guide taps it on my sore shoulder and I have to say, it did seem to make a difference!

Leaving Tagong we pass beautiful rock paintings depicting Buddha adorned with prayer flags. Our stop for the night is in traditional Tibetan castle style boutique hotel! The deluxe Tibetan style rooms offer comfortable beds, quality linen and even a steam machine to help increase the oxygen in the room. Dinner is Tibetan style thukpa, a kind of soup with noodles. Our host Norbu plays the guitar and sings Tibetan folk songs beautifully as we sit around the fire until the embers die down. We fall asleep inside our cosy room trying not to forget this amazing experience.

Want to experience Tibet for yourself?  Find out more about our Mountains, Myth & Magic Journey here.  

Discovering Danba

{Part 3 - Our Founding Director Fionna Heiton is currently travelling in Tibet with her teenage twins}

Nestled above a deep valley, the glorious remote villages of Danba settle above a large array of dramatic mountain slopes. Attracting many artists and photographers, Danba is also known as the ‘Kingdom of Watchtowers’ and ‘Valley of Beauty’. It is one of those unique destinations offering tranquility, picturesque scenes and friendly welcoming people.

We stayed at Pema’s homestay, munching on fresh steamed bread with eggs for breakfast. Her welcoming hospitality made our stay much more special.

Above the house we followed tree lined paths, offering shade from the sun. As we climbed above the village under endless blue skies, the views were simply stunning of the ancient watch towers and traditional houses dotted throughout the landscape.

It would be nice to think that Danba can retain its charm well into the future, as more people discover this village paradise.

For more information on our Tibet trips, click here.

Kangding...gateway to Eastern Tibet

{Part 2 - Our Founding Director Fionna Heiton is currently travelling in Tibet with her teenage twins}

Set in a deep valley on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, the sprawling town of Kangding initially appears to be just another ugly Chinese development of high rise concrete blocks. However, a few days in Kangding not only helps to acclimatize before climbing to the Tibetan plateau but has much more to offer. Staying at Zhilam hostel, owned by an American family, rooms are tastefully decorated in Tibetan style. We enjoy excellent meals and look out on Paoma Mountain lit up at night.

Cable cars take us up Paoma Mountain the next morning. We are literally pushed by Chinese attendants into the rather dilapidated compartment and are soon dangling over the forest adorned with prayer flags. At the top, an elderly Tibetan couple invite us in from the cold, to sit and watch as they make traditional Tibetan tents. We climb further to visit the yellow painted temple offering a peaceful place to meditate.

The highlight of our visit to Kangding was visiting Nanwu Monastery which has a fascinating complex of prayer halls. Belonging to the Gelugpa (yellow hat) sect of Buddhism, the monastery is one of the most active in the area with about 80 monks We witness monks debating and meet elderly Tibetan residents turning prayer wheels chanting Om Mani Padme Hum.

Kangding has a surprisingly good range of places to eat. At one of the towns best Tibetan restaurants we tuck into vegetable momos and thukpa. To our surprise we also discover the Himalayan coffee shop serving huge mugs of freshly brewed coffee and slices of homemade carrot cake! The night before we leave, we abandon our plan to join the community dance as heavy snow is falling. We wake to a picture postcard view of deep white snow all over the town. Our adventure on the Tibetan Plateau is about to begin!

Buddhism is Flourishing in China

{Our Founding Director Fionna Heiton is currently travelling in Tibet with her teenage twins. Our Tibet tours all depart from Chengdu, China}

The first time I came to China in 1989, it was all blue suits and bicycles. Religion had no place and communist ideology was firmly embedded. Since then, China has changed beyond all belief. Chairman Mao’s huge statue in Chengdu, Sichuan province looks down upon Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Apple. China has fully embraced the international business market and is rapidly developing. With this a growing middle class, have cars, consumer goods and fine clothes. But something is missing and many are rediscovering religion to put more meaning in their lives. Buddhism is now the fastest growing religion in China. On a Saturday afternoon in Chengdu, hundreds flock to the Wenshu temple, one of the city’s oldest Buddhist sites.

Men and women pour into the chanting room to join monks in prayer. They offer incense, fruit and money before circling the pagoda style stupa outside. Later they relax at the vegetarian restaurant within the temple grounds.  It seems like China is rediscovering its past and has come full circle.