Drigun_til Monastery above the town of Drigun_til, Tibet. Elevation 4500m. This monastery is one of the most important monasteries in the area, because of their sky burials (leaving the dead out for the birds to feast on).

A Tibetan woman rides across a stream in a village near to Terdrum nunnery.

A Tibetan monk tries to take a nap in the assembly hall of Lhasa's second most important monastery (the name currently escapes me). The walls of the building were at least 8 feet (~3m) thick, and kept it quite cold. Rats (pronounced tsee tsee, like the noise they make) boldly scurried to and fro in the not so far distance.

Prayer wheels circumnabulating the outside of a monastery, Lhasa, Tibet. This resident monk came running pel-mel when I entered the gateway. Once I took his photo, I was allowed to roam the outside with no further attendance. Whew! I had thought I was in trouble.

Tele-amo lived in the Tibetan home we stayed at while visiting Terdrum, site of a nunnery and very popular hotsprings. I'm guessing she's in her 60s. Various joint problems kept her in bed frequently, from where she pulls a leather cord connected to a brass prayer wheel to keep it turning. A darling woman, when she found out that Toshen could do massage she kept insisting he work on here, then here, then... She was also keen to communicate, as difficult as it was, trying to talk with us most of our short stay.

Approaching a village just before Terdrum nunnery, Tibet, the stupa, or chörten, is the first thing in view. Yak calves cool off in the stream as they stand in the middle of the road.