Back "home" for a day......

10 Aug After a night’s rest we were all set to embark on something unscheduled. When we first went to the Big Buddha site, the committee chairman had requested for the medical camp to be extended to Stok area. Our dates were fixed and our schedule was planned. Geshe Tsewang at first told them it was not possible. Seeing his continual plead I related his wish to the team of doctors. Since two of our doctors would be leaving for home after the camp, our manpower is seriously down. But Dr. Tan had very generously willing to forego her sightseeing to accommodate one more day of clinic for the people there, knowing the need from the committee.

Therefore three of the volunteers plus our translators who were willing to help travelled to the Big Buddha to work for the day in order to benefit more sentient beings. It was very well organized by the committee and in one day we hit the record high of seeing 79 patients!! Really a big big thank you for all the helpers and our doctor! Without them we can never go so far. At least everyone's wish was fulfilled.

                        
                                 We parted way in the morning after breakfast

    A prayer to the medicine Buddha lead by Geshe Tsewang

 The crowd is already waiting there before our team arrived

The team was getting ready to start

The rest of the group went to visit HHDL's summer palace since His Holiness already left town. We were fortunate to get to go inside his resident and had a walk around looking at the thangkas and the statues that he has stored there.

                            

   The garden reminded me of Norbulingka in Lhasa when I was there years ago
 Then we proceed to town ....the new part of the mall where modern facilities are available. We just relaxed, sipped coffee, ate cakes and shopped around before we went for lunch.
                              

                          A very relax and modern setting, up in a mall that has a lift!!

                                               

We did not expect this kind of fancy standard and the coffee was really good! 

                                         

 A mall where all the local products can be found, both modern and old

We visited Jorkang also where the young Buddha statue was brought from Tibet. A quiet oasis in the middle of town. We sat and meditated for a while before we proceed to lunch in an open "food street" kind of set up with modern foreign and Lhadaki cuisine available. We went back to Norling Guesthouse after that since the afternoon sun was very unkind to us.

That evening Geshe Tsewang was compassionate enough to do a Dorje Namjon (Chabtrul) puja for us to cleanse away our negativities. So after dinner, we had to rest early to prepare for our big journey tomorrow to go through the highest pass in the world to Nubra Valley.