Gandem. Our troop decimated in the morning because a bad emergency drew Tas Fara home and left the hotel. The air is crisp, I feel better because finally after three days I feel more myself and not an old man with asthma. Despite the conditions being discussed in the morning bus, life priorities, how we will stay in China. We leave Lhasa, brought various permits from the driver at the checkpoint. Unfortunately our stay in Tibet is too short, this is the only exit from the city limits.

Along the way open valleys and mountains, but so different from what I have always intended to mountains: the peaks here are mostly rock, are arid land. The green and some trees are located in the valley, close to rivers or in the city ... there is drought in this region coupled to the altitude. The bus stops, stop the conversation to find it is a technical stop, combined with a beautiful picture of rural life in the last century, thanks to adapted to the context Tibetan Yak.

We begin to climb: the Monastery of Gandem is like in the stories, the top of the mountain, in the middle of nowhere, lonely. The rapid rise, combined with the altitude, knocks out Ellen, after the short walk to the entrance decides to stay and meditate in the minibus. The view from the roof of the monastery is magnificent, the silence after months in overpopulated China is appreciated.

Inside the monastery, our guide knows an uncle monaco, that makes us go into a room where the monks pray without paying. I yield to the dark side, as tourism, making capture monaco while I pass the baton to continue the rhythm of the drum. They are praying, the Tibetan prayers are like the litany of repeated phrases, it would be nice to understand that they say, but the only sound and you shall see the spirituality of these people, combined with the sincerity of their smiles.

Once out, we begin to rise as another component fails to follow us. We still me and Olaf, the heroes of tea with yak butter . Going up, no one else around, our guide meets our curiosity on the ruins of the upper part. The monastery is one of the most important Gandem of Tibet, the cradle of the movement of the yellow caps who unified, centuries ago, the rival sects in the region, and that basically started the series of D alai L ama (forgive inaccuracies minimum, I'm going from memory). Since then the symbol of Tibet's history, it is not difficult to imagine who between Mickey and Mao's Red Guards had destroyed several structures of the monastery. To date, the monastery, which had 3000 monks (tremila!) in its heyday (among other things, I like to think are those mentioned by Marco Polo , "so vast monasteries to remember in some cases small town, inhabited by more than 2000 monks "), it is now home to fewer than 100 for regulation. If you wonder who enforces them in a monastery 60 km from Lhasa atop a hill is obvious: Police command entry.

Arrive panting at the top, so much so that even if they are on top of the world but I like to think so. Around, apart from us, the monastery and a glimpse of the street far below, there is nothing more than Tibet. And 'here that the video above was recorded. I am extremely pleased that we managed to visit the monastery of Gandem. I am sure that his peace, the spirituality of his solitude and spectacular views that relaxes you and makes you think how small the world over six ... I'm sure will follow me for a long time.