Tradition vs. Tourism - Part 3

Thiksey, Ladakh (Wed. 7.5.06)

My God! We've just witnessed one of the most hideous examples of this gone wrong - The morning Puja ceremony at Thiksey Monastery. Darin's laughing about it now because it WAS so over-the-top, but I'm still depressed because it feels like the Monks have sold their souls.

We headed up the steep hill to the Monastery just before 6:00 AM and were treated with the sun rising over the mountains and casting it's rays onto the valley below + the snow-capped peaks in the distance. As we reached the upper platform, two Monks with crested headress began to blow horns for the call to Puja. The bleariness wore off my eyes as my excitement built for what lay ahead. Soon, Monks began filtering up - One, two at a time. So too though did tourists - Eight, ten at a time. By the time we were seated in the back of the temple there were more tourists than Monks! As the chanting + beating of drums began, more and more kept coming in, and then it REALLY began - The Tourist Show. Shutters were snapping, flashes flashing, RIGHT in the Monks faces! These package-tour culture-oglers, cameras dangling 'round their necks, walked around right in the middle of the ceremony trying to compose the "perfect" shot. There was so much chatter that I couldn't even enjoy the experience by closing my eyes! We soon were so disgusted and embarrased, since we too are tourists, that we had to just walk out.

Obviously, the Monks have an agreement with the tour operators, and when they can only benefit from the tourist dollars for a couple months of the year, they just grin + bear it. That MAYBE justifies the Monks end of it, but from a tourist perspective, that was the most insensitive display of conduct either of us have EVER witnessed. And after being ALLLOWED into their religious ceremony no-less. So who do I direct my anger + blame at? The Guides, for not educating the people? The Monks, for not imposing limits? The Tourists, for their naivete? I know the answer lays somewhere in between.

And so, in our attempt to experience something "real" we go further + further off the beaten path and begin to not tell anyone, except maybe those we've met who seem to share our sensitivity, when we discover something "really" special. That also may explain why some of the most magical places we've found are the ones that guide books say little to nothing about. Point taken that if you don't want to be overrun by the hordes you either need to blaze your own path or travel in the off-season.

On a GOOD note, here's the "link" to our most recent photos