Tibetan Family and Yak Tea
The next day we got up early as we wanted to explore the remote village of Ringha. It was a beautiful day and the valley was covered in snow.
The villagers were up already and we passed by a Tibetan lady herding a group of black pigs
In Tibet, men's work is usually done by women, who work in the fields. We saw many Tibetan women carrying heavy loads of fire wood, etc.
We followed the ladies who were selling goods near a stupa further up the mountains. The place was completely covered with colorful prayer flags.
Please note the pigs on the right side. They showed some really 'piggish' behavior!!!
Later that morning, we visited a 'rich' Tibetan family that our Naxi driver was related to. They had a huge Tibetan house with a huge courtyard.
The family invited us to their living room and the two sons made fire for us. Unlike most other Chinese people, Tibetan families are allowed to have two children.
The youngest, maybe 5 years of age, surprised us when he started smoking a cigarette... and it was not the last one he smoked that day. We were shocked!
The oldest son was 12 years old and when the mother came back from work, we were shocked another time...
Although marked by hard labor, she looked young. When we politely asked she turned out to be in her mid twenties so must have had the baby at a very young age...
She was very hospitable and instantly prepared Yak butter tea, a mixture of tea leaves, yak butter, barley flour and salt. It is always served to guests.
For the Tibetans it is one of the most important source of protein and nomads are said to often drink up to 40 cups of it a day.
For us it tasted... it's like luke warm watery oily rancid salty butter with a nice smelly finish similar to the odor of a yak's butt...
We took a few mouthfuls to show our 'appreciation' and smiled with grand relief when reaching the bottom of the bowls.
Unfortunately, we forgot that in China you automatically get a refill once finished. Bastian had two cups and was ready to go to the toilet...
Evelyn with a 'lets get out of here' smile.
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