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Walking into a monastery, a lot of images come to your mind, which will stay long into you memory : the acrid smell of yak butter and the sight of thousands of burning butter lamps ; the scent of juniper incense ; colourfull icons and gilded statues, and the images of guides, lamas and rinpoches. Scents, smells, colours which appear discretely in the half light of chapels and temples.

We hear the mantras and low murmur of monks chanting, following the rhythm of a regular drum ; sometimes we assist to collective prayers and shared dinners.

We walk and discover monasteries as big as small villages, we sit into the debating courtyard and see monks discussing about religious issues in a happy and noisy atmosphere. Religious enthusiasm and always people smiling.

You realize how these monks and pilgrims, this Tibetan people, whose only wish is to share their faith, are different to the cruelty of the country they belong to, a country which has destroyed their heritage, keeps on damaging its grounds and does limit its most simple freedoms.

Lots of images remembered after a journey in Tibet are born into monateries. This is partly due to this persistent impression that these living and praying places look like damaged treasures. The Chinese cultural revolution has came here also, and let Tibet in ruins. All historical and religious places still show the wounds of Beijing's eagerness to destroy the religious symbols of Tibet's religious faith.

Wandering in Tibet

Incredible country where people welcome you with sweetness and smiles, where life follows the rhythm of nature.

In Tibet, traditions perpetuate strong links between inhabitants and natural elements. Nature shows its signs and after a few days, it is common to see symbols everywhere. A mountain, a river, a small cloud ; a mound of stones, a frozen water cascade, a herd of ewe, some donkeys ; a few steps further, some yaks... and the sun and the rain, and the breath of the wind on the hills, a rainbow, and all people smiling...