Please Note: Jamie Kessler just graduated with a degree in Religious Studies from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California and has now embarked on a truely incredible spiritual journey through Asia. The writings are from letters and e-mails Jamie has sent to family and close friends. Click on Jamie's photos to reveal larger images and brief descriptions. Many of his internet connections are tenuous at best, so he feels rushed to get them through. Jamie says "Please excuse the grammatical errors, etc." Most of these connections are limited to text only - will put more photos up whenever possible... (ed.)

May 9th, 2005

Subject: Heading to China, Tibet, and Beyond

Photo 12 Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Photo 4 Photo 5 Photo 6 Photo 7 Photo 8 Photo 9 Photo 10 Photo 11

Well, I'm done with the college thing - pretty happy about that. Now, I'm about to head off to China, Tibet, and beyond. One year left to reap the rewards of being the flight attendant's son - then into the 'real world' with me. Could be gone for a while...

June 5th, 2005, 9:08 AM EDT

Subject: Ni Hao

I have just had a very exhausting day - but here I am - in China - and the smile on my face goes from ear to ear. I'm in this place called the Far East Hotel, not only affordable but it includes a restaurant, cafe/internet bar, and a currency exchange. Amazing place, good people from all over the world, all different colors and accents. I've always felt that the travelers you meet out here are amoung the best of their county's lot. There's immediate kinship, there a similiar inspired twinkile in the eye.

I must say, it all feels like a dream. I have dreamt of taking this journey for years, and here I am walking on Beijing soil. It started to officially hit me as I rode the long bus ride from the airport through this massive city. I saw what was probably a common black and white striped bird but I knew I'd never seen it before. That's how it is with everything, it's all flying at my little lens at once, like a baby opening their eyes for the first time.

On my way over I saw Tianamen Square - there it was - just like that. They say wherever you dig in China you're likely to hit some ancient artifact or tomb. I feel it. This place is just so old - I realized as my eyes were feasting on the sights all around me that everthing had a story, and there was no way to catch it all, not even a fraction of one percent of what was there. This has been a good day one.

I feel the potency of travel returning. Such a good feeling. I feel strong, healthy and ready to make this the best journey that I can. One thing is for sure though, I'm going to miss all of you so so much. Peace be with you my family. I love you all.

Zai Jian (goodbye) for now,
Jamie

June 8th, 2005, 1:08 AM EDT

Subject: Zaijian Beijing

Hello All,

Well I've had some days to get aclimated to the China vibrations. My group of 15 fellow travelers have arrived and joined with me, which has been a lot of fun. I thought at first that traveling in a group would be a sort of hinderance, but although some things take a little longer, it's nice to have a support system there to watch your back.

I will have over three months on my own after the China portion, so I might as well enjoy the fruits of having my schedule, rooms, trains, taken care of. We also will have drivers to take us into more remote regions once we get to Lhasa as well as translators, not to mention that my teacher Tony is a walking cultural and physical geography encyclopedia. The only slightly humourous side is feeling and appearing exactly like an Asian tour group one might see frolicking the cities of America (that I have always chukled at).

Beijing has been good to me, but now it is time to move West. I got to see many spectacles this huge city has to offer. The Botanical Gardens were my favorite. It was good to see a gigantic green park at the edge of such a polluted city. Imagine the best of Asian artistic landscaping and flower arranging, using almost every species of plant that China has to offer. It was also good to see the kinds of Chinese visitors that came to this place, many were very reflective, doing artwork, writing, or sitting on benches in silence.

I saw many other cultural prizes such as the summer palace and a deeper look at Tianamen square. I really wanted to get my picture taken with the actual preserved body of Chairman Mao, but alas, the Belgium Ambassador was meeting with Chinese officials in the area, so it was closed down. The city is really quite amazing, perhaps enhanced by the fact that it is so completely different (even the advertisements are incredibly fun to look at).

But the sad side of this place is that the air is incredibly yellow and polluted. I have learned that due to the mountains West of here, the smog gets trapped in the area (like LA's problem exept there are about 10 million more people living here). I see plastic bags on bicycle seats which I learned is to protect deterioration from acid rain (literally it will eat away the rubber in a year or so). I'd imagine it only took about 50 years to get this way, and I dread the image of how it will be in another 50. Pretty scary thoughts our group has been entertaining.

Anyway, now I will depart on a 28 hour train ride leaving in a couple hours to Cheng Du. Luckily we have sleeper cars and the train is air conditioned. I love you all, I hope all this is interesting for you (if it's just to much to deal with and you want to be taken off this list, let me know-no hard feelings). It feels good to have multiple places to record my adventures, and I especially love the feedback some of you have sent. Blessings to all of you, you'll I'll be writing again in a few days.

Peace and Love,
Jamie

June 13th, 2005, 6:01 AM EDT

Subject: PICTURES!

Dear All,

I can't begin to describe the magic, the inspiration, and the beauty of this place and this adventure. I've seen so many things that have filled my heart with awe that I don't know where to begin. I hiked a sacred mountain (a hefty adventure with many many steps half the size of my foot). Atop the mountain was a spectacular view as well as a 60 plus foot statue of Lao Tzu riding his ox glazed in gold. I have tasted the most exotic and spicy foods I've ever had (famous in Sechuan district - ie Chengdu). One dish made my mouth numb like novacaine for 20 minutes after. So many little stories, but I'll have to save them untill I get back.

Right now I am in Lhasa, which is easily one of the most amazing places I've ever visited. The Tibetans are kind and gentle people, and the City is burting with culture. I circumnavigated the Potala (former home of the Dalai Lama) spinning hundreds of prayer wheels sending out prayers to all those I love. I don't have time to get into it all because it's just too, too, much. Best of all, my research project is taking off in ways I can barely contain - I had three 2 hour interviews yesterday which all came about very serendipitously.

Of my hundreds of pictures, I chose 11 that I thought you all might enjoy. So sorry to those of you who can't get them to work. Below is a key:

Photo 01 - The Beijing Botanical Gardens
Photo 02 - The Beijing Botanical Gardens
Photo 03 - Dancing chicken in Downtown Beijing
Photo 04 - Summer palace clouded by smog
Photo 05 - River running through Summer palace
Photo 06 - The Wei Valley as seen from 28 hour train ride
Photo 07 - The Taoist Sacred Mountain outside Chengdu
Photo 08 - The Taoist Sacred Mountain outside Chengdu
Photo 09 - View from top of same mountain
Photo 10 - Two Tibetan Children who wanted pens and paper like nothing else
Photo 11 - View of the Potala from the roof of my Hotel

Love you all! Hope you enjoyed the pics. I'll write when I can.

Peace and Blessings,
Jamie

June 16th, 2005, 12:24 AM EDT

Subject: Self Portrait

Yo!

Yes, that self portrait (photo 12) was a few tries indeed, but they were all pretty much the same. By the way, the picture was taken on my way towards a sky buriel ground located next to Ganden Monastery (in background of picture - about an 1 and a half miles from Lhasa). This is a place where Tibetans cut up dead bodies and then let voltures pick them clean (with the idea that there being brought to heaven). Pretty efficeint way to deal with your dead actually. I didn't see a single scrap, but it was nonetheless a powerful spot.

That was the highest I've ever been - I think about 14,500 ft (Lhasa is already at 12,000 feet. I haven't seen Everest yet, but I heard it doesn't look all that big due to the fact that the base is already so high up. I've heard Rainier is one of the more majestic looking summits since we can see it from sea level.

My travels may take me all the way until next year.

Peace and love,
Jamie

June 25th, 2005, 09:56 AM EDT

Subject: Quiet Little Mountain Town

Dear Family,

I am nestled in a valley of green in a small sized city called Pome. Things are quite good. I just sat by the Salween River and took a nap for the last couple of hours. The days have been long, many many hours roaming in our landcruisers. Luckily, the terrrain is breathtaking everywhere we go.

I've seen uncountable temples, each with something unique about them. Every religious structure here has detail that is lacking from Western structures. They are painted intricatly with murals and built to inspire. This place is more stunning than I ever imagined.

When I once thought of Tibet, I thought of dry highlands. Recently it has been lush rainforest and mountain peaks. Unfortunately, I can't send any pictures at this time, the computers here are lacking in their capabilities. What's shocking though is that there is Internet at all out here. I've been shocked to see what things one can find when they're in the middle of "nowhere."

The Chinese are building like crazy out here. You'll go through small little villages with rough dirt roads and people whose eyes twinkle with innocence from the modern world - then all the sudden - BOOM! - a large paved city with ten story buildings, literally built within 25 years. It's strange to watch a land that is in such rapid change. As we pass those more charming little towns, I think about the fact that if I were to ever return in 10 years or so, it all might be gone. Sad in many respects, then again, I'm pretty darn happy to find a computer where we expected to find none.

The group I'm with is getting really tight, if not forcibly so. The other day on our way here we encountered a major muddy rockslide that was in the middle of the road. Water was commonly pouring out right through the road, like small streams we had to cross, but in this case it was too unstable to cross and the road was rather narrow (imagine Hwy 101 in a narrow section with a river going through it and rocks and mud all over the place). Our class built a sort of bridge out of rocks and logs which the land cruisers were able to cross. As we sat admiring our work and the last car had crossed, a large crash was heard and we fled the river area. Another landslide filled the area where we were just standing with a surge of water, mud and some large rocks making the spot impossible to cross now (and could have severely hurt/killed us if we had been standing there).

About a half hour later we reached this tiny little town and found out that the road ahead was also blocked. We were thus trapped in a wee little town and there were naught many beds to house us. We have been used to sleeping in crammed little spaces, this night was 4 to every two single size beds (luckily that makes the rent cheap!). It turned out to be a great place to get stuck. We bought some horrible red wine and chatted in our candle lit box of a room until late into the night.

The trip has been good to me thus far, the school part is now half over. Although I'm making some good friends, it's going to be a relief to be on my own (I can barely wait for my Journey to Nepal and then India my new next destination). I love being out here though, seeing places I would have NEVER gotten to on my own, at least not until the Chinese turns this into Touristland (and spoils the parts I'm enjoying the most).

Although I'm out here, inspired and endlessly stimulated with adventure, I think of all of you often. I have had much precious time to contemplate and often that involves soaking up the precious pangs to my heart as I think of my loved ones. It's good to sit back and appreciate how much I care for all of you.

Zaijian for now,
Peace and Love to you all,
Jamie