Our Guides: Pemba and Tashi We had been warned about the guides we might have assigned to our group, once we reached Tibet. There was only so much control that could be exercised from a distance and it was partly a matter of dumb luck. If you were lucky, you would get a Tibetan guide, who was not in the pay of the Communists and who knew and cared something about the dharma. If you were unlucky, you could count on arguing and even ordering your guide to go to the places you wanted to go and not those most convenient for him. In this regard, we were very, very lucky. Our guide and driver were waiting at the airport for us when we exited the plane. One look at Penba, our translator guide, and I knew we were in safe hands. Here was a gentle, intelligent soul, who did everything in his power to make our journey a safe and meaningful one. There was a rumor that he had once been a monk, but I don’t know if that is true or not. Certainly he knew an enormous amount about the places we visited, complete to the last statue detail. And his English was quite good. Our driver Tashi spoke no English, but was the perfect complement to Penba. There is no question that he is what we call a redneck here in the states. Cigarette smoking and beer-drinking, he always had a smile and was ready for anything that might appear. I have no doubt that, had we been threatened at any time and in any way, Tashi would have stepped right up to the plate and hit a home run. You just knew that about him. Not too easy to get close to, but the more time you spent with him, the more loyal and friendly he became. And he liked little Michael Andrew a lot. Together, Penba and Tashi were an unbeatable team and served us well in a wide variety of difficult situations. When a day ended and our group stumbled into one hotel or another, they kept going, hauling our baggage around, getting fuel for the van, finding bottled water for us, scouting out restaurants, hassling with officials and hotel clerks – whatever it took. And I understood from others that a guide like this might make $200 a month! I am sure the driver made even less. As time went on, we shared more meals with them and the kids would shoot pool (and smoke cigarettes!) with them in the evening hours, after I went down with the Sun. Pemba took great care to explain, in great detail, all of the sacred places we visited. In fact, many times I had to wander off from his explanations so that I could find time to connect to the place and make aspirations. He was very thorough and knew almost every statue, every thanka. And he was not just faking interest either, although he had been to these sacred places a great many times. He had also visited His Holiness, the Karmapa, a number of times before. He had tears in his eyes as His Holiness looked at him and said "You are starting to have confidence in me." ...back to the opening page go on to the next story...