The first time I went to Shalu was in 2006 when travel was a bit easier. Part of the adventure was taking a local bus from Shigatse to Shalu. This is not very far (about 12 miles) but back then the bus dropped you off at a dirt road intersection and you had to walk. A nice walk surrounded by the mountains. I think the bus ride was more of an adventure because of a unique experience happened. As you may know, many Tibetan pilgrams travel from Monastery to Monastery to pay respect. The bus was loaded with elderly Tibetan women. During the ride they kept staring at me and pointing to their eyes (I have blue eyes and guess that is why they did this), then without asking, an older women reached out of her seat and grabbed the hair on my arm and pulled hard! Then she started laughing. They all got a big kick out of this. Very friendly people who at that time, saw very few foreigners.
Anyway, Shalu is nice and small. I like going to these types of Monasteries because they do not get the traffic of the big and more popular locations. The monks and other people are usually so happy to see you. A great experience. This most recent visit in 2019, I noticed some fresh exterior pant and it was a bit cleaner in the court yard. I took more time this visit to notice the murals. This is a worthwhile venture from the big city of Shigatse.
