Nesh around The World

After taking an hour-long bus from the center of Ulan-Ude, Datsan Rinpoche Bagsha appears in sight, almost like a castle standing over the city.

The Tibetan Buddhist temple is located in Lysaya Gora, one of the highest places in Ulan-Ude and, since 2004, it is the home of the tallest statue of Buddha in Russia (5 meters), brought from China.

One of the peculiar things about this temple is the circular walk around main building, intended for meditative walks. Each of the 12 Chinese Signs (the 12 animals) is portrayed, in a somewhat human form, carrying a basket of eggs (still unsure of its meaning).

Despite the cold, the walk was truly relaxing and enjoyable, both because of the wooden planks used for the path and all the snow. It is said that people should do the walk before entering the central building, and so we did.