Day 3: Lhasa (2nd day)

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I managed to wake up at 430am this morning in time to catch the bus slightly after 5am. In fact, we were late! haha....😱 It rained pretty heavily last night and was still drizzling when we got out.

We arrived at the foot of the hill where Drepung Monastery before 6am. We were told that we had to continue the journey on foot. We walked along tar road so the walk wasn't so bad. There weren't any street lightings and everything in front of us was pitch dark. I suppose it was a blessing in disguise....at least we didn't have to see and anticipate how much further we have to go. There were horses by the road side awating tourists wanting a ride up the hill instead of the long walk. Patsy and Elaine jump onto the opportunity for the RMB10 ride.

At about 645am, we found ourselves seated at a good spot near the top of the hill and waited for the festival to begin. Little did we know what was in store for us. It began to rain quite heavily. Suki and Fungi decided to leave Drepung and rushed for the Potala tour instead. Meng and I stayed on for the festival.

Waited we did....the festival did not begin until 830am. Meng was soaked to the skin. For me, thanks to the new Northface jacket with Gore-tex material, I was pretty dry! 😊 Poor Meng!

The festival began with a procession of blowing horns and monks carrying the sacred silk Thangka. Within half an hour, the Thangka finally revealed the embroided picture of present Buddha. Finito. That's all for the ceremony! Then it's down down to the foot of the hill again. Nearly got into a stampede on the way down. Was quite scary actually. What more if you have been holding your pee for the last 4 hours! Double jeopardy...

When you have to go...you have to go. For RMB0.30, I had my very first experience in China's public toilet. It was horrendous! Imagine a drain and 3 feet wall making separations as if it were cubicle-like. And no doors!!! And no flushing systems!! But I braved it all....no doors and wastes all around you. Not gonna do that again!

Then in the afternoon, we went to Sera Monastery. Like Drepung, this monastery is dedicated to Gelugpa or the Yellow Hat Sect which is a branch of Tibetan Buddhism founded by Tsongkapa. Sera is unique for the Tibetan monks debating session. Unfortunately for us, the debate did not take place today due to Shotun festival. Nevertheless, we enjoyed walking around the area and just soaking in the Tibetan atmosphere coupled with the strong scented juniper burning as incense.

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