"Did you see a little Hare Krishna midget in a tree floatin' or is it just me?"

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Lhasa, Tibet - Day Uno

I believe my first exposure to Tibet would have been thanks to Eddie Murphy's classic 'The Golden Child' back in the day when I was like nine, hence the title of this entry. This also forced me to fight the urge the first time I saw the prayer wheels in the temples to do the classic "I said...Aye Aye Aye-ay Aye Aye-I waaaant the kniiiiiife....pullleaze". If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you need to go rent the movie, because I assure you what I'm saying is funny...well, to me it is. Alas, I am gettting ahead of myself. I'm in Tibet, yet the computers here seem to be much more modern than those that college students use in China, go figure.

I woke up at 5am to meet the van that was supposed to pick me up at the main gates of the university. For those of you who have read about travelling to Tibet from China, the guidebooks pretty much have it right. The only way you can get in is by becoming part of a 'tour group' and I use that term loosely. Pretty much they issue the permits for small groups, meaning travel agents just throw together groups of people who want to fly in on the same day. You never really see the permit itself either, which I was a little worried about but nothing stopped us from getting on a plane. And once you get off the plane, the group disolves and everyone goes on their own way. How I got set up was rather unusual. I was out eating with a Nepalese student in and Indian/Nepalese restaurant. Turns out the cook is from Kathmandu, so he talks to the other student for a bit and finds out I'm interested in going to Tibet. Then the next minute I'm on the phone with Ten Zin who is a former employee of the restaurant turned tourguide. Anyways we meet him on the street corner and he takes photocopies of my passport and visa and tells me to meet him with cash on the corner the next day. Sketchy perhaps, but I've yet to be ripped off in all of my travels, my spidey sense is pretty good at recognizing scams. Anyways, I get the ticket and directions on where to meet the van. Meeting me that morning were a couple, the dude from Italy and the chick from England and they pretty much travel freaking full time, working in places to earn enough money to get to the next destination. On the flight there, I pretty much saw the worst airplane food I have ever seen. I'm never going to criticize any of the food I get on airlines back in the states. This stuff was like gruel, stuff that peasants would eat in the French Revolution. So we land after the quick 2 hour flight into Gongkar airport. Man, I know I said it before, but the chinese are all about pushing and shoving. The second that I step off the plane onto the skybridge, this little kid in front of me drops trout and starts whizzing right in the middle of the crowd. This isn't like we are in some crop duster airport, this was a modern facility. It would be like taking a leak in the middle of JFK. Anyways, I'm being pushed from behind, so I have to lift my left leg and hopskotch over the whizzing kid's head, and trying to spot my landing so as that I may avoid the ever growing puddle.

I walk right out of the terminal and jump on a bus that appears to be heading to Lhasa, which is still a good 2 hour drive away. They freaking cram these busses to the hilt. I'm talking, once all the seats are full, they put baggage all the way down the aisle. I scoped a seat right at the front for a quick exit, but all I kept thinking was "please don't let this bus crash, otherwise we're pretty much screwed". The drive was really scenic and unsually the landscape has quite a resemblance to Alaska. It was like the drive to girdwood with the mountains coming right down to the water, except that the moutains didn't have any trees, it was pretty much stone and dirt. I have to add that this was the first day that I haven't sweated like a pig, so that in itself was worth the price of the ticket. I did have to sit next to a mother who had her kid sitting on her lap. Two things got to me. First, she opens the window and throws her trash out in the middle of the countryside. Second, the kid was cute but he kept nodding off and his greasy little head was oiling up my left forearm. Like, this wasn't normal "i've got oily hair", I think the kid was on Soul-Glo. After getting off the bus station in Lhasa, I found a dorm bed in the Kirey Hotel for 25 yuan (3 dollars) per night. I'm sharing a room with a Swede and another Brit who snores like a car without a muffler. These guys have been hitchhiking across India, Pakistan and now China...big ones my friend, big ones. The place is really nice, but here I go again, the bathrooms (all squat) are attrocious. That's not even an appropriate description...words cannot describe how nasty some of the loo's are in Tibet. Speaking of toilet stories, let me pause to share with you an excerpt from my Lonely Planet Guidebook. Be forewarned if you have a weak stomach, it's gross...grosser that gross. It gave me nightmares last night....

"In Lhasa I wanted to use a typical public toilet, so I went to the ones across from the Holiday Inn (now the Lhasa Hotel). I have never had probelems with toilets in China before, and although I read in the Lonely Planet guide that the toilets in Lhasa were particularly disgustin, I didn't think it would be a problem. It was bad luck (or perhaps stupidity) that led me to the wrong entrance to the toilet, the entrance from whence the sh*t is collected. it was like a swimming pool. It was quite dark inside, but I could see it was very dirty and I knew I had to be careful not to fall down. To me it looked like a real floor, I thought the sh*t was only on the surface. It wasn't."

I'll spare you the details and you can pick up a Lonely Planet Tibet if you want the full story, but the poor dude actually fell in over his head to this pool. Then they wouldn't let him in the hotel, for obvious reasons. So some tourists hosed him down in on the lawn until he looked pathetic enough for the manager to let him come in and use the shower. I'm not sure where this guy was from, and I don't care how dark it is...you've got to be pretty damn stupid to try and walk on crap, even if you do think it's only on the surface. If there was ever a need for a new pharmaceutical, how about one that will cease all bowel function until there is availability of western facilities.

I have had little problems adjusting to the altitude. I was a little concerned because Lhasa is at 3700m, which is pretty high. There were people who were getting dizzy and lightheaded right after getting off the bus and I have heard of a few people here in the hotel who have had to stay in for a day or two because of headaches. I haven't had any of those problems, though I did wake up with some shortness of breath last night and the sleep that you get is really wrestless. I had some freaking whacko dreams of rabid-killer pidgeons who were taking up residence in my room and everytime I thought I was awake, the dream would start repeating itself. Drinking lots of water and eating carbs and I would have expected more symptoms of mountain sickness by now, so it seems like all is ok.

The first thing that you notice about Lhasa is how striking the Tibetan people are. I'm no ethographer, so I'm not sure how to explain the mix of features, but the people are beautiful. They have features of Native Americans, Native Alaskans, Hispanic, Polynesian, Asian and even Caucasian. Every once in a while you come across a very dark complexion with these light hazel or green eyes and I want to just take a picture. There are also those that have very similar features to Bolivian or Peruvian peoples. Anyways, there's my National Geographic paragraph. Lets see...toilet story, check...cultural paragraph, check...

So I wandered on down to the Barkhor area, the main area surrounding the Jokhang (the St. Michaels of Tibetan Buddhism). You would not believe how many freaking vendors are. First off, I've got this Oliver Twist looking kid with his full on english urchin outfit on, dancing around me and trying to put his hands in my pockets. Remember when I said you should give money to beggars if you can spare it? Let me amend that statement, lest I sound like a hypocrite. There are so many people asking your for money and kids who are literally trying to take money out of your wallet it's probably best in such situations to hold off on trying to save the world. I wandered around (clockwise as you are supposed to) around the Jokhang for about an hour before heading in the side entrance. The inner hall temples were closed, thus no pilgrims and I was essentially in one of the holiest buildings in the world all by myself. I've been pretty lucky thus far, the crowds of tourists seem to show up just as I leave.

Once inside, it's amazing, humbling, spiritual and deeply introspective all at once. Can't really describe it in words, and I'm not even a Buddhist. Actually this whole place (Lhasa) seems to be that way. You really just find yourself thinking a lot more than normal...and not just where to find the cleanest bathroom either. The opportunities to take pictures are limited in the inner halls, but pictures don't really do the place justice. I then headed up to the roof where I sat for a good hour and a half. You can look out onto Lhasa, see the Potala in the distance and it's all set against the backdrop of mountains. Beeyooful. Again, not having someone to take your picture is a pain in the arse. Thankfully, I thought ahead and brought a mini-tripod...however, please try to imagine how pathetic that looks when I set up the camera on timer and then run to to pose for a picture by myself. That got a few laughs out of the monks. I probably could have easily just asked one of them to take the pictures, but some of them were trying to figure out how to change the ringtones on their cell phone. Your whole perspective of time changes as well, you are sitting on things that were built a good 800 years before Columbus even 'discovered' America.

So I decided to wander around the stalls of the Barkhor and see if I could do some souvenir shopping. It has been stressed that you absolutely need to haggle your ass off for anything that you buy. Let me tell you something that I knew way before I came to Tibet. Us Japanese people are not hagglers. We tend to pay what is on the pricetag or we don't buy it if it's too expensive. I can't haggle to save my life. Case in point. I was eyeing some tapestries which were pretty cool. I ask the lady how much. 160 yuan she says... sheesh, that's like 20 bucks...sounds kinda pricey given that my room costs me 3 bucks. So I say I'll buy 2 if she sells me both for 140 yuan total. I'm thinking this is a pretty sweet deal if I can pull it off, right? I'm getting 2 for less than what she was asking for one. After maybe like 2 minutes of smiles and firmness on my price she agrees and I walk away feeling like the man. 3 stalls down I see the same tapestries. Out of curiousity I ask how much. "for you? I give you for 55 yuan a piece". DOH! this probably means I could have gotten them for like 30 a piece. Live and learn.
I also went to check out some Tibetan Carpets which I wanted to send to mom and dad for a gift, but sorry...those were freakin expensive to ship and given that a) I know nothing about carpets and b) I was just proven to be a lame ass haggler , I had to forego purchasing a rug. The cheapest one I could get that wouldn't cover only a toilet seat was about 400 bucks and of dubious color selection, not something I would be proud to have in my parents home. I did see a nice one though, but being absolutely naive about carpets, my luck would have me purchase it for 300 bucks and then go find it in Walmart for 50.

For those of you that haven't seen it, I was recommended and highly recommend seeing "Tibet, Cry of the Snow Lion" which you won't find at Blockbuster but can get through Netflix. It details the Chinese-Tibetan history and current relations which I have to say are interesting and disturbing to say the least. There are a number of points that should have the world in outrage, but I won't go into them because I don't want to get kicked out of China or worse, rent the movie.

much love,
ak

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Photos

You want to fit both that truck and this bus on that bridge?
Whoa whoa whoa man, what's the rush? How about we let the traffic by before we get on the bridge. If we're 2 minutes late to Lhasa, that's ok by me as long as we make it.

Sweet Cheeba! or is that incense
You'll find these huge incense burning ovens around most of the holy buildings. Makes the whole block smell hippy-riffic.

Me on the roof of the Jokhang
Note quite sure what I was thinking with the arms behind the back pose. I also tried to grunge out the hair a bit so I would fit in better with all the pilgrims.

Another Roof Shot of the Jokhang
Almost makes you want to become a monk. The scenery is breathtaking and in the mornings it seems like nobody even goes to the roof.

The Groovelotion CD cover
I thought I'd had enough of looking right at the camera. Plus years down the line when I come up with something brilliant, I can bust out this picture and say that the seeds were planted at this very moment in holiest structure of Tibet.

A picture is worth a Japanese kid's life
This picture almost cost me my life, seriously. I set the timer on the camera for 2 seconds instead of 10 then rather than just taking another picture, i ran to sit on the ledge and managed to pull off the tough guy face even though I almost fell over the edge.

Entrance of the Jokhang
There are countless pilgrims prostrating at all hours of the day, bowing all the way until they are face down flat on the pavement.

You put food in there and it get's cold
This picture was taken when I wandered into the Muslim Quarter in the far Southeast section of town. Apparently a mini-fridge is a big deal. The guy that had just loaded this on the back of his bike had a fan club following him until he sped up fast enough to lose them. To think, I just chucked my dorm fridge.

Comments

[dj kimchi]

celebrity sighting?
did you see brad pitt? i bet you still hear tales of his seven years there.

[Irish Surprise]

Groovelotion CD cover?
Bullshit, it looks like you'veg one native and are dropping a deuce on the holiest structure in Tibet.