Jokhang Temple, Sera Monastery, and Music...

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Got up and out at 8:30am to have a light Chinese breakfast with some western flair such as pancakes, pan-grilled spam, and strong, black coffee. For our first day we skip over just a block to one of Tibet’s most memorable experiences, the Jokhang Temple. Founded in 639AD, it was built to protect an image of the Buddha brought as dowry by the Nepali Princess Bhrikuti on her marriage to King Songsten Gampo.

Check out all the pics from today's adventure at my new account on Flickr, just click here.

Jokhang Temple
We can feel the importance of the Jokhang Temple as we walk through the heart of Barkhor Square, it’s front entrance being eclipsed by two 50ft. high prayer poles representing battle flags that have become now signs of peace. This temple is the structure in which the rest of Lhasa was developed and it is noisy with pilgrims, locals, and tourists. We wade through the stream of pilgrims who are all walking in a clockwise direction around Barkhor Square and we get our first glimpse of their fundamental spirituality as throngs of prostrating pilgrims bow and pray on the flagstones just outside the temple doors. This is Lhasa’s most venerated site and we watch in amazement as hundreds of visitors kneel, then stretch out completely, then stand back up - all day from sunrise to sunset saying their prayers. Our guide explains some devotees do these prayers for as long as three months and some even as long as six months at a time, resting only at night. There is nothing to say, so we watch in awe and admiration, silently.

Once inside the courtyard, I get a cup of blessed tea from a large black barrel and also get my head drenched in the tea for good luck. It is like flower tea and tastes yummy. Inside the temple itself we pass all of the usual sites including the four Guardian Kings, the Chokyong, one for each cardinal direction. It is very dark; most of the warmth comes from hundreds of yak butter candles, Buddha’s, rugs, cushions, and the steady stream of worshipers all following a long line to pay their respects. After seeing all we could see, we are not allowed to take any pictures inside the temple but we did receive a multi-media DVD of the temple with our ticket, we shuffle through the inner sanctum, the chapel of Jowo Sakyamuni (present Buddha), the Jampa, the chapel of Chenresig, and so much more. Went also go up to the roof and get beautiful pics of Potola Palace and surrounding area.

Check out all the pics from today's adventure at my new account on Flickr, just click here.

Our first temple is a success but it is obvious our group is way too large for just one guide - half the group didn’t get to hear anything about the temple at all because it is very crowded and usually you can only walk in a line, one person at a time. We hear some grumbling from several folks in the group and I talk with a woman from India who is writing a book, it is her 12th and she also has her own television show in her country. She is apparently well-known, and she is also furious at the situation and I listen to her vent. I chat with Jenny about it and we agree it's not what we expected but we don’t really care for group tours so we are happy regardless. Many in the tour are not acquiesced and by the end of the day tempers do begin to flare.

After the Jokhang Temple we go shopping in the traditional Tibetan market - so many cool things to buy my head is swimming. I haggle for a statue made of yak bone, some bracelets made of yak bone, and we see so many more things we want to haggle for that we know we will end up taking home a whole backpack of treasures by the time we leave.

Check out all the pics from today's adventure at my new account on Flickr, just click here.

We head back to SnowLand for lunch and this time had Yak and fermented radish but didn’t like the radish so ordered a round of momo (yak dumplings) and they were fantastic. Also tried the butter tea I’ve been hearing about since I was a kid. It wasn’t bad, not nearly as salty as I expected, but it is very rich. It tastes smooth like lightly salted butter, not bad, I could get used to it.

Sera Monastery
We walk around taking in the street scenes until our next meeting at 2:30pm where we hop on a bus and go over to Sera Monastery. The Sera was founded in 1419 and I didn’t know the difference so I asked our guide, Don Drop, who tells me that a monastery is where they teach monks and a temple is where they live and work after they are finished with monastery. Duh. Inside the monastery no picture taking is allowed but we run into Don's brother (turns out Don was a monk himself for about six and a half years, more on that later), inside and he allowed me one picture (candles and a Buddha). Jenny and I are both blessed by a monk who uses a long metal tube and puts it to our foreheads and whispers into our ears what he hopes for in our futures. Don says he sees into the future and our souls and is providing what we need for the future. Of course, we don’t speak Tibetan, so we have no idea what he is whispering so passionately but we are both sure it's good. Watching the monk’s debate is the highlight of this adventure.

Back from the monastery we have the rest of the day to walk around. Walked with a group over to a new area of town trying to find a bridge, found it, and some of them walk on and up to a small mountain peak and they made it back hours after we did but said they had quite an adventure. We get turned down by Chinese taxi drivers but eventually a Tibetan driver picked us up and saved us the forty five minute walk in the heat back to our hotel.

Check out all the pics from today's adventure at my new account on Flickr, just click here.

For dinner we walk just down the street to the Yak Hotel (a local 3-star hotel) with a restaurant called Dunya. There are eleven of us for dinner and we enjoy a delicious meal with wine, beer, many of us are vegetarians but I love yak so I have the sizzling yak which was so tender I can cut it with a fork. Yak and Lhasa beer (640ml) for 8 yuan ($1.00)! We ate then went upstairs and Florian, Mexico, Jenny, and India start with shots of Tequila. They went through two rounds and then I suggest a bar I read about on TripAdvisor called Lhasa Low House Music Bar, but it is too full for our large group. So we hit a larger place with three levels called Gang La Mei Duo and sat under the stars for a few hours drinking and laughing and finishing up our first day.

After watching the stars we head back to Lhasa Low House Music Bar and this is where the evening takes an unforgettable turn. We are the only people in the bar and it is very small, so I am walking around looking at all the amazing collection of traveling paraphernalia on the walls, in the corners, underneath sofas, etc. and I find two hand drums and in the back behind some junk in a corner is a guitar with three strings! I walk back to our group doing my best Elvis impression and Bruno (from Brazil living in Chicago) almost cries because he misses his guitar so much and it turns out he can really play! So now we have a band. We drink and sing songs, make up songs, pass around the two drums and everyone sings and drums and Bruno plays the guitar with three strings. A movie called Baraka is playing in the background and a threesome of Tibetans comes in and sits down and within minutes we have them singing with us, and then singing for us, for the rest of the night.

Nobody knew anybody less than three days ago and in one evening we are all singing, drumming, laughing and trying to understand each other when spoken language is impossible. Jenny and I enjoy one of those experiences you can only get while traveling and it is pure magic. We play until the wee hours of the morning and not once do I see anything but a smile on our bartender's face. We head home very late, laughing and singing under the blanket of stars in the sky - over and over we yell at each other - we are in TIBET! We are feeling very much like we were on the rooftop of the world.

Check out all the pics from today's adventure at my new account on Flickr, just click here.

Peace.

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Photos

Roof ornament...
The spokes of the wheel of law represent the eight paths to enlightenment...

Debating monks...
The monks at Sera Monastery debate with vigor...

Our Sherpa...
This is our already overworked guide, Don Drop...very knowledgeable, spent 6.5 years as a monk, good sense of humor, working in a very large group...