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Published: September 6th 2008
Lhasa City
Local Buddhists burning dried vegetation as a spiritual offering.We were lucky enough to be able to have time to make a short trip to Tibet and we weren't disappointed.
Arriving into Lhasa by plane was a unique experience as the views of the surrounding mountains were mesmerising.
As part of our 5 day tour we were lucky enough to have a Tibetan guide called Ta wang, who proved to be very knowledgable, enthusiastic and great all round good company.
Our first day was spent acclimatising to the dizzy height of 3700m during which we wandered around the east part of the city, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the Tibetan market stalls. We instantly felt that we were in a unique place.
In our first evening meal Duncan discovered momos (Tibetan dumplings) and Sima discovered Sweet Tea (tea with milk and sugar served up piping hot in a big teapot).
JOKHANG TEMPLE First up on the tour was this centrally located temple complete with prostrating pilgrims. It has been rumoured that the temple was built on top of a spiritual lake.
Ta wang gave us a whistle stop history of Buddhism and we were immediately struck by the history and spiritual atmosphere
Lhasa City main market street
Ta wanmg (our guide) and Duncan that filled Jokhang.
POTALA PALACE After lunch (more momos for Duncan!) we visited the hugely impressive and imposing Potala palace, Winter palace to the Dalai Lama, which soars 190m above the road. We took a worth while detour around the back of the palace where we were shown the lake formed by the excavation of the stones used to build the palace.
No photos were permitted in Potala, however, we can safely say the shrines and temples together with the incredibly large tombs of past Lamas were stunning. Perhaps one the most poignant parts was to see the empty chambers and meeting rooms of the present Dalai Lama which were occupied by him until 1959.
NORBULINGKA PALACE Our second day in Tibet started in bright sunshine with an early visit to the Dalai Lama's summer palace, Norbulingka. The main temple and residence were very beautiful, we learnt that the presence of large numbers of flowers around the grounds was attributed to the belief that growing flowers is good for the next life.
Ta wang once again proved to be very learned in all aspects of the palace's history and contents. We learnt the story
Jokhang Temple, Lhasa City
Ta wanmg and Sima on top of Jokhang Temple of how Tibetans came into being, originating from a sacred monkey. The whole story was depicted in an impressive mural on the palace wall.
SERA MONASTERY This monastery was once home to 100s of monks but now maybe only a 100 or so remain, hence a lot of the temples were closed as they are no longer in use. It was still worth the visit to join the queuing Tibetans as they filed through the ancient shrines and walked under the scriptures (this brings them good fortune) to be finally received and blessed by a monk. We were the only westerners around which made us feel very privileged.
AFTERNOON TEA We left Sera Monastery early so Ta wang suggested we visit his Aunt for some real Tibetan food. We jumped at the opportunity and spent a very enjoyable couple of hours having butter tea (tea, water, salt, sugar), tsampa (barley flour, sugar, cheese, tea) and savoury cheescake. It was wonderful to spend the afternoon with Ta wang, his aunt and family who were so welcoming and generous.
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Jay
non-member comment
Looks fabulous!
Guys, it looks a great place and very tranquill! Jay