Potala Palace

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The highlight of our second day in Lhasa was the Potala Palace - the home of the 14th Dalai Lama before he fled the country in the 1950’s as the Chinese invaded. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Only a limited numbers of visitors are allowed in each day and it was relatively serene as we toured the palace. And though the palace is huge (it looms over the city, reminiscent of a fortress), only a small portion of the rooms are able to be accessed by the general public.

We were able to tour several rooms, the vast majority of which were shrines. There were elaborate statues and tombs made out of precious metals and gems. The more important of a Dalai Lama (the 5th Dalai Lama seemed to be pretty popular), the bigger the tomb. We were able to view the apartment the Dalai Lama lived in before fleeing the country (Bithiah couldn’t help but break the rules and take a picture) and were struck by how small it was for being in such a huge palace.

That night we met our German friends from the train for dinner and drinks. Bithiah and Jessica were beat and called it a night but the boys ended up in a Tibetan bar befriending the bartender until the wee hours of the morning.

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