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Published: September 29th 2006
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In front of the Potala Palace
Man walking and praying using a prayer wheel in front of the Potala Palace. Here's the second installment of my adventures rtw ...
Just a correction from my last msg. The red hot peppered dish I had in Chengdu called 'hot pot' was actually not based in simmering oil. It was a dark reddish broth filled with spicy peppers, in which we dipped different ingredients. The ingredients were then put in a tiny individual bowl of clear broth with a bit of sesame seed oil, chopped garlic and cilantro accompanied by a good light chinese beer called 'Snow'. Great experience!
July 9th
Was jet lagged and slept until 2pm, but still had the opportunity to go to 'Renmin Park' or 'People's Park'. This is where the people of Chengdu pass time doing group excercise (picture a slow aerobic class with background chinese music), where people practice social dance and have areas where they can sing karaoke ... that's right karaoke at the park! 😉
For dinner had Chengdu version of a crepe. It was filled with spicy hotdog, shallots and chopped mushrooms. It was ok.
July 10th
I decided to take a one day tour of the countryside and an old little village called Huanglongxi. The countryside was beautiful and very
Barkhor, Lhasa
Pilgrims in the Barkhor area in front of Jokhang Temple. green, filled with corn and tobacco crops. They also had quite a few fish farms. We had lunch, at a farmer's house, made with fresh produce from the area, which was really good and again half the dishes had red hot peppers.
Huanglongxi is a little town that seemed to be stuck in time. The buildings were hundreds of years old. Mainly homes and stores selling really beautiful chinese products from traditional shoes (silk and straw made), musical instruments, food, very beautiful red toned vases with designs i had never seen before and which didn't look like anything I would ever think as being chinese, etc ... Seeing all the different things for sale just made me realize how diverse China is and how I have so much more to discover. I will definitely be coming back ... I'm already thinking of which cities/towns/areas to visit next - Xian, inner Mongolia and I already want to come back to Tibet again because 6 days here is definitely not enough!
July 11th
I've finally made it to the 'rooftop of the world' and what a beautiful place this is! Got up at 5am (!) this morning after having only
Prayer wheels
Prayer wheels lining the outside wall of the Potala Palace. 4hrs sleep (had too much of a great time with my dorm mates and slept very late!). The Sichuan Airline flight took 2hrs from Chengdu to Lhasa took (8-10am). The scenery during the flight was absolutely breathtaking with ochre based mountains, very green fertile valleys, snow capped mountains, aqua colored lakes and sand dunes closer to Lhasa. One interesting in-flight entertainment was one of the flight attendants dressed in chinese costume danced to traditional music going from the front to the back of the cabin! It was a really great surprise!
Lhasa is at an altitude of roughly 3700m, so I've taken things slow today. The Potala Palace, which was once the location of the Tibet government and where the Dalai Lama used to live, is just magnificent! I can't belive I'm actually at a place I've dreamed of going to for years!! I spent about half an hour just sitting on a bench at a park just across the Palace. It was great to just be staring at this really beautiful and breathtaking building built atop a hill in the heart of Lhasa.
While I was admiring the scenery a Tibetan woman sat beside me to pray and started to chat. I thought she was going to sell or ask me for something since I was already approached by souvernir sellers earlier. But, she wanted nothing but to chat which felt really good. She conversed in broken English, and we did our best to try to understand each other. I saw how her eyes lit up and how exited she got when I mentioned the Dalai Lama's name! I'm saddened to hear about the Tibetans' plight, but some belive that travelling to such a region enables people to bear witness to the plight of the people and serve to educate others who may not be aware of the situation here (though I assume many people on this list are already aware).
Ok, this is it for this installment. Tomorrow I'm planning to go to Barkhor (pilgrim circuit), Jokhang Temple and visit the Potala Palace.
By the way, for those still wondering about my photos. I left my cables at home as well as the instruction to download. But, I met and am travelling for the next 3 days with a French woman from Paris, who might be able to help me upload my pictures. Stay tuned!
Until next time, take care and keep in touch!
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