2 days in Lhasa

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The last 2 days have been pretty full on so I’ll combine them in to one blog... hopefully I don’t bore everyone too much :-)

So the first full day in Lhasa started with a walk to Jokhang Temple, with a couple of stops along the way so we know where to get laundry done and where the supermarket is etc. You’ll all be pleased to know, I managed to buy deodorant! Hooray! Although it is a men’s one as it was the only one they had in the whole supermarket. Apparently, women don’t wear deodorant here.

We walked down a few little backstreets and stopped off at a tiny shop selling rice and lentils and also a huge selection of yak cheese. Some of it is sold in small blocks sold on a string, one block will last a whole day. We were told it’s used to stop women gossiping when they go to the temple!

After a couple of stops along the way - Times Square and randomly there were a group of people dancing in the street outside the shops. They’d do a dance and move to the next shop. I have no clue what it was all about. I also saw a chef riding a motorbike in his hat! Anyway we then walked to Jokhang Temple, considered the most sacred in Tibet, security is tight and all bags have to be x-rayed on the way in. We joined the line for entrance to the temple, having been warned the queue can be anything up to 2 hours long, I was relieved to see it was really quite short and moving quickly. The queue goes around the temple and is fenced in, along the fences there are people selling thermos flasks of yak butter - this is used as an offering and can be purchased in the way for a couple of yuan.

Just before we reached the entrance, we could see all the locals praying outside the door. They repeat their prayer process 1,000 times per day. It looks such hard work.
We went inside the temple into a courtyard, to find a brightly decorated and quite ornate square with fountains and statues around the edge. We left the courtyard to take a tour inside the temple. It is incredibly popular and access to the temple is currently free which really draws the crowds. We went around looking at all the statues, carvings and beautifully painted walls. One of the highlights of the temple is a golden statue and it’s huge! However, it is in a tiny room and with hundreds of people wanting to see it (because it brings good fortune to those who have looked at it), it was impossible to get in the room. I saw it from a distance and I have to say, it was impressive.

We climbed the steps to the rooftop where there was a stall run by the monks selling prayer wheels, beads etc. All of them blessed by a monk.

We then left for the walk back to the hotel. We had to go via the pharmacy as I’ve picked up ANOTHER cold and a really annoying cough and I need to get rid of it before we go to regions where the altitude is higher. I came out of there with some medication and instructions of how to take them... fingers crossed this crazy medication actually does something!

On return to the hotel we went for our momo making course, this was also to be our lunch so I was hoping we did a good job! It was so much fun, we made a really thin pastry disc which was slightly thicker in the middle, filled it with either yak meat or bamboo shoots and carrots and then pinched the pastry together to make a small parcel. These were then taken away and steamed, as it turns out, we were quite good at making momo and lunch was a success.

No time to rest and we went to get on the local bus to go to the Sera Monastery, the bus journey took around 30 minutes and was pretty busy. Plenty of locals were intrigued by a group of westerners on the bus. We went into the monastery and our guide pointed out a yellow building high on the mountain where 2 monks live, they come down once weekly to get food and return, it takes 4 hours to get down from the mountain so I can see why they do it weekly!

We walked up the hilly path with white stone washed buildings either side. The buildings house the monks and they’re used for study as well. Our main focus of this visit was to see the debating monks. Every day from 3pm to 4.30pm the student monks will enter the area to debate 5 subjects. This time is used as practice for an exam they need to pass in order to pass their degree. In the final version the master will pose a question to the student and he will return with an answer, if the answer is correct a signal will be given (a clap) and a different one given if it is incorrect. It’s a very theatrical process and so entertaining to watch, obviously, I had no clue what they were debating but I was completely mesmerised by the group of monks passionately arguing their point. It was kind of weird to see some of them looking so aggressive. I could’ve spent hours in there watching, but time was limited and we had to move on. Rather weirdly, we weren’t allowed to use a camera to photograph the debate, but photos or videos taken on a mobile phone were fine!

After leaving the monk debate, we walked back down the hill to take some photos with the mountains in the background and headed back in to town on the bus.

Our guide along the way explained to me what happens when someone dies here in Tibet (I’m not sure if this is applicable anywhere else). If the person who dies is poor or dies for unnatural reasons (for example a car accident), the body is taken and chopped up and placed in the river to feed the fish and this is the reason Tibetans don’t eat fish. If the person who dies is wealthy or has family to support, the body is chopped up and taken in to the mountains and placed on a large flat rock and left for the vultures. No women are allowed at the ceremony and also no family are allowed to attend either.

We all went out for dinner as a group to a local restaurant where I had hot garlic potatoes and I can confirm, they were hotter than the surface of the sun!!

Today, we had a later start of 9:30am to go on a market walk and then the afternoon to go to Potala Palace.
We walked further in to town and into an indoor wholesale market where you can literally buy anything you would get in a supermarket but much cheaper. We started out around the toiletries and then I found myself next to huge blocks of yak butter and yak cheese, the smell of that was so intense it made me want to hurl! We turned a corner and found all the fresh fruit and veg, all of it was enormous! Then on to the meat where I saw a lady with a huge piece of something meaty in front of her hammering an axe in it to cut it... not your normal trip to Tesco!

We walked through some of the streets and saw the traders going to trade turquoise and amber. One of the ladies in the group asked for a photo with one of the traders, he followed her round for quite some time after that!!

We then returned to Jokhang Temple to walk around the outside, the pilgrims walk around the temple in a clockwise direction so we followed suit and did a circuit. On the way we saw people making offerings in the burners of wheat and went into a small building with a giant prayer wheel. I joined in with the locals giving it a spin. They were very welcoming I did one loop round and joined the rest of my group outside. It is so pleasant walking around with the locals saying hello, some of them looking at us in a funny way, but all of them so nice. The children learn English as a third language at school (after Tibetan and Chinese) and they seem really keen to practice so they often say hello as I’ve been walking around.

We left the temple area to either go back to the hotel or grab lunch or shop. I walked back with 2 of the Australian ladies in my tour group. We called in the art gallery on the way, they had some beautiful pieces in there. Obviously, very expensive but beautiful all the same. We called in a few other shops on the way back to the hotel. I popped back and dropped my laundry off so I can collect it tomorrow -it’s SO cheap! I wish it was like that at home, I’d never do washing again!!

We met in the afternoon and took the relatively short walk to Potala Palace, former home of the Dalai Lama perched 130 metres above the city. The palace is divided into two parts, the White Palace (secular and used as offices and the like) and the Red Palace (home to chapels, shrines, and tombs of Dalai Lamas).

As we walked down the main road, the palace just appeared and I was completely in awe. I’ve seen photos of it, but, I never really understood the sheer size of it. It is certainly something I will never forget.

We walked up the 365 steps to enter the palace, it’s hard work at altitude. I was so breathless and my legs were tightening up. Some of the steps were steep, some narrow, some wide, but all a bit uneven. I made it to the top and I was so happy to get there. There were some incredible views from the top.

We went inside and toured the palace, we were shown the rooms that have been occupied by the different Dalai Lamas including the current one when he resided there. There are also stupas for the previous ones, some huge and there was one small one because he passed away at the age of eleven. Each of them were ornately decorated using mostly gold.

After a tour of the palace we ended up on the rooftop, the views from there are stunning, but, unfortunately I wasn’t able to take any photographs as it’s forbidden. We headed back down to leave in time for our one hour time slot to finish.

Walking down the steps on the way back down it got pretty windy and cold, quite a contrast from the walk up when it was so hot and I caught the sun!

I returned to the hotel to chill for a little while and met the group for dinner in a small traditional Tibetan restaurant where they hand make all the noodles every day. It was amazing! Vegetarian noodles with broth and a cup of Muslim tea (this has dried prunes, lychees, goji berries, sugar, some unknown flowers and hot water). Some great local food and it was packed so full of flavour and was absolute buttons to buy.

A busy couple of days for sure, but, I’ve loved every minute of it so far. Tibet is like nowhere I’ve been before, the weather is bonkers, the people are lovely and the food is incredible. Onwards to a higher altitude for the day at a cave retreat tomorrow.

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Comments

[Kirsten Dunion]

Superb!!!
Oh Lyndsey I love reading your blog it’s so amazing to hear everything you do it really is! It sounds amazing and you have done so much I’m glad your loving it xxx Miss you lots stay safe xxx Me KD

[Alboppo]

Thank you :-)
I’m so glad you’re enjoying reading it - I thought everyone would be bored by now!! I’ll get the next one written as soon as. Love and hugs xxxx