Lhasa - Day 1

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The day I have been waiting for! I was not disappointed. We were all in need of a much needed rest so took the late start this morning as an opportunity to have a long sleep. It was great. We headed to the hotel restaurant for our included breakfast and it was great too. The first time we had see cereal since we left. We also had yoghurt from yak milk and toast and a beautiful omelette. Great way to start the day.



Noelene and I then asked if we could change rooms as our bathroom had a very off putting smell emanating from the drains. We moved (next to a construction site) instead. LOL



We went for a walk, following a very ordinary if not somewhat dodgy map to find the old town of Lhasa in Barkhor street and square. We were not disappointing by what we saw. Literally hundred of worshippers were walking whilst chanting and either spinning prayer wheels or rubbing their beads all around the main temple. There were hundreds of people walking clock wise. It was an amazing things to see. In between the these worshippers were the ones who were fully prostrating with every step as they headed toward the temple as their destination. They had protective cushions strapped to their elbows and knees and a stone glove to protect their hands on the are cobbled stone. There were also many people with prayer mats prostrating in front of the temples saying their prayers too.



We did a lot of people watching and looked in the small religiously based shops around the outside of the square. When it was time to return to the hotel we were in for another surprise. We went down a small alley and came across hundreds of worshippers taking up every possible spec in the courtyard, on the balcony and inside the smaller temple of the square known as Barkhor Temple. There were pilgrims jam packed into the temple, on the verandahs and in every nook and cranny. It was amazing. Most welcomed us but some wanted money from us. It was surreal.



We headed back to the hotel to meet our guide Shureb for the afternoon activities. The first stop was the majestic Potala Palace. It stood proudly above Lhasa in white and red. The red was built in the 15th century to be a home for the religion. It was the home of the present Dalai Lama until his exit to India. The white part of the palace was for the political head of Tibet and is no longer used by the Tibetans in this way. There are over 1000 rooms, over 13 storeys, all set on red hill. There were many magnificent chapels and statues to admire as we wandered through the 3 floors that were actually open to the public. There were fairly strict signs to let you know where you could and couldn't go. The start of the building was in the 7th century when the king, King Songtsen Gambo built the original palace. In the 17th century, the 5th Dalai Lama worked on the palace that we see now. It took over 50 years to complete. It was protected by Zhou Enlai during the cultural revolution.



There were beautiful jewelled stupas that housed the bodies of previous Lamas, the apartments that previous Lamas lived in. It is sad to see the government publicising and getting heaps of cash from opening this palace to the public, when the main attraction to the palace is in exile in India.



After lunch, we headed to Jokhang Temple. The 1300 year old temple is said to be the heart of Tibet. There are many pilgrims prostrating outside the temple. The temple was originally built to house the buddha statue brought to Tibet as part of a Nepalese Princesses dowry when she married King Songsten Gambo. His other wives were from China and Tibet. His Chinese wife also brought a statue and that is also in the temple and the temple was named after that statue. The central golden buddha is the most revered in Tibet.





We were exhausted by then so stopped to pick up some batteries for Sharon and hopefully find me a computer cable. I didn't like my chances, but I got one in the very first apple shop. I was so excited that I could blog again. Off to the hotel, a nanna nap - the thin air is tiring and then dinner in the hotel restaurant. A very tiring but exciting and amazing day.

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