Lhasa

Greetings from Lhasa!

Well it has been a mixture of relaxation as well as site seeing over the last few days. Because of the altitude, we needed to rest to acclimatise but there is so much to see in Lhasa that it's hard not to get out and see it all!

Last time I wrote we were about to go and see Jokhang Monastery. Jokhang is in the heart of the Barkhor area at the end of the square and is the holiest temple in the Tibetan Buddhist world. It was built in the 7th century by King Songsten Gampo to house the dowries brought to him by his 2 wives from Nepal and China! After seeing all the temples inside we ventured onto the roof where the second best view in Lhasa (after the Potala Palace) is located. We could see over the Barkhor Square all the way to the Potala Palace. Wonderful!

That night we all went out for dinner at a local western restaurant. Afterwards a few of us went up to the bar for some drinks which turned into a psudeo kareoke and dancing night. Very fun!!

The next day we were off to the Potala Palace which is a half hour walk from our hotel and then a climb up around 300 very steep steps! I'll tell you, at altitude doing anything is tiring let alone climbing hundreds of steps! The view from the top was definitely worth it. You can see all over the city from the top and the site was breathtaking.

The Potala Palace stands 13 storeys high and has 1000 rooms and towers over the western (modern) end of Lhasa. The Palace was built during the reign of the 5th Dalai Lama and took 50 years to complete with a workforce of over 7000 workmen and 1500 artists. It was basically the religious, political, administrative centres and home for the 5th - 14th Dalai Lamas. It contains many of the tombs of the previous Dalai Lamas including the 5th which is made of 3,700kg of gold!

The temples were very beautiful and it was incredible to walk through the Palace where so many Dalai Lama's have lived. The views weren't half bad either!

Yesterday we had a pretty full day by going to visit Braille Without Borders and the Sere Monastery.

Braille Without Borders is a school set up by a blind German lady and her sighted partner to help Tibetan children live their lives with purpose. Many Tibetan children are either born blind or become blind through the combination of high UV and dust. If they become blind the parents are scared they will hurt themselves and basically keep them locked up in a room for most of their lives. The school provides valuable Chinese, Tibetan and English language skills as well as learning to read braille and vocational skills such as massage or teaching other blind children. We were invited to speak with the children as well as look around the school and shop with produce either made by the children or with all proceeds going to the school.

Leaving Braille Without Borders we took a local bus (minivan) to Sera Monastery to see the Monks afternoon debating session. I have never seen so many monks at one time yelling at one another! Basically you have at least one monk standing asking another a question to do with religion. They ask their question and then point their hands and clap at the other monk basically challenging them to answer correctly. It's very funny to see (and very noisy!!).

After the monks debating session we walked through the monastery and temples. Very interesting!!

This morning was probably the highlight of my visit to Lhasa so far. We went to the Ganden Monastery located around 45km from Lhasa and located at 4500m above sea level (the highest I've ever been!!). The attraction of the monastery isn't so much the monastery itself but the high kora (circumnabluation) surrounding the monastery. We walked around past many prayer flags and perilous rocks on a very narrow path. The views were rivalling the ones in Langmusi!! We were in very high pilgrimage country and could see the sites of many old sky burials (Tibetan funeral custom). It was a fantastic thing to do even though we were all a little puffed from the high altitude at times. I would definitely recommend a visit to the Ganden Monastery just for the views!

Apart from all of that I have been mainly resting and eating - a perfect way to prepare for the strenuous next 2 weeks!!

We leave tomorrow for the Samye Monastery - the first Buddhist monastery established in Tibet by Landcruisers. We continue with the Landcruisers until we get to Kathmandu. I'm not sure that there will be internet access on the Friendship Hwy (road to Nepal) but I'll try to keep in touch anyway!

Goodbye until next time!!

Nat.