11/15 -11/17 lhasa, tibet

We had to do a bit of back-tracking to get to Tibet, but it was well worth the visit. Lhasa (capital of Tibet) is actually closer to Delhi, India, than anywhere we had been in China. And it's not just distance that makes Tibet a tough place to visit - the Chinese government continually puts more and more restrictions on foreign travel there. But once we were there, we were so glad to have taken the trouble, even though it was SO COLD (no central heat - and sometimes no heat, period) and so high (at over 12,000 feet we sometimes had a hard time catching our breath). It is really unique place and beautiful people, and we were surprised to find that we had it almost entirely to ourselves (perhaps the cold scared the tourists away?).

Lhasa has a rich history, having served as both a political and a religious capital of Tibet since about the 6th century. The city is dominated by the residence of the Dalai Lama (called the Potala), but it has not been occupied by the Dalai Lama since he fled in 1959. In our visit to the Potala, we breathed in the treasure and history of Tibet. Room after room overflows with golden statues, prayer flags, and offerings. And best of all, because it is the end of their growing season, we had the opportunity to see Tibetan pilgrims come to worship at the Potala and other holy sites, walking through and around (and around and around) the temples with us - but always clockwise. Some of the families brought bags of barley for offerings, some prostrated themselves on the ground over and over and over again, hundreds chanted prayers in unison, and all gave money and yak butter to just about every buddha. Such a devoted and kind people, in spite of abject poverty, the hardship of life at 12,000 feet, and the oppression of the gov't. We especially enjoyed spending some time at one of the local monasteries watching the monks "debate", which was actually a lot of stomping, clapping, and yelling at each other. It seems to be their way of testing each others' knowledge—quite the cacophony of sound and color. We loved Tibet!

The Potala in the bitter cold morning
Me doing a "cold face"

We have to climb all those steps? At 12,000 feet? Huff and puff...
The view partway up the Potala
No pictures inside (sad), so this one was on the way down; these awesome ladies were sipping tea and singing at the top of their lungs
Our favorite ladies in the background

Weathered Tibetan face and her prayer wheel thing, ever swinging round and round
On top of one of the temples with some famers getting dressed in matching worship clothes and fur hats
Jokhang temple
Ahhh, beautiful, clean air!
Main square with the Potala in the background

The monks "debating"
So loud!
So Tibetan
Market street