Yak yak yak

I am home now and waited to post this to be safe:

07-01-2007
Lhasa is not the distant, exotic, city on top of the world that it once was. I guess it stopped being that when China took it over in 1949, but since the Han Chinese have been relocated here in droves, and the tourists come in by the trainload now that there is a train here, its well on the circuit. But that said, its still an intense and very holy place.

Flying over the Himalayas on the flight in was spectacular



When I first arrived, I was especially moved because I didnt realize that my hotel was in the heart of the "old city", and that the other 80% of Lhasa looks like any other big chinese city. This area, called Barkhor centers around the holiest temple for Tibetans. Pilgrims from allover Tibet (along with a smattering of mostly chinese tourists) walk in a clockwise direction through the busy markets around the temple, spinning their prayer wheels and muttering mantras. I still love watching it all although occasionally you have to go against the flow of traffic and feel like a jerk for it.

Aside from the police posts every block or so, it isnt obvious what is going on here. Most of what I know, I have read or been told by people who know Tibetans. Their lives are obviousely much better now than when the genocide was going on, but there is litle doubt that they are still occupied and not happy about it. Tibetans are regularly thrown in jail for everything from being drunk to mentioning the Dalai Lama. I heard a story once of a Tibetan guide being beaten up by a policemen for being a guide (not officially allowed) and my friend having to shovel quite a bit of money at the officer to make him stop. But again, you dont see that every day around here. Not surprisingly, Chinese tourists seem to be totally clueless about it all. The reason is simply because they only know what their govt tells them. I had an interesting interaction with a shoe seller about this recently.

I had my guide book sitting next to me as I tried on an ill fitting pair of sandals. In an uncommonly gutsy move for a Tibetan, she told me that what my book said about Tibet was not the truth. I questioned her about what she meant, but she was afraid to say any more. After a little discussion we figured out that she thought I had the common guidebook to Tibet that all the Chinese have. When she realized that my book was for/by westerners she said it was probably the truth then. I reiterated to her that we know what has happened here.

Its hard to talk about Lhasa and not mention the Potala palace. Its a 400yr old monolithic building that stands perched on a hill at the centerof the city. I think it looks like a mix of an ancient apartment complex, fortress, and palace. Dalai Lamas used to live there, it was an administrative center, a monastery, and a fortress of sorts. The challenge of just getting tickets to get inside is a common discussion amond travelers here. Inside you are allotted an hour where you are pushed along from shrine to library to gold plated stupa. Only a handful of the thousand or so rooms are viewable now.
Outside the palace


The palace itself




What I enjoyed more was visiting some of the nearby monsateries outside of the city. Less touristy and fun to explore. They are like small neighborhoods with endless alleyways. The monks are always friendly and occasioanlly speak some English. When I ask why they say they like America so much I get everything from, "America help all the world", to "Basketball, Michael Jordan!"(all these monasteries seem to have TV).



At the last monastery I visited, I followed the sounds of animated commotion and found the "debating courtyard". This is really something to see. In each "debate", one or two monks stands up and schools the few sitting. Every 30seconds, the standing monk winds up as if to pitch a baseball, and aggressively slaps his hands together yelling something I wish I knew what they are debating, but I guess I can imagine too;
Sitting monk: "..maybe, but what about the lowly cockroach?"
Standing monk:"you forget that the 8th Dalai lama said that all creatures are sacred! Waaacho! ("Get some of that!" or perhaps "How ya like me now!?")
Checkout the video!


The last thing I did here was visit a nearby lake for a couple days. I went with a group of 4 others and despite accimatiing in Lhasa, the 4700m elevation kicked everyone's butts at various times. A couple of the women I was with had found that tickling the children living in the area was a sort of international language. Even kids in the city performing their money begging scripts, easily break down and become children again.
A bunch of Tibetans live up there (brrr!)

In case you've never seen a yack up close