Tibet "A Place Like No Other"

The four of us and friends (a couple from apartment building) visited Lhasa Tibet over a long weekend. We went during one of the best times of the year, the other being September. The girls were going to take the train but no tickets were available. Train tickets are only available 4 days in advance. You have to have a travel permit to Tibet and a guide on the other end to go there.

EF and AF in Barkhor Square

Tibet is a really a foreign place. I thought Beijing and China (ex-Tibet) was pretty foreign to us westerners. The first thing you experience is the beautiful mountainous scenery. We went by plane from Beijing to Chendgu, Sichuan then to Gongkar County, Tibet . It is a 100km ride to Lhasa (.4 million people) which is the capital of Tibet. Our guide Nyima from Lhasa and his driver met us at the airport to take us to the hotel. The area is on a huge high plateau at 11,975 feet. The mountains are completely barren of vegetation but the plateau has plenty of water and trees. The stone building architecture is unique and interesting.

We were a little concerned about the altitude adjustment. Most of us faired pretty well but it did take some serious adjustment. Breathing was labored and it was easy to get a headache and a queasy stomach. Sleeping at night was a little tough.

We stayed at the Dhood Gu Hotel which was very much a Tibetan building from the inside decoration. It was certainly not a luxury hotel but it did the trick. The rooms were a little small and worn but they were very clean. The location was great as it was in the old Tibetan section near the Jokhang Temple. The breakfast tasted so-so but the staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful. Everything tasted a little strange including the bread toast. I made the mistake of asking for two eggs over hard (I got two boiled eggs). I learned to ask for sunny eggs which were fried with sometimes the yoke soft and other times hard. The girls usually had scrambled eggs which is hard to go wrong.

The hotel also had a rooftop bar (how funny it was actually a roof top enclosure that did in deed have tables and a bar to put alcohol but was being used to hang all the hotel linens for drying. We used it anyway to play some mahjong.

From our room we could see a glimpse of the Potala Palace (ex-home of the 14th Dalai Lama) but more importantly the roof top of a local resident family across the alley that had a huge incense burner. We left a small window open to our room while sightseeing. We came back and the entire room was filled with juniper incense from the apartment across the alley. Yuck I hate the smell of the incense it gave me a headache.

We visited the Potala Palace, Sera and Ganden Monasteries, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street, and a nunnery:

www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/tibet/lhasa/potala.htm

www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/tibet/lhasa/sera.htm www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/tibet/lhasa/ganden.htm www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/tibet/lhasa/jokhang.htm

www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/tibet/lhasa/barkhor.htm

The buddhist religion is very mystical and interesting from the pilgrims who walk around the Jokhang Temple on Barkhor Street either by foot or full body prostration in a clock-wise route with prayer wheels and adorned in crimson/purple robes. To the smell of yak butter and juniper incense (I will never get those smells out of my system). Then the mandelas, the protectors, the stupas, the monks, abbots, and huge number of Buddhas.

The people on the street were interesting. I think the pilgrims from the countryside had never seen westerners before. We received an unusual amount of attention, especially with open palms asking for money. The kids were the most relentless beggars.
The food was pretty good but I have had my fill of yak meat and yak milk tea. Some of us even tried yak butter tea that the monks drink (yuk, they can keep it). Yak butter is everywhere as people buy it to bring and add to the large tubs of butter that are used to burn candles in the temples and monasteries.

For my fellow bikers at Chase in DE who are getting ready for the Ride for Andrew. I am sorry that I won't be there with all of you. I am with you in spirit B+. I know the weather will be great for everyone. Dave C. you are an animal, your next adventure is to take two wheels and go from Xinjiang to Lhasa (2500km and 56 days from Gobi desert to the Himalayas).