Prayer Flags Every Which Way

Thousands of multi-colored scriptures flap in the breeze below Swayambhunath temple, in Kathmandu. This tangle of Tibetan prayer flags has been draped from the branches of a tree.

View from the hill.

Like telephone wires, but different.

Sera Monastery

The Sera Monastery is one of the big three monasteries in the history of Tibet. Just outside Lhasa, snuggled up against the hill slopes, Sera has only one tenth the number of monks it once had. (This proportion, one tenth, seems to be consistent for all the monasteries around Lhasa).


The wheel of life. Try not to be reborn as a hungry ghost, an animal, or a denizen of the Buddhist hell!

The Tibetan snow lion!

The young monks of Sera engage in debate sessions in the afternoon.

The tourists engage in monk-watching sessions in the afternoon.

The Norbulinka

On a set tour schedule in Lhasa, your guide will most likely take you to 1.) Potala Palace, 2.) Jokhang Temple, and 3.) Norbulinka - the former summer palace and park grounds of the Dalai Lama. In fact, it was from the Norbulinka that the Dalai Lama and his family fled, after dark, one summer evening in 1959. They left in secrecy, all wearing disguises, so that when the People's Liberation Army began shelling Lhasa a few days later, they still assumed that the 14th Dalai Lama was in residence at the Norbulinka. A shot even landed on his personal quarters - was it a carefully aimed shot or a stray shot? one might ask.

Here is the former summer residence of the 14th Dalai Lama.


The elephant, the monkey, the rabbit, and the bird: an allegory of friendship.


A hot water apparatus. I saw these all around the city of Golmud, in Qinghai province, and was delighted to see one on in the Norbulinka as well.

Some Interesting Specimens of Tibetan Cuisine

One of the more singular items was raw, spicy yak meat. The raw meat has been pureed: it has a very pink color.

I also dined on yak tongue, but unfortunately didn't take a picture...

This item is deep fried and filled with ground yak meat. It is remarkably similar to the Mongolian hushur (though this latter snack employees mutton).

Almost every foreign visitor seems to sample Tibetan barley beer. Reactions differ, though I liked it, especially the barley aftertaste.

Explorations of side streets will be rewarded with views of traditional food stalls. Here, yak butter is for sale.

Crystallized honeycomb laid out on the street.

Girl Running in the Water Show

Opposite the Potala Palace in Lhasa has been constructed a huge, stately square. At night a massive water show begins (at around 8:30pm, if I remember correctly), with tremendous water jets squirting into the air in time with classical airs, or traditional Chinese and Tibetan tunes. I can't say that it harmonizes perfectly with the Potala and its other surroundings, but the show is certainly entertaining.

Here is an action sequence of one Tibetan girl making a mad dash through the water show. 

A Pilgrimage Circuit

Jokhang Temple in central Lhasa still draws pilgrims from the three original Tibetan provinces of Amdo, Kham, and U-Tsang. 

I was cautioned by my guide not to take any pictures of the rooftop sentries in this main square.

Full-length prostrations.

The clockwise circuit around the Jokhang.

Chinese tourists, spinning prayer wheels for a joke photo.

Sore Memories

While all travelers to Lhasa must be accompanied by a guide/minder, at least for a couple days, tourists are not completely bared from seeing some of the less positive marks of the Chinese legacy.

The 14th Dalai Lama, in a talk in Manhattan, on May 3, 2009, urged people to visit Tibet and see for themselves in order to form their own opinions. Some of his words were: 'The Chinese government never admit [sic], never acknowledged there is a problem. So now I think the world community has a responsibility to show the world there is a problem. If the majority of Tibetan people are happy, then our information becomes wrong, then ... we must apologize to the Chinese government.'

Here's one of the shop fronts along a street crammed with Chinese shops. Most of the signs of rioting and violence from last year have been repaired and covered up, though this building is still singed with smoke at its base, with some of its windows gutted.

One of smaller temple-monasteries that was looted during the Cultural Revolution. This one stands in the middle of a residential courtyard in Old Lhasa.

Opposite the Potala Palace has been erected a monument to honor Chinese soldiers.

Lhasa in June

Last week I returned from the still-esoteric, long-sought-after travel destination of Lhasa, Tibet. One hundred years ago, Lhasa was near impossible to enter because it was a fiercely closed kingdom. Many of the great explorers never made it, with a good example being the Cossack Nikolai Przhevalsky, who tried and failed three times to penetrate as far as Lhasa.

These days, however, it is difficult for outsiders to reach Lhasa and even harder to travel in other regions of Tibet province due to the restrictions of the Chinese central government. Guides are required, a private vehicle must be paid for, and a detailed travel itinerary must be submitted, among other restrictions. The good news is that with a little time and patience (and money!) it is well within the realm of the possible to visit Lhasa.

Here are a few shots of Lhasa in the early morning.

A few dozen of the thousand rooms in the Potala Palace.

The wall paintings in the Potala may be the best preserved in Lhasa. This is one of the guardian kings, looking less fierce than usual.

The Potala Palace is an essential stop for Chinese tourists, and the smaller contingent of non-Chinese tourists. Scenes like this are the norm. There is also a one hour maximum tour time allowance for guides (though clever guides can maneuver around this problem!).

Train to Lhasa - Part II

As the landscape unfurls...

Yaks.

Han Chinese soldiers: on to Lhasa we march.

Tibetan Caterpillar Fungus AND Yak Jerky

One of the specialties of Qinghai Province, China, is its medicinal caterpillar fungus. This stuff is in high demand, so be prepared to pay for your caterpillar fungus. In Golmud, I bought one single caterpillar (plus fungus) for 20 RMB (about 3 US dollars). 

The high spenders among us may way to buy a whole box.

Choices to chose from.

A single caterpillar. Note the fungus growing out (strangely) from the head.

Once you've purchased your caterpillar(s), kindly deposit in a bottle of Chinese vodka. Then allow to saturate for up to one year before drinking. When ready to drink, take a nip each day for best effect.

Qinghai province is not just famous for its caterpillar fungus - there is also some tasty yak jerky, available at any supermarket.