Lhasa - magically charming

Lhasa, Tibet: 22 April - 24 April 2014

We arrived late afternoon and met our Tibetan guide, Sonam. We checked into our hotel – the Shambala Palace – the cutest hotel ever. After settling in, Sonam met us again at our hotel and we made our way through the old town past the Jokhang Temple, where a stream of devout pilgrims make their clockwise rounds in the early evening sun through the streets of Lhasa’s old town – it is one of the most magical scenes we have ever seen. Simply beautiful. In the morning we made our way to the Drepung Monastery, one of the six largest of the Gelupa Sect built in 1416 by a disciple of Tsong-Khapa the founder of the Gelupa school. It is nicely set on hill slope – you can really feel the altitude when walking up as we were quickly out of breath. We tried to pay attention to all the names of the statues and their significance but for Buddhist beginners like us it was a lot to take in and one begins to appreciate the overall aesthetic rather than the detail. The monastery was beautiful and never ending - inside one room or courtyard there appeared to be another set of stairs going further up. Prayer wheels, rock paintings and a large space on the hill to hang a large piece of cloth adorned the side of the monastery. After a tasty home-cooked lunch we moved on to the Sera monastery and Astrid already proclaimed early signs of temple fatigue (and this is only the start of our trip!). It turned out that the thing to do at the Sera monastery is to watch the monks debate in the courtyard and this is actually a very cool thing to see (see video). The next day we headed to Potala Palace, the Dalai Lama’s residing palace and the place for the main political and religious affairs. The main construction has two sections – the red one (the older original structure from 7^th century) and the white one (the newer ‘expansion’ by the 5^th Dalai Lama in the 17^th century). It is stunningly beautiful and houses countless cultural relics (including the stupas (tombs) of several past Dalai Lama’s). Like the past Lamas our spirits depart and leave us as we squeeze through the Potala Palace squished in between Chinese tour groups. Near the meditation seat of the Dalai Lama, and after thousands of Buddha’s & Gelupa school founder statues, the whole palace filled with holy incense smoke we need all the Zen we can muster. Tiny corridors are packed with a slow moving queue that negotiates the steps and steep staircases deep inside the Palace. It would not pass health and safety in Europe and we're a bit afraid of what would happen if there was a fire. As amazing as the place is, we are happy once we reach the outside and breathe fresh air. After another tasty lunch we head into Jokhang Temple, the holiest place in all of Tibet in the centre of the Lhasa’s old town, originally built over a lake. From the Jokhang Temple there are spectacular 360 degree views across the rooftops (all have prayer flags) towards the Potala Palace and the mountains surrounding Lhasa. Lhasa is simply magically charming, but tomorrow we head west into the countryside.