Palaces

Wow, you just really can't fit into your mind what a stunning place Potala Palace is. Thirteen stories and over 1,000 rooms. Awesome. A shining city on a hill, started in the 7th Century. This should be characterized as one of the Great Wonders of the World.

It's really two palaces: the White Palace, the ancient seat of Tibetan government, and the Red Palace, the dwelling of the Dalai Lama. The Chinese have turned it into a museum, which may seem unfortunate, but they could have destroyed it during the Cultural Revolution, which would have been far worse.

Of course, as good tourista pilgrims we had to make our Haj. It is done the hard way, up the hundreds of steps. If one has not acclimatized prior to this hike, one wishes one could ride a yak or hire a sherpa! No such luck. We brought a lot of warm clothing, thinking it would be cold up here, at 9000'. But it was actually quite warm, making the trek quite a sweatfest. Our hotel room had a control that said A/C but it was just decoration.

With the exception of the dude in the Banana Republic outfit on the left, the rest of these people are real pilgrims. Some prostrate themselves every step of the way.

OK, this shot does have a bunch of touristas. They come in waves when the tour buses arrive.

A panoramic view from the top. The monument in the square at right-of-center is to the "friendship" of the Chinese and Tibetan peoples.

And what do we have here? She turns up in the most exotic places...

The entrance to the Red Palace. Touristas in the foreground.

You will note the deep blue sky that says we are high and dry. Lhasa is at "only" about 12,000' (3700m), but we did have problems with the altitude and dry air. One regret we had was not spending more time in Lhasa so we could do things after becoming acclimatized. Of course, once we were, it was time to leave. Another surprise was the heat. Lhasa is in an arid valley and the temperature soars during the day. At least 30% of the clothing we packed was for cold weather and we never wore it. The hotel room had an "Air Conditioning" control but it didn't do anything and we roasted. Nights were lovely once we figured out the windows opened!

If you're wondering why we don't share any pictures of the interior, it's because cameras are not allowed. We may add some shots from a book we bought, but not now. The most impressive things we saw were the stupas of various Delai Lamas, which were huge and made of solid gold and studded with gems. One stupa was said to contain 3700kg in gold.

Our next palace was Norbulinka, which was the summer palace of the Dalai Lamas and was also the last palace occupied by the current Dalai Lama before he fled Tibet in 1959. The name means "Jeweled Garden" and it was originally just a park. The palace parts were added later.

The lions guarding the entrance require a brief explanation if not seen elsewhere on these pages. There are always 2 lions, a female (see the cute baby?) on the left and a male on the right. Tibetans call these creatures "snow lions", but they're really your basic Chinese mythical lion. Whether the Chinese got the lion from Tibet or vice-versa, we don't know.

A detail of the entrance.

Your basic Tibetan gargoyle. We don't know what kind of animal it is, but it's pretty common.

More exquisite door lintel detail.

The Dalai Lama's palace.

While visiting we came across some pilgrims, who graciously agreed to pose with the admiral. Our guide guessed that the woman on the left was mid-thirties and the one on the right was in her mid-forties; the climate does age you. However, it has not taken away from their unique beauty. These kind ladies were nomads.

Next we have Drepung Monastery. At one time it was the largest monastery in the world, housing over 7,000 monks. It's now home to about 700.

A pilgrim with a small child begging on the steps; help seems on the way. These people come from small villages many miles away and it is customary to help with their sustenance while in Lhasa.

A close-up of a prayer wheel. Note the small clay images strewn at the base.

This wheel is water-powered, so it turns constantly.

And finally, a giant, industrial-grade water-powered prayer wheel.

Here we see a monk's humble cell. The goat on the right side is contemplating a common clever invention here, the solar-powered tea kettle. Believe he is contemplating lunch.

Prayer rocks and prayer flags.

A close-up of the flags.

We wish these interior shots were better as the decoration was exquisite.

This is a detail of the illumination provided by a yak butter candle. If you look around you will see money just strewn about, as well as fruit offered to the images. There is also money posted on the windows. No collection plates here.

This is a monk endlessly beating a drum. Note the thermos of tea to the left of his hand. It was impossible to capture the beauty of these rooms. Does it sound like we want to return? There is no individual travel in Tibet. One must have a guide at all times.

Some images are just downright bizarre. Would be excellent for an orthodontist's office.

What do these Buddhas represent? Donors!

A panorama of the entrance to the main hall, where hundreds of monks gather to chant. The firewood to the left fuels the very smoky kitchen on the far left.

Even child pilgrims need rest. There is nothing more universally poignant than the face of a sleeping child.

Lastly, whilst leaving, the intrepid Capt Hub espied a rare Tibetan Temple Terrier curled up in a lotus position and meditating. The Hubster was musing whether the dog was focused on imagining the truest pooch Nirvana, which can only be obtained by living at Hub's mom's house. As he attempted to catch this moment of canine serenity, the dog came out of his trance and began to chant in a low tone: "Grrrrrrrr", whereupon the Capt decided to use his best discretion and flee forthwith.

Next we have Jokhang Temple, the most sacred in Tibet. It was built in the 7th Century.

The courtyard

Some of the incredible hand-painted detail

The Sakyamuni Buddha. Tibetan Buddhism, much different than the Theravada or Mahayana studied as a University of Texas student.

The view from the roof. Note the stunning Potala Palace in the distance, rising to the right of the square. Also, if you look you'll see the square is lined by the small stalls seen in the Lhasa page. Jewelry is everywhere and most is imported from Nepal.

Note the exquisite detail of the golden roof.

More detail - note all the figures on the eaves.

The gargoyle..... keeps evil spirits away!

The eaves

God lives in the tiny, hand-painted, details. It's all in the placement of the hands.

We didn't say all the details were perfect - who let him in? He is color-coordinated though...

If you wondered where all the gold came from, here's your answer: monks weighing out gold nuggets panned from Tibetan streams.

Lastly, we visit the Ani Tsang Kung Nunnery. If you've been wondering how we keep all this straight, this is how.

Nuns at prayer

Mahakala - you figure it out. Bad hair day.

This nun is painting ceramics. Like monks elsewhere, they are expected to work. Monks run the souvenir shops in the monasteries.

We wished we has done many things differently when we were here. It was hot and we had altitude sickness, sinus infections and migraines. In spite of all that, we want to go back!