this is a shot from the day we arrived in tibet....snow was on the tops of the mountains and you know instantly you are someplace different....i did get sick...but i think it was combination of the food on the plane (i was the only one who had vegetarian food) and the altitude...i never really got over the queasiness, so i would recommend if you are going. take diamoxin...i didn't, but am glad i didn't....it was a short period of time and i am glad i made it....anyway...the drive to the city of lhasa is beautiful as you can see above....
the first day we were in tibet, after we finally got there and weather cooperated...we actually had to boomerang back to chengdu and wait for the winds to die down before we could land...we took it easy....the second day we went to a local house...they are sewers and make money from making things to sell to tourists...of course our crew bought some....this was the sewing machine they used to make these things....my grandfather used to have one of these :)
they allowed us to take pictures of all aspects of their house, but the one i was most interested in was the altar they had in a special praying/meditation room...they of course were buddhists and told us that they were not allowed to have any pictures of or words written by the dali lama...the only picture they are allowed to posses is the one below....the altar was beautiful as you can see...
here's that one picture - the dali lama and chairman mao....it happened once in history, and that is the only picture they are allowed to have of his holiness....crazy...if they get caught with any other pictures, they can be fined or jailed or punished in other ways...they can even lose their jobs, especially if they have anything related to tourists....it was a hard thing to see and deal with....especially me....i believe everyone is entitled to their beliefs and thoughs....
the other thing i was really intrigued by was the way they heated their water for tea and coffee and hot drinks...its a solar panel style method....and these were every where, especially on roofs of houses...how cool is this!
after visiting the locals we headed to the potala palace, where i really wanted to go....wowowow -i have had a picture of this place above my bed since i was about 15...so this was a dream come true....here i am standing in front of the entrance....
this is the shot of the roof top of the world....the potala palace was where the dali lama lived and learned and grew up...it is considered the most holy spot for buddhists in tibet...you see tons of pilgrims here...all walking clockwise around the building, some prostrating themselves on the ground every three steps....some who have been doing that for months or years....and tourists are only allowed to stay in the building for two hours...if you stay longer your guide can lose their job or pay a fine...it was insane...its all timed...they say its because too many people have been here...my bet is that they will close it down in the next two or three years in the quest to destroy what is tibetan....
no one is allowed to take pictures in the palace...and the place is mostly lit by candle light - from yak butter...pilgrims bring it as an offering and take some away as a remeberance...its amazing....these prayer flags are along the back of the building along with stone tablets with tibetan written on them....its an incredible place...you can feel and even taste the peace from within...although you also realize just how wrong it is that the dali lama is in india and not in his home country of tibet....
this is a front shot of the potala palace...i love this shot, espcially because you can see the bicycle and the the pilgrim next to it...just a perfect view of what it should be...simply incredible....
from the potala palace we went and had lunch and after lunch had one of the best stops of the entire trip....the travel group i was with donates money to an orphanage that takes care of street kids from tibet...it is a local woman and her husband that run the place and they fund through donations and a coffee shop they run as well...they take care of approximately 90 children in this small enclosure with only 8 rooms...BUT a new spot is being built for this organization which we stopped by as well....it was an incredible place....here you see the kids singing songs to us in english like old macdonald...too adorable....
this is the woman who runs the place...all of the kids call her mom...this little girl was adorable and was deaf...she was really friendly and came up to most of us to check us out....she was about 2 at the time....such a cutie....
this is me and jaime, he was my personal tour guide for the orphanage...he showed me where they studied and played and slept and ate...it was cramped but you could feel the love throughout the place...kids played and helped each other and were quite excited we were there...
the next day we went to jokanda temple - the second most sacred place for tibetans and buddhists...this place was filled with pilgrims...walking around the temple grounds clockwise ...with prayer wheels spinning the entire time...as well as pilgrims prostrating themselves along the route around the building....here are some pilgrims...i love the hats on the ladies heads...
here are some more pilgrims...as you can see the gentleman has a prayer wheel in his hands and is spinning it as he walks...it was a truly friendly place and people seemed to enjoy themselves as they walked...some praying, some meditating along the way, some having conversations with friends...it had a great vibe....
this is the entrance to the temple...you can see the pilgrims and monks prostrating themselves on the ground of this most holy place...they did this before they went into the temple and after they came out....it was incredible...
this is the inner courtyard of the jokanda temple...i love the colors and patterns here and all of the green, very healthy plants, just stunning...
we were not allowed to take pictures in the temple, so this picture is back out of the temple...i wanted to show you just how much yak butter could be found in this place...and man does it have an acrid smell, if you aren't used to it....it can be quite overwhelming...pilgrims bring it as donations and take it away as rememberance from big vats of it where candles are burning in all temples and the potala palace....they use it at home for burning and fuel, to cook with and to make yak butter tea...definitely a culinary experience you should have, but in a small quantity to start, it can be really overpowering....
that afternoon we went to quite possibly one of the coolest places i have ever been in my life...its the sera monastery...where every day monks have discussions with one another in this courtyard...the one monk standing asks the sitting monk philosophical questions, which the sitting monk must answer....if the standing monk agrees with the answer he slaps his hands together and keeps his palm downwards as he points to the monk...if he doesn't agree, he does the opposite....
this monk was one of the most animated of the bunch...as you can see he is about to tell the two seated monks they are correct with their answers...its loud, it can get agressive, monks can roll around and hit each other on the head...its a wild scene and really fun...i have taken this back to my classroom, as my kids could tell you...to let them be able to tell me when they get something vs. when they don't....its a fun time :) and this monastery was incredible...and so much fun to experience...you have to do this if you go to tibet!!!!
after the monastery we stopped by a village where the new orphanage is being built...one of the newest families and their house was there, isn't it beautiful...the main prayer flag for tibet is white for purity...hence why you see it on the front of the doors, keeping the inhabitants pure and wishing them luck on their new path with their new house...incredible...
this was the construction site for the new orphanage....yes, that's a woman carrying a concrete block on her back...what a job huh...she would then climb the ladders in the back and bring the concrete blocks to the workers on the second floor...all people pitch in and work...not just men...it was wild to watch and i felt like i was on a construction site of the 1920's....
in my opinion tibetans are beautiful people...these two ladies agreed to a picture and just giggled as cynthia and i took them...the women tie ribbons of many colors in their braids and are just beautiful and seem to be quite peaceful to me...especially when they are at the palace or the temples...
the title of this shop in lhasa sums up tibet for me...strange, magical place...i loved it and i can't wait to get back...but am also very afraid it will look nothing like it did when i was there last summer...very frightening i think....because it is an amazing spot in the world....
this last picture is me with the jokanda temple behind me...it was a beautiful day and we were on the roof of a building we were supposed to be shopping in...i liked the view better than the shopping, simply incredible...go to tibet....and go soon...support tibet and the dali lama...i hope the world will do something, especially as the olympics are coming closer and closer...but i guess we'll have to wait and see what happens....china is an amazing place, but when you go to tibet you lose some of the faith and awe of the place that has taken them over....here's hoping a peaceful resolve can happen...i just don't think its possible at this point....hoped you enjoyed this update...next up will be either spain or some shots from romania...hope all is well :)
