Photos 1 and 2) Potala Palace; 3) Jokhang Temple; 4) Summer home of 14th (current Dalai Lama); 5) Yumdrok Lake; 6 and 7) Tibetan mountains; 8 ) Karula Glacier; 9) Yak dung, used for fuel in many villages, drying on front wall of house.
We recently returned from a short vacation in Lhasa, Tibet. Lhasa, which sits at 11,400 feet, is remote by any standard, but well worth the trip for those who seek beauty, peace, and a friendly spirit. The day we left Beijing, we couldn’t see the sun through the thick veil of haze that blanketed the city. We arrived in Lhasa to a brilliant blue sky, fresh (albeit thin) air, and lots of warm smiles. We had feared that November would be cold but instead found pleasant fall weather and a warm sun that allowed shirt sleeves or a light jacket in the afternoon (not to mention few tourists).
Our first stop was the famous Patola Palace, a breathtaking sight in the middle of Lhasa’s older side of town. It began as a cave and the small temple in the 7th century, but the structure we know today was built in the 17th century by the 5th Dalai Lama. The brilliant reds come from small pieces of sandal wood, roughly the size of chopsticks, which are packed together to support the thick walls and balustrades. Our guide that day told us that in the summer, the palace is packed with tourists. On the day we visited, we were the only non-Tibetans present and the charm of our surroundings was enhanced by the many locals, who spun a prayer wheel in their right hand and fingered prayer beads in their left.
Prior to 2008, over 2000 monks lived and worshiped in this grand building. Today, it is mostly inhabited by Chinese military with only 15 or so monks left living on the premises. Of the Palace’s 1000 rooms, only 23 or so are now open to the public “due to politics.” The rooms that are accessible are indeed lovely – and exotic – glowing of red and gold hues, and illuminated by hundreds of butter candles, which are fueled by the hordes of pilgrims who come to visit, carrying bags of butter.
Our guide informed us that the colorful prayer flags and fragrant incense found throughout Tibet are relics of the area’s ancient indigenous religion, know, as “Bon,” which preceded Buddhism. The flags, which are found even in the most remote locations, provide the area with its own unique feel that reminded umore of Bhutan and Nepal than China. Our daughter loved to remind us that the blue stood for the sky, the yellow for earth, white for clouds, red for fire, and green for water.
Our next stop, and my favorite sight, the Jokhang Temple, was built 1,300 years ago and is positively captivating with its worshipers prostrating themselves over and over again in front of the entrance or waiting in line to visit the small shrines within the Temple. Again, the butter candles glowed throughout as we attempted to explore the many small shrines.
We waited until our third day to drive to the mountains, which required ascending to an altitude of 16,700 feet. We brought a canister of oxygen, ubiquitous in the hotels, to lessen any headaches (and relieve our daughter’s altitude sickness). We exited the car at the Karula Glacier, again the only tourists in sight, and wandered among the nomads who were busy herding their sheep and yaks. Truly a memorable experience. While it’s impossible to predict what will happen to Tibet, which is mired in politics familiar to all, likewise, it is also impossible to leave this area untouched by the warmth, spirit, and history of its people.