China - Tibet Autonomous Region and a bit of Japan on the way home

[Matt_01]

At the entrance to the Palace Bob realised that one of the guides from the company he works for was in front of us, this was an English only tour and I was given the option to join that group. Bob said it was my choice, I joined the other group as at times I wonder if Bob has to work twice as hard to explain things in Chinese and then the same in English for 1 person (your truly). So my guide’s name is Peter.

Entry is strictly controlled, first is gate 1 - passport/ Chinese ID check, bag and body screening and the guide is dealing with security the Tibet Permits. Lighters cannot be taken in but they will let you carry in cans of compressed oxygen, go figure.

Next is gate 2 - I think this is where the guides collect the tickets from. You line up and the guide counted us through confirming with the security you are in his group. I noticed that security staff seem to do another round of random Tibet Permits checks.

Final check point is inside of the White Palace (no photos or video allowed) the tickets are checked and counted through. Not sure why they need this given you have already passed through 2 check points.

 

[Matt_01]

Still walking up stairs

The White Palace, no photos allowed inside

 

[JohnM]

What altitude are you at there, Matt?

 

[Matt_01]

As I have no photos to share of the inside of the White Palace I will digress a little to explain what happened. In the White Palace a Malaysian chap decided to join Peter’s group and listen in. I had run into the Malaysian chap a couple of times a few days earlier at roadside break areas. Peter was not happy with this interloper and before long there was a bit of ‘push me, shove you’ going on. Peter then realised that the Malaysian chap was recording everything that he was explaining as part of the tour. It escalated quite quickly and almost became a ‘punch on’, one of the chaps in Peter’s tour said to me ‘Well I didn’t think I would see the day when punches were about to be thrown in a Buddhist Temple and of all places the Potala Palace’ The Malaysian chap ran off and we didn’t see him again. After getting through all the check points I can only assume that the Malaysian chap became displaced from his group and just joined another.

 

[Matt_01]

What altitude are you at there, Matt?

Lhasa is at 3650m. Heading to Nyingchi I think we passed through around 4780m however Nyingchi is at around 3000m, Basomtso was around 2400m. Shigatse is around 4000m and we will be passing through 5000m to get there.

 

[Matt_01]

I had a pre conceived idea that once out out of the White Palace you would just come down the stairs on the other side. You exit the White Palace at the rear and walk down the stairs that are not normally shown in the Polata Palace images.

 

[Matt_01]

During the tour in the White Palace they talk about the 5th-13th Dalai Lama’s and what they did to the Palace. I asked Peter what did 1st – 4th Dalai Lama do and what was their ‘claim to fame’ the response was ‘I will tell you later’ one of the members of Peter’s group mentioned he asked the same question and did not get an answer. After leaving Peter and meeting up with Bob I asked the same same question, Bob glanced over the 1st Dalai Lama. As for the 2nd Dalai Lama this was around the time of the Mongol occupation and the 2nd sided with the Mongols. The 3rd Dalai Lama also sided with the Mongols and moved to Mongolia and after his death the 4th Dalai Lama was a Mongolian. Bob mentioned the 1st-4th Dalai Lama’s had religious power and it was only from the 5th onwards where there was both religious and political power. Bob casually mentioned we do not really talk about the 1st-4th or the 14th Dalai Lama.

 

[Matt_01]

Next on the list is Johkang Temple. It was built by King Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century and houses the oldest Buddha statute in existence which is around 2500 years old. It is the most sacred Buddhist temple in Tibet and is the pilgrimage destination for those doing the 4 stage praying (mentioned father up thread. It is primarily the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, although it is venerated by all sects. In 1994 it was given UNESCO Status as a World Heritage Site.

 

[Matt_01]

More photos

These photos are after exiting the temple

Inside the Temple the 2500 year old Buddha has its own security, it was observed but not overwhelming. As the monks were attending to the statue I can only assume the security guards were there to police and monitor the would be influencers trying to take pictures or video.

 

[Happy Dude]

Enjoying this TR a lot @Matt_01. Great photos.

I haven't been to and can't think of a more magnificent building on the planet than the Potala Palace. It knocked the Taj Mahal, which usurped the Angkor Wat, from top spot in terms of WOW! in my personal list.

 

[Cossie]

One from 40 years ago, slides converted to digital and these are screen shots of those. If you want to see more I can create another thread for those interested in seeing other shots from Tibet.
However, I do not want to hijack this thread.

 

[Seat0B]

Your excellent photos are about as close as I am likely to get to Tibet, given my previous brush with high altitude pulmonary oedema.

 

[Matt_01]

That evening I just took a look at was around the hotel area.






‘Dinner for 1’ in the hotel, yak fried rice from a place I found near by and some fruit from the local store.

 

[Matt_01]

Today we are heading to Shigatse via the scenic route and it’s going to be a long time in the wagon. We are stopping at a few places along the way. We started the ascent at around 3600m and we will be climbing to 5000m before heading back down.

Someone was not having a good start to the day but it looked like no one was seriously hurt.

I remember being amused by this on a previous visit. If your side of the road is not moving fast enough just use the wrong side.

 

[Matt_01]

We stopped at the viewing platform. You can have your photos taken with the animals or sit on the yak the pricing ranges from ¥15-¥30. Most of the animal owners don’t like it if to attempt the take a photo without paying, a zone lens overcomes this problem. They bring up the white yaks as it is rare colour, the goats are just kids but even when full grown they are not that big. The Tibetan mastiffs are just big.

 

[kileskus]

What do they do with those frogs?

 

[Matt_01]

What do they do with those frogs?

Not 100% sure but at a guess eat them. The frogs are for sale as the rest of the fresh food market.

 

[Matt_01]

Next stop was at the top of the pass where you can view Yamdrok Lake. This is one of the holy lakes, it is fresh water and you are not meant to touch the water.

 

[Matt_01]

At Yamdrok Lake.

 

[Matt_01]

Couple more of the lake then off to lunch.
Not sure what the purpose of this is
Yaks crossing the road and others just wandering around.