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

[Matt_01]

Heading back to Lhasa.

 

[Matt_01]

Lunch on the way back to Lhasa was at the same place as we ate on the way out. Again it was very good. One thing about not speaking the local language I do not get involved in any of the preferences and just eat what is put on the table.
For ground mushrooms. Background Yak and some type of green veg

Pork and broad beans

For ground is mutton with some spices, the garlic is also pealed and eaten raw with the mutton.

Soup with noodles in it and a few other bits.

 

[Matt_01]

As I am a couple of days behind I may just post in grouped activities. First activity was to head to the old town it rabbit warren of streets, shops, restaurants and accommodation

 

[Matt_01]

Some more of the old town and then out onto one of the main roads.

 

[Matt_01]

Our first programmed activity was a cultural one to learn about Tibetan Culture, their written language, try our hand at wood block printing and make some incense.. It was held in a bookshop in the old town


Butter tea

 

[Matt_01]

First on the agenda was learning about the history of Tibet and how the culture formed folded by their language and writing. It was interesting that although Tibetan is taught in schools Chinese is more prominent and English is also taught.

The boards the kids use to learn how to write with the correct upper and lower word heights

Tibetan for Good Health. We could just pick what we would like and the fellow wrote it down.

Wood block printing and I already forgotten was it means.

 

[Matt_01]

Making incense.

 

[Matt_01]

Next on the agenda was lunch at a restaurant called House of Shambala. Lunch consisted of soup, followed by roasted barley, white rice, naan, potato curry, fried spinach, vegetable curry, yak curry, chicken chilli, vegetable salad and butter tea. It was very good.

 

[Matt_01]

After lunch we headed off the Sera Monastery which was built in the 13th Century and is the 2nd largest in Tibet. At one stage, the monastery housed 6000 monks, there are around 800 currently.

The animals are from oldest to newest with the bird being the oldest and the elephant being the newest. So the elephant is carrying the monkey, the monkey is carrying the rabbit and the rabbit is carrying the bird.

The temple higher on the hill is where the senior monks go to pray and seek wisdom.

On the other side of the mountain is a scab area (sky burial). Selected monks have the job of going there on a daily basis and perform what is required, Bob explained what the monks do however I will not go into the detail. Bob mentioned as the vulture does not kill anything is considered a special, sacred or holy animal, I cannot remember which one. Bob told us that when he dies he wants a sky burial.

No more photos allowed after this point.

 

[Matt_01]

More of the Monastery.

We watched the monks debating philosophy, it was not what I was expecting. I thought it would be a quiet activity with ordered discussion. It was quite loud activity with the monks discussing one on one and involves a lot of hand slapping and swinging of beads. As for the hand slapping the right hand always hits the left as the right hand is wisdom and the left hand is ignorance. This activity is for the senior monks and if they want to progress to a higher level there is an annual test of wisdom with assessed by higher level monks.

In this area the monks seemed to be a little older and were not quite as loud

Another one of the temples.

One of the old bowls that was used for cooking the food for the monks


This fellow had found a container that the locals bring the butter in for offerings and he was not giving it up

 

[Matt_01]

After leaving the temple, we had the option of going back to the hotel or being dropped off in the vicinity of the Johkang Temple. I went with option two and ended up walking around Barkhor Street, which is done in a clockwise direction, and then walked back via the Polata Palace taking a few snaps along the way. The started off clear and in the afternoon the rain clouds rolled in and there were intermittent thunderstorms.

 

[Seat0B]

This is just amazing. Loving your photos and the activities sound very interesting.

What is the guy prostrate on the ground doing? Is he praying? Or begging? Or something else?

 

[Matt_01]

The Polata Palace area, you need to go through police security to get in and it just a park and viewing area. Getting into the Palace is another story which I will cover later.

The Tibetan Peace Monument

 

[Matt_01]

This is just amazing. Loving your photos and the activities sound very interesting.

What is the guy prostrate on the ground doing? Is he praying? Or begging? Or something else?

He is praying. It is called praying 4 station which is in the standing and laying position. In the standing position they move their hands from the top or above their head, then mouth and chest, take a couple of steps and repeat the actions. Bob had explained when we saw the person doing the pilgrimage that the praying sequence is to Buddha, Drama and Sanga and also known as Body, Spit and Sprit (based on the hand positions).

 

[Growing Older]

The Polata Palace area, you need to go through police security to get in and it just a park and viewing area. Getting into the Palace is another story which I will cover later.
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The Tibetan Peace Monument
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This!

I've been hanging out for a glimpse of the Potala Palace again. Thanks @Matt_01 - this has been a great journey so far.

Really enjoying seeing it all again 25 years on.

 

[Matt_01]

Later that evening I when back to the Polata Palace for some night shots.

At around 9-9:15 they turn the lights off

Walking back to the hotel I came across these places, I had a pretty good idea of what they were but decided to ask the door guys any way. Through the translator App the conversation went something like this.
Me - what is this.
Door guy - you’re not coming in.
Me – I don’t want to come in. I would like to know what it is.
Door chap – KTC Singing.

In the morning I showed the photos to Bob and asked a few more questions. Bob‘s seemed to be more interested in where I had been and how I found these places. I said they are around the corner from the hotel and you just follow the river to the city. Bob just nodded and said it’s a club.

 

[Cossie]

This!

I've been hanging out for a glimpse of the Potala Palace again. Thanks @Matt_01 - this has been a great journey so far.

Really enjoying seeing it all again 25 years on.

Hmmm, 40 years on for me, can’t say I recognise too much apart from the obvious, in all honesty, to me, it seems like a theme park.

 

[Matt_01]

Hmmm, 40 years on for me, can’t say I recognise too much apart from the obvious, in all honesty, to me, it seems like a theme park.

After reading your comment I asked Bob a few questions along the lines of when did China start spending money on Tibet. What was Barkhor St like 30 years ago and a couple of others. I don’t know how old Bob is but at a guess well into his 40’s or older.

He said that China started spending money on infrastructure and improvements around 20 years ago. He mentioned we now have train lines between major cities, more airports and better roads. He said that 30 years ago the buildings that are in Barkhor St were the same as they are all original and in those days a lot more people lived in the buildings. Most of the ground level shops were for food, house supplies, etc. to support general living. He also said all the walkways, roads etc. were just stones. He also said 30 years back horses were still a form of transport for a number of people. He was telling me that he was born in the Everest area and as a kid his family and other families of his village made the trip to Lhasa and it took weeks as they were using horses, yaks and living in their Baku.

He said that over the past 20 years supermarkets have been built and they now have malls. He also mentioned that he doesn’t really like Potala Palace these days as when he was younger he could just go there and to almost every part. He mentioned he prefers the Monastery we visiting tomorrow as it is still authentic.

Bob said that when he first started as a guide it would take 3 days to get from Lhasa to Shigatse and could only be done in a 4x4. To get to Everest Base camp was even longer and now they can both be done in a day using a regular car.

I was sill considering if I would post the following information as it was just general conversation between Bob and myself. Up thread I had mentioned that no photos in the Monasteries, in general this is true for most Buddhist Monasteries I have been too but it can be overcome if you are willing to make a donation (pay). Apparently the Sera Monastery bucked that system with photos and videos encouraged, that stopped in 2008. Also with Sky Burials at one stage anyone could go to the scab areas including tourists, that stopped in 2008. I had also asked why there is such a strong police and army presence and was in also like this, the answers was no. It started in 2008, I asked Bob what had happened and why things changed in 2008. He informed me that people had started posting things online (remember sites such as Facebook book and YouTube were still relatively new) there was also an up rising of what Bob called the younger people and wanted to be rid of China. So in 2008 things just changed, I have not fact checked what Bob said but it seems to make sense ‘as it was around 20 years ago China started investing in Tibet.’