We arrived safely in Tibet this morning at about 9:30, having left our Chengdu Hotel at 5:30! We got on the bus and arrived at the hotel by lunchtime. We had lunch first, then got the keys to our rooms and settled in. Due to the extremely high altitude the guide insisted that we take it very easy today and nap briefly in the afternoon to rest our bodies and help them adjust to the thin air here. I'm taking the altitude sickness meds so am not feeling anything adverse from the change, but a few of my traveling companions are suffering a bit from the sudden jump to 12,000'. After my nap I went out to walk around the neighborhood. We are staying in the old city of Lhasa, literally one block from the Jokhang Temple, one of the major places of pilgrimage in Lhasa. The effects of the Chinese occupation are felt and evident everywhere, as soldiers are visible all over the place, and there is security screening to get into the temples. At the airport the soldiers were really visible. On our way to Lhasa we had to go through a checkpoint, which reminded me of being in the West Bank. Tibet is most definitely a country under occupation and the influence of the Han Chinese is everywhere. Our guide invited us to ask "controversial" questions but only to do so in the bus, not when he is taking us through the various sites that we are going to see. We were instructed never to take pictures of police or military personnel.
The neighborhood where our hotel is located is full of shops selling traditional Tibetan crafts, clothing and religious articles. Its a real feast for the eyes! I wandered up and down our street and then found the Barkhar Bazaar which used to be on the temple grounds and has now been moved to the street leading up to the temple as part of the tightened security measures. The bazaar has hundreds of stalls selling everything Tibetan and Buddhist - prayer wheels, prayer flags, tangkas, prayer beads, statues of the Buddha, clothing, scarves, sweaters, jewelry...you name it, they've got it. I spent a lot of time looking at the various tangkas in the shops - these are traditional Tibetan Buddhist paintings mounted on brocade fabric. They are absolutely beautiful and colorful and the artwork is spectacular. I intend to get one before I leave but truly, the choices are a bit overwhelming!!
One thing we are all grateful for is that the weather here is sunny, in the mid 70s and low humidity. This is the first day we were able to walk around outside and not be completely drenched in sweat within minutes. Its a welcome relief from the oppressive heat we've had in China these past 10 days!
Before supper we had a lecture about Tibetan history and geography from a professor at the Tibet University. That was very interesting and she was great at the Q&A so we learned a lot about Tibet. Then we had our dinner and a few of us went back out to explore the neighborhood more. Tibet is quite a study in contrasts - all the old, traditional Tibetan clothes, religious articles etc. right next to ultra modern stores, with jumbotron screens blaring advertising into the street. And motorcycles, mopeds and tuk-tuks are ubiquitous and quite happy to run you over if you're not watching carefully! We went to the local supermarket, which was enormous and enjoyed wandering around seeing what they had and trying to figure out what things are since nothing is in English and much of it is not easily identifiable without help! We then wandered back to the outdoor market which was all lit up for the evening.
The pics tonight include the lobby of our hotel, some shots from the open air market, including one that amused me of a monk carrying a statue of the buddha around with him, a Tibetan man with his prayer wheel, and a night scene at the market.
At this point I'm ready for bed. The nap helped this afternoon, but I'm still feeling the effects of having gotten up at 4:15 this morning!
No comments:
Post a Comment