Tibet - "the Rooftop of the World"

As we mentioned at the end of our last update, the flight we were scheduled to take from Chengdu to Lhasa, Tibet was cancelled. We didn’t find out about the cancellation until we reached the airport, and then Mike, our guide, had to really scurry to get us all through flight and baggage check in. While waiting in line, we noticed large market displays of fresh fruit. It all looked delicious, but in our hurry to get checked in, we passed on the opportunity to purchase some. Once through the check in process, we were rapidly on our way.

We reached the Lhasa Airport in about three hours, then had a one-hour bus ride into the city. The bus, with its driver and guide, had dropped another OAT tour group at the airport for their flight out of Tibet, and they were returning to the city, when they got a call that we were arriving earlier than planned, so they turned around and were able to meet us as we cleared the baggage area.

For the first time since our arrival in China, the sky was bright blue and the air was crystal-clear. Lhasa is over 12,000 feet in elevation, and we guessed that the winds were able to keep air pollution away. On our way into the city, we saw a number of yaks in fields and along the road. We were told that these were domesticated yaks that are used to pull plows and give milk. There is also a large population of wild yaks in Tibet, but we didn’t see any sign of them. Because of the country’s high elevation, crops seem to be primarily grown or at least started in hot houses. There were a number of roadside stands selling all sorts of vegetables from beans to watermelon, which our local guide said were all dependent on the hot houses.

Buddhism is the universal religion in Tibet. It spread from India during the 3rd through 7th centuries AD. In 1641, two Buddhist sects fought, and the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) sect won. Their leader adopted the title of Dalai Lama, and presided over both religion and politics. Each Dalai Lama was considered a reincarnation of the previous one. With the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Tibet enjoyed a period of de facto independence until 1950, when Chinese forces invaded. China brought modernization and mandatory schooling to the region, but by 1959, growing popular unrest resulted in a revolt that was crushed by the Chinese army. The Dalai Lama, fearing a plot to kidnap him, fled to India where he continues to represent over 100,000 Tibetans in exile.

One of the first sights we saw as we approached Lhasa was the impressive Potala Palace, once the seat of the Tibetan government and the winter home of the Dalai Lama. It rises 13 stories on a hill and contains more than a thousand rooms. Parts of the palace are painted red, other parts are white. The red section is full of chapels which are used for religious functions, and it contains the tombs of a number of previous Dalai Lamas. The white section was used as the living quarters for the Dalai Lama and it now functions primarily as a museum.

Our hotel was located in a section of the old city near the Jokhang Temple, and is in the midst of a large bazaar. The streets are very narrow and crowded with pedestrians and Buddhist worshippers, who walk, prayer wheels in hand, round and round the periphery of the temple area. Many of them prostrate themselves over and over as they go around the area. Spiritual items and tourist baubles are sold in shops and stands that line the route.

Since many travelers suffer from altitude sickness upon arrival at the high altitude of Lhasa, the rest of the day was at leisure, although a number of the more adventurous walked and shopped their way around the bazaar until dinner was served in our hotel.

The next morning we visited the Potala Palace and climbed the more than 600 steps from the street to the top floors of the palace itself. The present palace was built in the 17th century, and supposedly took 7,000 workers and 1,500 artists and craftsmen more than 50 years to complete. At the time it was built, it was the world’s tallest building. The views of Lhasa from the top are spectacular.

After lunch we took the afternoon’s optional tour to the Sera Monastery, about three miles north of Lhasa. The monastery, founded in 1419, was one of two great monasteries in Lhasa. Originally the home of 5,000 monks, about 600 are still in residence. We arrived to find their daily “debate” in full swing. Held in a garden in the center of the monastery, teaching monks quiz their students in a hubbub of loud and emphatic chatter while tourists, both local and foreign, skirt the perimeter, snapping photos as fast as they can. It was a mesmerizing exercise held in a captivating setting.

From the monastery, we traveled to a small mountain village near Lhasa and visited the home of a local farmer. They live a fairly primitive life, for while their homes have electricity; they draw their water from community wells and heat their homes with dried yak dung.


After leaving the village, we returned to our hotel and soon were having dinner at “The Original Crazy Yak Restaurant”. Dinner also included a music and dance show featuring typical Tibetan culture. At least it did until several of us “big nose people” were encouraged to join in the show. The cultural experience rapidly deteriorated from that point on.

The next morning found us at the 1,300 year-old Jokhang Temple, where we were able to observe worshippers prostrating themselves and making clockwise circles of the bazaar on their hands and knees in reverence to this sacred site. Smoke from burning incense and thousands of yak butter candles filled the air in the temple, built to house the 7th century Sakyamuni Buddha statue. Other religious observances that we saw included large brass prayer wheels that the faithful spin as they walk past in prayer, and thousands of prayer flags flying from rooftops.

That afternoon we visited the De Ji Orphanage and school, which is supported in part by donations from Overseas Adventure Foundation. Started a number of years ago by a woman who saw an urgent need for housing and schooling local orphans, it has recently moved to a much larger facility which provides for about 60 children from infants through their teen years. We were impressed with the large room full of computers for the kids’ use, and the beautiful artwork that they have produced. While we were there, several other groups were visiting as well; most of them bringing various supplies for the orphanage.

Following the orphanage visit, we were welcomed into a local home where we enjoyed Tibetan snacks and yak butter tea, which we decided was definitely an acquired taste. This local family, like what appeared to us to be a very large majority of Tibetans, practices their Buddhist religion enthusiastically. They have a room in their home set aside as a spiritual shrine. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to interact with the local culture.

It rained in Lhasa during our last night, and we woke up in the morning to snow topping the nearby mountains. We loaded ourselves and our luggage onto our bus and, after a stop at the Potala Palace for a group photo, headed for the airport, and our flight back to Chengdu and a bus transfer to our Yangtze River cruise.

More later.