Tashi dele to Lhasa and to the roof of the world! Here we are now after our fascinating and long train ride! What's Lhasa like? As fascinating as you may imagine but before we get started to take you into a different world, just one word of caution. I have neither become non-politial nor indifferent or blind but I will from now on refrain from any comment in such a context and postpone any discussions to our return to less a controled and restricted environment....(that's the problem when writing in English, David can be a little more open)
But now: Tibet, Lhasa. What a great place to be, what a fascinating place to stroll through the streets, what a different culture to experience, in short, this is definitely one of the strangest places and cities I have ever been to in my life! It is at once a very modern city with large boulevards, parks,shopping centres and addidas stores and it is striking to see how far the Chinese have driven the development; and, at the same time, it has its very traditional neighborhoods where the pilgrims dominate the picture, where meat is still sold like in the middle-ages (or in India :)) and where people live without running water. We, ourselves had the pleasure of experiencing getting our washing water delivered in thermos bottles in order to fill it into metal washing basins (at 7.30 in the morning, grrrr).
Out in the streets, we experienced one of our finest culture shocks and, at times, felt like having gone back to India, especially when strolling through the local markets and inhaling the wonderful odors of rotting meat.. :) Do I have to mention that we became vegetarians once more?! The fruit and spices were beautiful to look at, but the butter made me hestiate to try the butter tea for quite a while. Butter tea, I guess there is not much that's more Tibetan than that, except maybe momos (a type of samosa filled with vegetables or yak meat), and all kinds of yak dishes. They make butter tea by cooking the tea with water for a while and then taking the decoction (Teesud) and mixing it with some milk, butter, and salt. Well, of course, as a true tea lover, I had to try it in the end and, even though the taste needs getting used to, it was not bad at all. The disadvantage: you drink one cup and you don't have to eat for the next couple of days. Impossible to enjoy tea evenings while drinking liters of tea!!!
Well, besides the markets, we also loved the tiny little streets of the Tibetan neighborhood, particularly because of the way the people there decorate their houses. Most of them are whitewashed, the wood around the windows and doors is artistically carved and painted and everywhere you'll find small curtains or prayer flags flowing in the wind. All this adds such a warm and lively tough to the houses that you feel yourself invited at all times. It makes a huge difference to the modern, square and cold concrete blocks the Chinese are putting up everywhere.
The most impressive difference to all other cities we have visited so far, is, however, the apparent religiousness of the Tibetans, openly expressed everywhere and at any time. Contrany to most religous demonstrations I have vitnessed so far, from churchbells and muezzins reminding followers of their duties, or certain obligatory clothing, or a prohibition of this and that, the people here seem to regard religion as something completely natural and inherent, almost like eating or breathing. It's quite normal to spend a couple of hours daily on a pilgramage around the local monastry, praying, turning the prayer wheels and chatting to friends. People also walk through the streets turing the small prayer wheels they hold in their hands or letting the beads of their chaplets (Rosenkranz) run through their hands. It is very toughing to see the implicitness, simplicity and the depth of the belief of the people. It might remain incomprehensible to someone as atheist as I am, but it definitely does not leave one without making a very stong impression.
One of the most tangible aspects of the local religion is, of course, the Potala, the former winter residence of the Dalai Lama. I was very much impressed by the well-kept state of the place, apparently the Chinese have understood how to make money with it. The Potala sits majestically on top of a small local hill and it is a pleasure to look at it. Impressive, beautiful, the perfect building for a religious leader of a simple people on the top of the world. However, the inside is about as impressive as the outside (unfortunately interdiction to take any pictures), very well kept, amazingly lively for a place with such few windows due to the many colors and the use of wood and tissues wherever possible. Besides the living and studying quarters of the Dalai Lama, we were able to see many different chapels and tombs of former Dalai Lamas. I found it very strange to walk through all those rooms, to imagine the child Dalai Lama growing up in this luxury prison and now not allowed to come back while hundreds of tourists visit the place every day...
Well, as you can hopefully imagine, our first days in Lhasa were very colorful, interesting, impressive, and they changed a great many ideas we had had about Tibet, China,... After we had overcome the first dizziness (yep, the altitude leaves its traces) we enjoyed the city enormously but we also had much less free time than we would have hoped for. Why? That's the story of another day because it is a very long one but let's say that we enjoyed Chinese regulations, permits, police,...
Tashi dele to Lhasa and to the roof of the world! Here we are now after our fascinating and long train ride! What's Lhasa like? As fascinating as you may imagine but before we get started to take you into a different world, just one word of caution. I have neither become non-politial nor indifferent or blind but I will from now on refrain from any comment in such a context and postpone any discussions to our return to less a controled and restricted environment....(that's the problem when writing in English, David can be a little more open) 
But now: Tibet, Lhasa. What a great place to be, what a fascinating place to stroll through the streets, what a different culture to experience, in short, this is definitely one of the strangest places and cities I have ever been to in my life! It is at once a very modern city with large boulevards, parks,shopping centres and addidas stores and it is striking to see how far the Chinese have driven the development; and, at the same time, it has its very traditional neighborhoods where the pilgrims dominate the picture, where meat is still sold like in the middle-ages (or in India :)) and where people live without running water. We, ourselves had the pleasure of experiencing getting our washing water delivered in thermos bottles in order to fill it into metal washing basins (at 7.30 in the morning, grrrr).
Out in the streets, we experienced one of our finest culture shocks and, at times, felt like having gone back to India, especially when strolling through the local markets and inhaling the wonderful odors of rotting meat.. :) Do I have to mention that we became vegetarians once more?! The fruit and spices were beautiful to look at, but the butter made me hestiate to try the butter tea for quite a while. Butter tea, I guess there is not much that's more Tibetan than that, except maybe momos (a type of samosa filled with vegetables or yak meat), and all kinds of yak dishes. They make butter tea by cooking the tea with water for a while and then taking the decoction (Teesud) and mixing it with some milk, butter, and salt. Well, of course, as a true tea lover, I had to try it in the end and, even though the taste needs getting used to, it was not bad at all. The disadvantage: you drink one cup and you don't have to eat for the next couple of days. Impossible to enjoy tea evenings while drinking liters of tea!!!
Well, besides the markets, we also loved the tiny little streets of the Tibetan neighborhood, particularly because of the way the people there decorate their houses. Most of them are whitewashed, the wood around the windows and doors is artistically carved and painted and everywhere you'll find small curtains or prayer flags flowing in the wind. All this adds such a warm and lively tough to the houses that you feel yourself invited at all times. It makes a huge difference to the modern, square and cold concrete blocks the Chinese are putting up everywhere.
The most impressive difference to all other cities we have visited so far, is, however, the apparent religiousness of the Tibetans, openly expressed everywhere and at any time. Contrany to most religous demonstrations I have vitnessed so far, from churchbells and muezzins reminding followers of their duties, or certain obligatory clothing, or a prohibition of this and that, the people here seem to regard religion as something completely natural and inherent, almost like eating or breathing. It's quite normal to spend a couple of hours daily on a pilgramage around the local monastry, praying, turning the prayer wheels and chatting to friends. People also walk through the streets turing the small prayer wheels they hold in their hands or letting the beads of their chaplets (Rosenkranz) run through their hands. It is very toughing to see the implicitness, simplicity and the depth of the belief of the people. It might remain incomprehensible to someone as atheist as I am, but it definitely does not leave one without making a very stong impression. 
One of the most tangible aspects of the local religion is, of course, the Potala, the former winter residence of the Dalai Lama. I was very much impressed by the well-kept state of the place, apparently the Chinese have understood how to make money with it. The Potala sits majestically on top of a small local hill and it is a pleasure to look at it. Impressive, beautiful, the perfect building for a religious leader of a simple people on the top of the world. However, the inside is about as impressive as the outside (unfortunately interdiction to take any pictures), very well kept, amazingly lively for a place with such few windows due to the many colors and the use of wood and tissues wherever possible. Besides the living and studying quarters of the Dalai Lama, we were able to see many different chapels and tombs of former Dalai Lamas. I found it very strange to walk through all those rooms, to imagine the child Dalai Lama growing up in this luxury prison and now not allowed to come back while hundreds of tourists visit the place every day...
Well, as you can hopefully imagine, our first days in Lhasa were very colorful, interesting, impressive, and they changed a great many ideas we had had about Tibet, China,... After we had overcome the first dizziness (yep, the altitude leaves its traces) we enjoyed the city enormously but we also had much less free time than we would have hoped for. Why? That's the story of another day because it is a very long one but let's say that we enjoyed Chinese regulations, permits, police,...
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