I have to finish this today (start it first would help) as we leave for Kathmandu tomorrow morning, the 11th of August. By ‘we’ I mean a group of 14 that I have joined to travel with for this part of the trip. They are a mixture of German, Dutch and Spanish of all ages having come here from different parts of China to experience Tibet and for some, specifically, the ride from the China/Nepal border to Kathmandu. They are all on a three week summer holiday. Some of the group were taken to hospital as soon as they exited the plane as they had altitude sickness. For a couple of days afterwards they were still unwell but slowly getting better. None had taken any medicine for altitude sickness. One man has a digital thing on his wrist which shows him how many steps he has taken, blood pressure, how much oxygen there is in the blood and other things. He still gets tired!
On the 4th July there was a huge landslide not far from the border on the Nepal side with many people killed. The landslide took out the road to Kathmandu and we have been told that the only way to get to Kathmandu will be by helicopter from across the border. This will be at an extra cost, £300 per head has been mentioned, so everyone is hoping that some sort of road will be opened by the time we get there, which will be six days from now. Apparently the cost may be covered by the travel insurance taken out for the trip but while some have been told by their insurance company that they will be reimbursed, other have been told that they will not. I have yet to checks my insurance, easier to do when I get home.
Since arriving back in Lhasa I have visited more monasteries, walked around the old part of the city and been into the Potala Palace. When I was here eight years ago there was no problem going into the Palace as a single person, now a visit has to be booked two days in advance and visitors are given a time to go inside. This is all due to the increased number of Chinese tourists coming here now that the railway has been opened. The number of visitors per day has been reduced as well. The cost of entry to the palace is not as in the various guidebooks, £35, but £20, much less than people expected. No photographs are allowed to be taken inside the Palace, different from before.
Drepung Monastery was the first one visited. Drepung is one of the three great monasteries in Tibet, the others being Ganden and Sera. It is the largest monastery in Tibet, said to have housed 10,000 monks in the past, now about 300 monks. It was founded in 1416 and was named after the sacred abode in South India of Shridhanyakataka. Drepung was the residence of the Dalai Lamas until the Fifth Dalai Lama constructed the Potala Palace. Drepung was known for the high standards of its academic study. As with all important monasteries it has gold and silver items and specifically some very old silk screens.
Views of Drepung Monastery
During the 1959 revolt in Lhasa, Séra monastery suffered severe damage, with its colleges destroyed and hundreds of monks killed. After the Dalai Lama took asylum in India many of the monks of the Sera Monastery who survived the attack moved to Mysore in India. Of the 6000 monks who lived at Sera only about 500 live there now.
The Sera Monastery, built in 1419, is noted for the "Monk Debates" on the teachings of Buddha and the philosophy of Buddhism. Sera Monastery developed over the centuries as a renowned place of scholarly learning, training of scholars, many of whom have attained fame in the Buddhist nations. Debates were going on in the debating courtyard while I was there and while people could watch from a distance outsiders were not allowed to get involved. It looked to me that some of the throwing of arms around and the semi-aggressive actions were somewhat contrived.
Views of Sera Monastery
The Potala palace one fine afternoon. This place holds a fascination for people (certainly for me), they see it during the day when it changes depending on the light. Then they see it at night and it is completely different again.
Views from around Lhasa
On the 4th July there was a huge landslide not far from the border on the Nepal side with many people killed. The landslide took out the road to Kathmandu and we have been told that the only way to get to Kathmandu will be by helicopter from across the border. This will be at an extra cost, £300 per head has been mentioned, so everyone is hoping that some sort of road will be opened by the time we get there, which will be six days from now. Apparently the cost may be covered by the travel insurance taken out for the trip but while some have been told by their insurance company that they will be reimbursed, other have been told that they will not. I have yet to checks my insurance, easier to do when I get home.
Since arriving back in Lhasa I have visited more monasteries, walked around the old part of the city and been into the Potala Palace. When I was here eight years ago there was no problem going into the Palace as a single person, now a visit has to be booked two days in advance and visitors are given a time to go inside. This is all due to the increased number of Chinese tourists coming here now that the railway has been opened. The number of visitors per day has been reduced as well. The cost of entry to the palace is not as in the various guidebooks, £35, but £20, much less than people expected. No photographs are allowed to be taken inside the Palace, different from before.
Drepung Monastery was the first one visited. Drepung is one of the three great monasteries in Tibet, the others being Ganden and Sera. It is the largest monastery in Tibet, said to have housed 10,000 monks in the past, now about 300 monks. It was founded in 1416 and was named after the sacred abode in South India of Shridhanyakataka. Drepung was the residence of the Dalai Lamas until the Fifth Dalai Lama constructed the Potala Palace. Drepung was known for the high standards of its academic study. As with all important monasteries it has gold and silver items and specifically some very old silk screens.
Views of Drepung Monastery
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| The meeting hall |
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| The meeting hall |
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| A prayer wheel turned by a water turbine |
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| An empty old meeting hall. I think it's lovely! |
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| One of the temple guardians |
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| Copper-ware in the kitchen |
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| Copper-ware in the kitchen |
The Sera Monastery, built in 1419, is noted for the "Monk Debates" on the teachings of Buddha and the philosophy of Buddhism. Sera Monastery developed over the centuries as a renowned place of scholarly learning, training of scholars, many of whom have attained fame in the Buddhist nations. Debates were going on in the debating courtyard while I was there and while people could watch from a distance outsiders were not allowed to get involved. It looked to me that some of the throwing of arms around and the semi-aggressive actions were somewhat contrived.
Views of Sera Monastery
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| The entrance to the monastery |
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| The entrance to one of the meeting halls |
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| This is made from coloured sand and is actually quite large |
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| Pillar decorations |
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| A temple guardian |
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| Decorations |
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| Monks debating in the courtyard |
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| One of the meeting halls |
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| A courtyard. Note the tin butterfly looking things and the kettles in the centre of them. These use the reflection of the sun to boil the water in the kettles. |
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| An old lady listening to the monks debating |
The Potala palace one fine afternoon. This place holds a fascination for people (certainly for me), they see it during the day when it changes depending on the light. Then they see it at night and it is completely different again.
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Views from around Lhasa
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| A beggar family |
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| Add caption |
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| An old Lhasa street |
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| Lhasa from the palace |
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