Lhasa, our Shangri-la (rc)

Lhasa, Tibet


A truly incredible place. One step off the plane and we were doing something we hadn't done in over a month: reaching for our sunglasses. One more step into the crisp fall air, sunshine, blue sky and mountain landscape assured us our decision to spend our week long October holiday here had been the right one.


The view we started and ended each day with.

Trying to make travel arrangements with an agent in Hefei proved all but impossible. "It's too far" we were told and "very complicated and difficult to make arrangements. I think you should go somewhere closer." We saw where this was headed and knew that if we were going to make it there, we were on our own. So backed by our support and a great deal of determination, Tom took over. A few days later, days filled with e-mails and phone calls too numerous to mention, the task was done. Despite the continued warnings from others of the dangers awaiting us at an elevation of 11,500 ft.: altitude sickness, headaches, nosebleeds, shortness of breath, cold temps. and swindlers, we were excited and undeterred. Sept. 30 couldn't get here soon enough.

Getting there was definitely a process and second only to cashing travelers checks before leaving. That small job lasted 3hrs., took us to 5 banks and involved 3 taxi rides! Just happy to have the money, we put that inconvenience out of our minds and headed home to pack. We had about as many connections to make as there are people in China so we were a bit nervous as we climbed in for our first taxi ride of the trip. Everything went smooth for us over the course of 2 flights, multiple taxi rides and a night in a hotel in Chengdu, Sichuan Province and we arrived in Lhasa needing to make just one final connection ... our shuttle ride into town. Scanning the handmade signs of the shuttle/taxi drivers near baggage claim for several minutes we finally saw a Tibetan man holding a "Mr. Tom" sign. Relief. The last connection had been made.

Forty-five minutes later we were being dropped at the Mandala Hotel, right in the historical heart of Lhasa. Surrounded by locals and yes, some westerners as well, we picked up our bags and checked into what we think was the best room in the hotel. The four of us were in a 3rd floor corner room, windows along two walls and our own bathroom and shower. Our view revealed the Barkhor, a maze of walkways and alleyways filled with market stalls lining the outside of the 7th century Jokhang Temple and the Potala Palace. The Potala, 400 ft. above Lhasa and nestled into Red Mountain, dates back to the 15th century.


Incense was constantly burning outside the Temple from morning to night.


The rooftop view was stunning with the Himalayan foothills encircling Lhasa just as the Barkhor encircled the Jokhang.


The Jokhang(above) and the Barkhor(below) warrant multiple visits.


All of this and we hadn't even left our hotel! The life outside seemed much more intriguing than unpacking so with bags still half full we grabbed our room key and headed out. Unpacking could wait. The Barkhor couldn't.

What we entered into was a feast for the eyes. People all ages laughing, bargaining, praying and walking, 99% of them in the same direction. Strange we thought, how come no one else is going the way we are? We saw prayer wheels in the hands of old and young alike all being spun in the same clockwise direction. Stopping to admire the ornate prayer wheels of a nearby vendor, he explained that the prayers were spoken while spinning the wheel and walking in a continuous clockwise direction. So this explained the traffic flow. It was amazing to watch and we remained enamored by it on the ensuing days of our stay.


Local Tibetans walking the Barkhor with their prayer wheels.



How can you ignore a photo like this?

Intertwined with all of this were pilgrims making their pilgrimage to the Jokhang, the holiest of all Buddhist temples. Before entering the temple they prostrate, again in a clockwise direction, around the Barkhor circuit. Usually clad in long pants and sleeves and accompanied by two wooden slabs serving as hand protectors, they spend no less than the better part of a day making making the loop. Black smudges on their foreheads and noses from the 1/2 mile flagstone path seemed to serve as a sense of pride for some. There's a respect that accompanies the Barkhor, a reverence that exists in the midst of the hustle and bustle.

Monks chant, pilgrims prostrate, locals walk with prayer wheels, tourists and locals exchange greetings and laughter while bargaining over mementos of this enchanting haven so far from the life we know.


Pilgrims prostrating in front of the Jokhang Temple.

The Tibetan people are quick to make eye contact and smile. During our interactions smiles increased as we spoke the few Tibetan phrases we had learned. Traditional dress is common among all ages while modern clothing can be easily seen as well, serving to create a rich blend of old and new.


A local woman happy to let us take her picture.

There was simply no end to the opportunities for "people" shots causing our camera to work overtime. Dark faces highlighted by rosy cheeks, kind eyes and braided hair never grew old. Nor did the throngs of people in the market or the dusty green rickshaws lining each street. Capturing this was a fun challenge which we set out to meet with enthusiasm on a daily basis.


People camping out while making their pilgrimage to the Jokhang.


Rickshaws were as common as taxis. Talk about strong leg muscles!

We found out early on that yak is synonymous with Lhasa. These hearty animals are roaming the fields, pulling the plows and gracing dinner tables. No restaurant menu would be complete without a multitude of yak offerings and sitting on the rooftop diner of our hotel we enjoyed a number of them throughout the week: yak burgers, yak sizzlers, yak enchiladas, yak fried rice, yak momos, yak stroganoff, yak topped with orange juice and even yak kebabs. Making full use of what this animal has to offer, there was also yak butter and yak tea. It seemed to please our palettes in ways the cow intestine of a few weeks ago failed to do. Finding a place serving pancakes for breakfast kept us to western fare each morning. Our waitress was a bit taken aback the morning we ordered six of them, all banana. Limited kitchen facilities kept the cook from making more than one at a time so we were happy not to be in a rush. That morning the pancake procession lasted 20-25 minutes bringing giggles and looks of confusion from the wait staff. Their reaction convinced us this was not a common occurrence. I wonder how yak pancakes would be?


Traditional dancers at the National Holiday celebration, Oct. 1.

Friendly people, lively markets, chanting monks outside the Jokhang, spinning prayer wheels, pilgrims prostrating along the Barkhor, beggars along its edge, rickshaw laden streets and prayer flag strewn mountains are just some of the images that will remain with us for years to come.


Beggars outside the Potala Palace.


Buddhas, Buddhas everywhere!



This is the Lhasa we'll remember. The Lhasa we can't wait to return to.

High and Wild Tibet (tc)

Himalayas seen from our flight from Chengdu to Lhasa



Tibet is the land of my dreams, and our time here was wonderful, each of us said on many occasions how much we loved this landscape and people. We stayed in Lhasa at an elevation of 11,500 feet, in a three story hotel with no elevator. The first day we huffed and puffed, the second day it was better and by the third day we were like old hands. We hired a car and driver for two separate trips outside Lhasa. Renee described Lhasa, so I'll give you a view of the country side.


Everyone has their doppleganger: Mount Stuart in the Cascades has its twin on the left.

On October 4th (happy birthday Sue and Dan!) we left Lhasa for Ganden Monastery, about 45 km to the east of Lhasa. We drove up the Lhasa River valley (also called the Kyichu River on one of our maps). The river meanders wide and (at this season) calmly, looping first to one side of the flat valley bottom, then the other. Golden cottonwoods flashed across the valley in the flood plane where they've been planted. No trees grow in the mountains here, apparently it's both too dry and too short of a growing season for them, except for those planted along the permanent rivers.


Crisp fall morning along the Lhasa River

Near Lhasa there are many plastic sheeted greenhouses growing vegetables sold in Lhasa markets. One suspension bridge spanned the river about 15 km above Lhasa, prayer flags were drapped like confetti across the supporting cables, some flags hanging nearly to the water 100 feet below. Near the towns almost any promontory has prayer flags tied to it, flapping in the breezes that pour off the mountains.


A home along the road with prayer flags on the roof


On a mountain near Lhasa, prayer flags drapped along the summit


The mountains are bare of trees, only prayer flags and rocks rise above the tundra

Turning off the paved road and heading south up a farmed valley we bagan to see farmers plowing with two-yak teams in the black soil. Women followed behind scattering seeds of some sort, maybe a cover crop to stabilize the soil, or a pasture crop to be cut early next summer. We asked our driver to stop (mostly using hand signals) so we could take some photos, once out at the edge of the field Renee began a conversation with herself, wondering aloud what the farmer would think if she asked to plow - so as all of us who know her would expect she was soon out in the in the recently turned soil standing with the yaks and the farmer, and soon, too, she was behind the traces, cutting a serpentine furrow next to expertly done straight furrows the farmer had done. The farmer lent a hand when she veered, and when she reached the end of the row he took over to turn the yaks 'round to cut their way back, Renee lifting the single blade plow to reposition it for her return. Yaks resting and Renee glowing (and me thinking "maybe we should get some yaks and a plow for our field at home") we got back in the van to start up the infinitely switchbacking road to Ganden Monastery.

Renee gives the yaks a workout

On the lookout for more yaks

At 13,500 feet we reached the Monastery, and the small village surrounding it. There were many pilgrims, come to visit the monastery at Ganden, we saw some wonderful sights near the village.

Hair adornment is amazing, 50 plus braids often hang curtain-like from the women's heads. The strange round beads on the girl above were a favorite of ours.

From the monastery we followed a path past mud brick houses up the ridge toward a near peak where prayer flags flapped, hung on towers set up in part simply to fly the prayers. The tundra was short, with moss campion and grassy sedges. Occasionally there were wonderful blue Gentians blooming now, just like their autumn kin in the Washington Cascades.


Cushion plants grow close to the soil and survive the frigid winters

We hiked to the top of the peak, (14,220 feet, about the same as Long's Peak in Colorado) surrounded by a sea of mountains 15,000 - 17,000 feet high. The mountain we stood on was almost inconsequential in the landscape, and we were all in awe of the vastness stretching before us. The sense of elevation is different than in the Rockies, at 14,000 feet in Colorado I need to stop and rest after just a few steps if the path is steep, but here we were able to walk indefinately, even up the very steep trail, as long as we paced ourselves. Spending 4 days at 11,500 feet in Lhasa made the summit feel like 8000 feet.


The summit at 14,220 feet - Renee and Dylan hiking past prayer flags


Tom and Dylan at the summit. The rocks on the right contain an incense burner which pilgrims fill with native plants and light when they reach the summit

Hanging our own prayers

Two days later we rented another car for a trip to Kampa La, a pass 15,750 feet high about 100 km SW of Lhasa. We followed the Lhasa River down to its junction with the Yarlung Tsangpo River. The Tsangpo flows easterly, nearly to Sichuan Province before turning south into India, where it's called the Brahmaputra. The river valleys were planted in cottonwoods as they were toward Ganden, and we saw many yak-teams plowing in the fields. We were only just able to restrain Renee, telling the driver to avoid stopping at all costs.


An infinity of peaks, all higher than 14,000 feet

Kampa La Pass is a beautiful, gentle but long climb, winding in and out the folds of the hills, past grazing sheep and cows and yaks. At the lower reaches of the pass we passed fields terraced into the hillsides, which had recently been cut for hay, and then as we drove higher old abandoned fields appeared, the terraces still evident but the ground was slowly returning to native vegetation.


A small village along the road. Ownership of sheep is marked by paint.

The road curved tight and loose around folds of mountain till we were finally at the summit, greeted by a view of Lake Yamdrok, the most beautiful turqouise blue you can imagine. At the top was a small dusty area to park and much to our surprise there were hawkers selling their wares: Buddhas, prayer wheels, jewelry, and so forth. We wandered about for awhile then hiked up to the summit of Kambala, 16,370 feet high.


Dylan on Kambala.


Distant peaks

I am just enthralled by these elevations, and the high Himalaya began to show themselves to the south and west. We had a front row seat of Nozin Kang sa, almost 24,000 feet high. The glaciers hanging down its slopes were glorious.


Nozin Kang sa, 23,670 feet

We drove down to Lake Yamdrok, which is the third largest lake in Tibet, and ate lunch sitting on its shores, and had a cup of tea in a tent with a faded sign hanging from its wall "Divine Lake Restaurant". It was.


Lake Yamdrok, looking Southwest.