13 January 2009
We had a late start and met Labsang in the lobby. Champo is having the car fixed so today we are relying on taxis. First on the agenda was getting our visa extended so we got some money from a bank, had some photos taken and handed everything over to an agent to arrange – hoping to see at least our documents in the not too distant future.
We then headed through the throng of pilgrims who still prostrate themselves, into Potala Palace, the last home of the Dalai Lama here in Tibet. We were the only tourists – different to summer where you have to go into a quota system for tickets into the palace. It is an eerily quiet place as it is no longer used and there are only a few monks left to maintain the relics. After climbing what felt like a trillion stairs is the ticket office and once through security and x-ray machines were were into the courtyard of the white palace which was used for festivities. There are then a set of stairs (one side up, one side down, middle only for the DL). from there we followed the walk for the White Palace and Red Palace. Most of the rooms were open but apparently they are opened and closed sporadically, so this may be the reason there is no actual audio tour. There however a lot of restoration work happening which is a good sign.
The palace is magnificent and just dominates over everything else around it. We were lucky and able to wander through at our own pace (in summer you are only allowed 1 hour).
After spending the morning here, we walked back to old Tibet where we had a milk tea en-route to the Jokhang. Now if Potala Palace is eerily quiet, the Jokhang is the opposite and is the most revered structure in Tibet and is heaving with people. Again we did the VIP thing and bypassed all the queues.
The Jokhang was originally dated to 639AD and was built to house the dowry of the Kings Nepali and Chinese wives. The Buddha image from Wencheng (Chinese wife) is the most revered Buddha image in Tibet and after going into the chapel and seeing it, it is just awe inspiring, not that you get long to take in everything that is in the chapel as the monks ensure everyone keeps moving at a very hectic pace. the whole place is just abuzz with life – there are prostrating pilgrims everywhere and considering a lot of the template was restored since 1980 (go the Cultural revolution desecration again) you can’t really make out what has been restored and what hasn’t. The Jokhang has a myriad other chapels but unfortunately they start to blur after a while and it becomes harder to recall who is who, but the whole experience is fantastic, definitely the highlight of the trip after the Potala Palace of course).
Lobsang left us here after helping us buy some prayer flags. We joined the pilgrims kora, this time taking in a more overall view – it is just amazing everyone in traditional dress with prayer wheels etc. After our first kora we bought some beads – managing to negotiate a fair price we thought.
We dropped our shopping at the hotel before venturing out past the yak cheese vendors to a supermarket where I bought shampoo and conditioner after much charades with the staff – nobody here speaks English and there is no English on any of the bottles. We also bought some chippies for later – yum. Back at the hotel the chippies were very disappointing – oh well. Our washing also arrived back so even more clean clothes are at our disposal – all this luxury.
Close to sunset we rugged up and headed to the square opposite Potala Palace for a sequence of sunset and nighttime photos, at one time drawing a crowd, but as it got darker and subsequently more bloody freezing we were left to our own devises except when SB sat down on the ground and this soon drew the attention of the army who marched over and signaled for him to stand, but we could stay and take photos. By the time it was completely dark it was only 8pm and we were frozen, only to find out that most restaurants close early, so we found the only available place for noodles and tea.
Back at the hotel I tested by shampoo and conditioner – so nice to actually brush my hair.