May 10 - Day 6: Sightseeing in Lhasa

Where to begin?  Well first off, Ted, I'll be coming home at the end of this trip....so don't worry about packing and shipping all my stuff to Lhasa!

This morning we went to see the Sera Monastery.  This is a place of learning and worship.  There are many buildings that house up to 1000 monks and we saw the kitchen where all the food is prepared for everyone.  The food that is served is simple; rice, potatoes and vegetables all made in one pot and of course yak butter tea.  The campus is enormous, built into the mountainside with endless staircases. Much of the monastery and its contents were destroyed in the 'cultural revolution' in the mid 1960s.  The buildings and many of the statues and paintings have been restored.  There is room after room of statues....quite overwhelming.  This afternoon we went to the Jokhang Temple.  This is a place of worship and when the Dalai Lama comes to visit this is where he stays...and it's located very near our hotel in the centre of the Tibetan quarter in Lhasa.  Apparently every Tibetan must visit this temple once in their life, and it should be before they are married.  Easy in these modern times, but while we were there six Tibetans from the northwest entered with handmade backpacks.  Our guide said they had likely walked 1000's of kms as a pilgrimage to get here.  That is devotion to their beliefs.

While we were having lunch, Ox, our guide showed up.  He has been driving ever since the early evening of May 8th to arrive here with our bikes and everything we need for the tour including all the camping supplies and the food for the trip.  He said they only slept 1 1/2 hours....and drove the rest of the time.

The roads in Nepal are all torn up...huge potholes and very dusty.  Once you cross the border into Tibet (China), it is clean, organized, wide paved roads.  Of course the terrain in significantly different.  Northern Nepal is all mountains...therefore the roads go up and around the mountains and homes are built into the mountainside and terraced fields dot the countryside.  While Tibet is a plateau.  There are hills for sure... and farther south will be the Himalayas but where the roads are, it's flat.  We also noticed very few people walking until we reached the Tibetan quarter where vehicles are not allowed.  So different from Kathmandu, but a good and interesting different.

Ok, that's it for now.  Time to get some rest as we had a busy day touring.  One more day of sight seeing and then we are off on our bikes.  Have a great day everyone!

Prayer wheels at the monastery.  There are scriptures inside each wheel, so when the wheel is turned the meaning of the scripture is released.

a little girl who wanted to say hello

the Tibetan quarter

the monastery

the monastery

Jokhang temple

The second floor is where the Dalai Lama stays while visiting.

Accommodation: Hotel
Sleeping altitude: 3,514m