Go Tell It On the Mountain 3

April 11, 2017

 It was unclear whether the Diamox was making a difference with our acclimatization to the high altitude, but we continued the regimen in the hopes that it was helping.  Today would be our first real day of sightseeing in Lhasa.  The day was overcast, but no sign of the rain that was predicted.

After a quick breakfast, we met our smiling guide, Choedon, in the lobby of our hotel.  The bus already had three others - a couple from Burma, and Kate, an older woman from Alaska.  After leaving our hotel, we picked up Andreas, a young German, from the side of the road; construction in front of his hotel prevented a lobby pick-up.  The group was just six, plus the guide, because others' flight from Kathmandu had been canceled, apparently a fairly common occurrence.  Kate and Andreas had both taken the forty-two-hour (!) train trip from Chengdu, China, which was recommended by some to help with a gradual acclimatization to the altitude.  Both said it was a pretty miserable trip, and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.  We were thanking our lucky stars that we decided to start in Lhasa.

Lhasa traffic

We were scheduled to begin our tour at Potala Palace, but because so many had missed their flights, we were following Day Two's itinerary instead, and would see the palace tomorrow.

After a short thirty-minute drive, we arrived at Drepung Monastery at the foot of Mt Gephel.  Drepung Monastery, the largest of the three great monasteries of Tibet, was founded in 1416 by a disciple of Tsongkhapa, who was considered an instrumental teacher of Tibetan Buddhism.  This huge monastery is said to have once held ten thousand monks, although now the Chinese government strictly controls the number to five hundred.  

We climbed many stairs to reach this monastery, which stands 200 meters higher than the city.  Everyone in our group, young and old, took it slowly (kalay, kalay!)  We passed several "monastery dogs" (Lhasa Apsos?) on our way up.  The location afforded a great view of the city and surrounding mountains.

The walk up to the monastery - notice the woman carrying what looks like a thermos (actually contains 

liquid butter to be added to vats of burning candles as an offering), 

and the baby that seems to be velcroed to the back of her mother

Like many buildings in the area, Drepung is made up of sturdy, white stone structures, with walls sometimes a meter thick, allowing for little natural light.  The red color of the trim is the color of the monks' robes.  Large rocks surrounding the buildings were painted with bright murals, devotions to Buddha and other holy men.  Pictures of ladders were painted by individuals actively working toward enlightenment.

Me and Choedon

Monks on their way to the debates

We were lucky to arrive in time for the monk debates, a popular event for tourists.  All the monks gathered in a courtyard, and six standing monks faced two seated monks wearing ornate yellow hats.  These monks are part of the yellow, or Gelug sect, one of the four sects in Tibetan Buddhism, and the sect of the current Dalai Lama.  (The other sects are red, flower, and white).  The debates are philosophical in nature, and although we couldn't understand what was being said, we still appreciated the drama.  The standing monks respond to statements made by the sitting monks, raising a foot and stomping it down on the ground as they hit the palm of one hand with either the palm or the back of the other hand to indicate agreement or disagreement.  This continued for quite some time, with all the other monks listening quietly.  A gong began to sound, indicating the end of the debate.  I looked to see where the gong was coming from, and found a single monk up on the roof of the temple.

One of the few places where photos were allowed inside

 

The monk hitting the gong on the roof of the temple

Our luck continued, as we were able to follow the monks into the large gathering room, stepping over their shoes as we went.  We started to remove our shoes, as we have been well trained in the custom in Thailand.  But they asked the visitors to keep their shoes on.  Our guide said it was because it was too smelly otherwise!

Inside the dim temple, monks settled themselves on row upon row of colorful carpets, and began their low, mesmerizing chant.  I would have loved to just stay in one place, close my eyes, and let the sound wash over me.  However, our group was led around the perimeter of the huge room, taking in the several Buddhist statues and symbols, donations of money, flowers and white scarves tucked into seemingly every corner.  One side room said women were not allowed to enter - Tim didn't find anything distinctive about it.  Buddhists also carried thermos-like containers with liquid cows' butter, and poured some into huge vats that held several burning wicks, as another type of offering.  Fascinating, and it smelled good, too.  We weren't allowed to take photos here, but Tim was able to pick up some of the chanting on his phone.

The last few minutes of the recording are audio only

We had lunch at a small upper room restaurant on Barkhor Square.  Our guide told us that there had been a problem with the chicken in this area recently, and warned us not to order it.  I enjoyed some vegetarian momos (dumplings) and some nice ginger tea, while Tim sampled the vegetable soup and coffee.  While we ate, our guide went with the bus to pick up another member of the group who had just arrived in Lahsa.  Pablo from Argentina would join us for the afternoon tour.

The ceiling of the restaurant - very common to have heavy fabrics as decor

Coming out of the very rudimentary restroom - a raised platform with
a gulley down the middle, and a big basin of water with a dipper to
"flush" when you finish.  Felt very accomplished afterward!

After lunch, we visited Sera Monastery, another of the three great monasteries.  We saw yaks grazing in the woods outside the entrance.  More stairs to climb here, then a stop inside a small building that housed three sand mandalas that have been preserved in glass cases for about ten years.  Traditionally, it takes a team of monks several weeks to create a single mandala.  Once it is completed, it is ritualistically dismantled, illustrating the Buddhist belief in the transitory nature of material life.  The intricate detail and vibrant colors of the mandalas are stunning.

only colored sand used

Our guide teased that we would have to climb up there - whew!

White scarves are a big part of devotions

We visited a Tibetan religious scripture printing house, which held many of the original woodblocks that were used to print on long, narrow pieces of thick, heavy Tibetan paper.  These include the teachings of Tibetan Buddhist masters that are used as textbooks for the monks.  We were not allowed to take photos, as was the case in many other parts of the monastery.

Here we were also able to witness the monk debates.  I doubted the value of watching a second debate, but this one was quite different from the first.  Here, all the monks were again gathered in a courtyard, but this time they were paired off, with several debates taking place at the same time, creating a cacophony of voices, stomps and hand slaps.  This one seemed less formal, perhaps because the debates were not being presented to the group of monks as a whole.

Got a kick out of this monk's socks

We were all dropped back at our respective hotels, where I enjoyed a pasta dinner.  Tim was more adventurous, trying a yak burger - he found it dry and gamy, but was glad to have tried it.

Sights from the drive back to the hotel

KFC is crazy popular in Asia

Workers in orange constantly cleaning the streets