April
14, Saturday
A view of the palace buildings from within the inner courtyard. That's a long way up.
As we climb, we get a better view of the plaza below
And we climb
and climb
And climb
Are we nearly there ?
We take a break and rest on the steps
We must be nearly there.
Finally we go through the main gates
and into the upper courtyard. From here on, no photos as we enter the red portion of the palace.
The lower white buildings are used for administration, and the red portion comprises the living quarters, Buddhist shrines, and stupas which hold the remains of past Dalai Lamas. We saw the throne that was used by the Dalai Lama for the formal ceremonies.
There are 476 steps from the street level, up to the 13thfloor of the palace on top of the hill (or is that 476 steps inside the palace?). We take it slow and easy and stop many times along the way, due to the high elevation. It is so impressive. So many Dalai lamas have lived here throughout the years, each one adding more and more buildings. Only two people from our group opt not to climb to the top for health reasons; completely understandable since it is their first time at high altitudes. My thanks to Pauline for sharing her Diamox (high altitude medication) with me, since I used all of mine up with the extra stay in the heights of Bolivia.
and before we know it, we have concluded our indoor visit and start are climb back down
With the zoom, I'm able to snag this picture
Lady worker at one of the looms
Some of the rugs they have made, or are still working on
Check out the loom; those are two iron I-Beams at the top. I guess whatever works will do.
Another lady working on a second loom
Beautifully coloured wool
Some of the carpets that are for sale
On the way back to the hotel we stop to visit another site, the Sera Monastery, founded in 1419 and covers an area of 114,964 square meters. It is the second biggest monastery in Tibet. This is actually a college (or training centre) and though we do not get to enter any of the buildings/halls, we are taken into a courtyard where the monks are going through a question and answer practice, each taking turns, and there are very lively debates on the teachings and philosophy of Buddha. Info found on the internet and not given to us by the guide: “During the 1959 revolt in Lhasa, Sera 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 also moved to India.”
The streets of the Sera Monastery
Prayer wheels and a stuppa
Buildings of the Sera Temple school
The monks are debating in a very lively manner. Gesturing and slapping their hands while they question their counterparts.
Looks like serious business
Though we caught a few of them laughing as well
Exiting the Sera Temple grounds
Dancing yaks
Beautiful costumes
The dancers all show off their beautiful costumes
It has been an extremely long day and I am very happy to get back to my room at the Four Points by Sheraton
Our second full day in Lhasa. We leave the hotel early to go visit the
Potala Palace, the winter palace to Emperor of Tibet Songtsan Gampo, which
dated back to the 7th century (reigned c. 609-649), who played a very
important role in the political, economic, and cultural development of
Tibet. We were told that the original
palace burned down. “The complex, comprising the White and Red
Palaces with their ancillary buildings, is built on Red Mountain in the centre
of Lhasa Valley, at an altitude of 3,700m. It was rebuilt in the mid-17th
century by the 5th Dalai Lama in a campaign that lasted 30 years, reaching its
present size in the years that followed, as a result of repeated renovation and
expansion. It covers an area of over 130,000 m2 and stands more than
110 m high.” It is now a UNESCO cultural site and therefore
protected.
Ladies waiting in the entrance courtyard. If you take their picture, they expect you to give them some money
We pass through the gates into the first inner courtyardA view of the palace buildings from within the inner courtyard. That's a long way up.
As we climb, we get a better view of the plaza below
And we climb
and climb
And climb
Are we nearly there ?
We take a break and rest on the steps
We must be nearly there.
Finally we go through the main gates
and into the upper courtyard. From here on, no photos as we enter the red portion of the palace.
The lower white buildings are used for administration, and the red portion comprises the living quarters, Buddhist shrines, and stupas which hold the remains of past Dalai Lamas. We saw the throne that was used by the Dalai Lama for the formal ceremonies.
There are 476 steps from the street level, up to the 13thfloor of the palace on top of the hill (or is that 476 steps inside the palace?). We take it slow and easy and stop many times along the way, due to the high elevation. It is so impressive. So many Dalai lamas have lived here throughout the years, each one adding more and more buildings. Only two people from our group opt not to climb to the top for health reasons; completely understandable since it is their first time at high altitudes. My thanks to Pauline for sharing her Diamox (high altitude medication) with me, since I used all of mine up with the extra stay in the heights of Bolivia.
Tibetans pronounce Dalai differently than we do: Da-lie (as in “I lie down to sleep”) rather than Da-lay, so we are not pronouncing it correctly. The Palace is a Buddhist pilgrimage site of the Bodhisattva Chenresi (yellow hat sect) and there are so many people visiting the palace that we are rushed through the complex and don’t really have time to check things out as much as we would like. There are security guards / soldiers everywhere, as well as some monks in their robes who still live in the complex. “There were over 1,000 rooms in the original Potala Palace. The present Potala Palace is 119 meters in height with 13 floors. Seems like we climbed a lot more than that ! "The building measures 400 meters east-west and 350 meters north-south, with sloping stone walls averaging 3 m. to 5 m. (more than 16 ft) thick at the base. The external structure was built in 3 years, while the interior, together with its furnishings took 45 years to complete. The number of visitors per day is now limited for control purposes.”
The Stupas within the red palace are huge and I asked the guide if the buildings had been added after the Stupas were built. I was told that no, the buildings were put up first and the Stupas were “assembled” inside after.
We are allowed to take pictures as we climb, and until we reach the inner courtyard that marks the entrance to the Palaces (red portion). From then on however we are not allowed to take any pictures, not even when we reach the open areas of the 13th floor where the Dalai Lamas rooms were located. and before we know it, we have concluded our indoor visit and start are climb back down
I’ve mentioned the “yellow hat” which is part of the Tibetan
religion (the one worn by the Dalai Lama) but I find out that there are three
other colours of hats: red, black and
white. Will have to do some research to
find out what the differences are.
And we spot some mountain goats up on the hill.With the zoom, I'm able to snag this picture
After lunch, we drive out to the countryside (not really,
it appears to be within Lhasa) and visit with a Tibetan family, where I sample
“yak butter tea”. I was very reluctant
to try this since I’ve read about some really bad experiences where the butter
was rancid, but the one we were served was quite nice. But I would not want to drink a mug-ful, the
small cup was just right. The couple
who own the house have two children, one little girl about 2 or 3 years old and
a new born baby. The “one child per
family” does not apply in Tibet since they are considered a “minority”
population within China. The house
appeared to be very new and had many modern conveniences. Most of the homes here, and in other areas of
China we have visited, have solar panels on the roofs as well as satellite
dishes for their TV.
Grandmother, who lives with the couple and helps with the children, also has her hand loom. Check out the wood and the pedals.
While we are talking in the courtyard, the outer doors open and in walks this tiny little girl. She is the elder of their two children, the baby is only a few weeks old. She was wandering around, on her own, in the streets of the town. Doesn't appear to be a problem here.
We make a further stop at a carpet factory. Now this was an eye opener since the looms are obviously not "manufacturer's" quality.Lady worker at one of the looms
Some of the rugs they have made, or are still working on
Check out the loom; those are two iron I-Beams at the top. I guess whatever works will do.
Another lady working on a second loom
Beautifully coloured wool
Some of the carpets that are for sale
On the way back to the hotel we stop to visit another site, the Sera Monastery, founded in 1419 and covers an area of 114,964 square meters. It is the second biggest monastery in Tibet. This is actually a college (or training centre) and though we do not get to enter any of the buildings/halls, we are taken into a courtyard where the monks are going through a question and answer practice, each taking turns, and there are very lively debates on the teachings and philosophy of Buddha. Info found on the internet and not given to us by the guide: “During the 1959 revolt in Lhasa, Sera 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 also moved to India.”
The streets of the Sera Monastery
Prayer wheels and a stuppa
Buildings of the Sera Temple school
The monks are debating in a very lively manner. Gesturing and slapping their hands while they question their counterparts.
Looks like serious business
Though we caught a few of them laughing as well
Exiting the Sera Temple grounds
We go to the “Crazy Yak Restaurant” for dinner and are
entertained by local performers
Many of the dancers are so fast that they are difficult to capture
Dancing yaks
Beautiful costumes
The dancers all show off their beautiful costumes
It has been an extremely long day and I am very happy to get back to my room at the Four Points by Sheraton
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