October 3rd, 2016

Day 188: Lhasa – Day 1: Jokhang Temple

Our first full day in Lhasa, we visited the Jokhang Temple with our guide, Samdup. Along with the Potala Palace (which we are scheduled to visit tomorrow), the Jokhang Temple is the spiritual heart of Tibet. Our hotel is located in the Barkor Area – the “Old Lhasa” side of town – so we had a short 10min walk to the Barkhor kora, which is a pilgrim circuit through the alleys surrounding the temple. As is customary in all Buddhist holy places, we circumnavigate the kora clockwise, along with a crowd of hundreds of Tibetan worshipers, until we reach the temple entrance.

Walking down the Barkhor kora toward the Jokhang Temple

Prayer poles, decorated with colorful prayer flags, rise high into the sky, and incense ovens churn out clouds of smoke

A haze of incense hides the entrance of the Jokhang Temple – once we are inside the courtyard, however, the air is crystal clear as we gaze upon the golden porch where the Dalai Lama would address the crowd

Monks sit in front of the temple entrance, meditatively polishing metal bowls, as we pass by colorful murals of the Buddha

Prayer beads for sale on the second floor of the temple courtyard – we continue to the roof, where we find pillars decorated with braided yak hair!

View of Barkhor Square from the roof of the Jokhang Temple

Hundreds of worshippers repeatedly prostrate themselves both in front of the Jokhang Temple, and throughout the Barkhor kora

The golden rooftop of the Jokhang Temple

As we leave the temple, we pass a large wooden tub of water, where worshippers have tossed paper money in addition to change. Before we have a chance to exit, Lindsay is once again asked to pose for a picture with a random Chinese tourist

There’s no doubt that Lhasa is crowded, but we don’t feel the same claustrophobia that we did in mainland China – probably because we are surrounded by either Tibetan pilgrims (who don’t stop to take pictures) or Westerners (who tend to be much more quiet and courteous than their Chinese counterparts). In fact, we were shocked by the number of Westerners we had encountered in Tibet already – at our hotel’s breakfast buffet, the room was *filled* with Americans! Perhaps the hotels are segregated in Lhasa, and all the Chinese tourists stay in a different part of town…?

We continue the clockwise circuit of the Barkhor kora with hundreds of Tibetan worshippers. Even though we are surrounded by people, we don’t get the same sense of being crowded, like we did in mainland China – probably because none of them are taking photos. We pass by the separate entrance line for the worshippers – even though admission is free for them, they have to wait hours in line to enter the temple!

The Barkhor Square is lined with souvenir shops – we peek in at the various Tibet curios: glittering Buddha statues and decorated yak skulls

We stop in at the office for our tour agency – Tibet Highland Tours – in order to finalize the payment for our tour. Since foreign credit cards are not accepted in China, we’ve been carrying around a couple thousand dollars for the past few weeks and we are relieved to deposit the large sum of cash!

Once our bill is settled, our tour agency treats us to lunch at the Tibetan Family Kitchen – a tiny restaurant run out of the chef’s apartment – apparently he used to be one of the agency’s most popular cooks before he decided to open his own shop. We sat down in the family’s living room and enjoyed a *delicious* Tibetan lunch, while the chef’s little girl watched “Frozen” on her tablet

By mid-afternoon, Lindsay is getting short of breath, due to the thin air and high altitude. We stop at a pharmacy to pick up some oxygen tanks and medicine to bring with us on our trek later in the week (just in case!), before returning to the hotel for a nap

We had the rest of the afternoon free. Since Igor wasn’t having any issues with the altitude, he let Lindsay sleep off her headache while he explored Lhasa in his own. Turns out Igor turns into “a curious little puppy” when he explores without Lindsay (his words, not mine!), and wandered around until he got lost. He had left the room with nothing but the camera and soon got lost in the sprawling Chinese section of town (which was very industrial-looking – not pretty like “Old Lhasa”). He finally recognized a cell tower in the distance and found his way back to the hotel, four hours later!

Unrefrigerated and smelling pungent, the main street in Lhasa is littered with yak meat stalls

Fresh from the farm – yak meat (still with bits of hair on it) and a bucket full of chicken

More Tibetan specialties – huge blocks of yak butter for sale near the monastery (devotees will bring yak butter as offerings and pour melted butter into lamps), and freshly painted furniture drying in a quiet alley