Day 190: Lhasa – Day 3: Potala Palace / Ganden Monastery / Start of Trek
We got up early, packed our bags, and were among the first arrivals at breakfast this morning – we had a lot planned for the day and the sooner we could get started the better.
As we discovered yesterday when our timeslots were bumped, admission to the Potala Palace is tightly controlled and the slightest misstep can cost you the right of entry. In order to visit the palace, Samdup had to present our passports and get voucher the day before. The vouchers had an admission time stamped on them (9AM) and we had to arrive at the entrance gate exactly 30min before our allotted time, otherwise we could forfeit our slot! Once in the gate, we had to climb 13 stories to the actual ticket office, present our voucher, and then buy the ticket. In a way, it’s nice that you don’t have to pay any money for the voucher – Igor was reading reviews on the Potala Palace and discovered that many elderly travelers miss out on touring the palace as they can’t complete the climb up the stairs with the high altitude. Luckily for us, we’ve been slowly acclimatizing over the past 3 days and, other than being a bit short of breath, we completed the climb with ease.
The gates to the Potala Palace open at 8:30AM – a half an hour before our ticket voucher, which means we are right on time!
Early morning view of Lhasa, from the stairway to the Potala Palace
An advantage to being fit and having an early morning time slot at the Potala Palace – we were able to bypass many tourists during the 13-story ascent to the ticket counter!
We pass through a yak-hair curtain and finally reach the ticket counter
Looking up at the windows of the palace from the inner courtyard
Igor at the palace entrance & exit. Sadly for us, photos aren’t allowed anywhere within the Potala Palace, so we put our camera away as we toured the former living quarters of the 5th – 14th Dalai Lamas (the 5th Dalai Lama gave himself the BIGGEST room – he did build the place after all! The former living quarters of the current Dalai Lama was pretty recognizable from the film “Seven Years in Tibet” – Wikipedia Image here), as well as the magnificently ornate stupa tombs, housing the remains of several former Dalai Lamas (the tombs are decorated with gold and jewels donated by devotees, so the more ornate the tomb, the more beloved that particular lama was)
Walking down from the Potala Palace, via the rear exit, down Red Hill
As soon as we exited the Potala Palace, we hurried back to the hotel to grab our stuff, check out and head out of town. Our next stop was the Ganden Monastery – one of the three most important Buddhist monasteries in Tibet, and the birthplace of the Gelug sect of Buddhism (the sect practiced by the Dalai Lama). Though the Ganden Monastery was originally built in the 1400’s, the complex was destroyed in 1959 during the Cultural Revolution – the current buildings were rebuilt starting in the 1980s due to international pressure towards China (again – no mention of this at the monastery nor by our guide).
Since we are climbing in altitude today, we sip our weird-ass Chinese medicine as we drive up to Ganden Monastery
As we pull up to the Ganden Monastery, Igor spots a hungry cow, in the middle of a dumpster-diving mission. His face says, “Don’t judge me.”
Walking one of the pilgrim paths around the Ganden Monastery
View of the Kyi-chu Valley from the kora around the Ganden Monastery
While walking along the Ganden kora, we come across a pile of prayer stones and a carving of three Buddhas
At the end of the kora, we enter the huge monastery complex
In the middle of the day, the dozens of seats in the Assembly Hall sit empty, so we are free to roam the room and admire the many statues of Gelupa scholars and benefactors, bodhisattvas, Buddhas and protector deities (although only Igor is allow to enter the room with the latter)
Several rows of yak-butter lamps cast a gentle glow within the chapel, illuminating a gold plated mural depicting the “evils” that the Buddhist protectors have defeated
Ganden Monastery: home to around 400 monks (down from 2,000 before the Cultural Revolution), and many stray dogs who enjoy napping in the shade of the flag-covered prayer pole
We stop in the monastery cafeteria for lunch before heading out, and Lindsay and Igor get their first taste of butter tea (tastes like a milky hot chocolate, but with a VERY buttery aftertaste; not bad, but takes some getting used to)
Since we had to squeeze our visit to the Potala Palace into our itinerary for today, we were running a good two hours behind schedule. Samdup strongly suggested we cut the first day of our trek short and drive to a small village near the Yama Do meadows – reducing our hiking time from 6 hours to 2 hours. While Igor wanted to press on regardless, Lindsay was secretly very happy that we would be easing into our trek (especially since she wasn’t handling the altitude as well as her hubby).
We wait for our Yak Man at the base of a small village outside the Yama Do meadows
We suspect the Yak Man wasn’t told about our change in schedule, as we waited for 2 hours for him to arrive – at least it was a scenic spot!
Our Yak man finally arrives, with two yaks. We are shocked that the animals are able to handle all the weight…and even more shocked when they blaze past us on the mountain trail, beating us to camp by a good 30min!
Hiking through gorgeous scenery in the Yama Do meadows
After a good 2hrs trekking up the mountain, we reach our camp (which has already been set-up!)
After setting up camp with the Yak Man, our cook, Tserine wastes no time getting dinner ready
Tserine doesn’t allow the wild outdoors to minimize his cooking – the yaks hauled up a tank of propane, a portable stove, a pressure cooker, a wok, and a crate full of fresh vegetables! Tibetan Glamping!
Our first dinner is amazing – a soothing vegetable-ginger soup, and stir-fried pasta with julienned veggies and yak meat
We have a crescent moon tonight, which sets very early, giving us a spectacular view of the night sky
Enjoying the solitude and a bright, starry sky in Tibet
We tuck into our tent at 8:30PM – we’ll be sleeping at 14,620ft above sea level (a 2,500+ rise in elevation from Lhasa!) so we give ourselves plenty of time to get a good nest’s rest, as the cold, hard ground and altitude may make it hard to fall asleep