Lhasa Vanishing

5/29 and 5/30

It has been quite an adventure. I am thankful that I feel well enough to write a few words. The trip from Beijing was about four and a half hours with a stop in Chengdu. We were thankful that China Air provide much more leg room than United.

The landing in Lhasa was a bit jarring, I believe due to the short landing strip. The plane swayed back and forth as we made our decent. The airport was surprisingly modern. This should have been our indication of things to come. Lhasa is about an hours drive from the airport, but the roads are very good and in 2005 the Chinese built a tunnel through a mountain pass that makes the trip faster.

We were surrounded by stark, brown mountains and the occasional pale blue rivers which are very low at this time of the year. On our way into town, we stopped to see the largest rock painting in Tibet. Rainbow and I also met a group of local bikers who asked us to join them for some local beer. It think Vivek and Lhasing (our guide) were surprised to see us chatting away with the pilgrims.

As we approached the city of Lhasa, the car became quiet as we were shocked and saddened by the amount of development. There were sections of the city that looked just like Beijing. We did not feel as if we were entering Shangri-La. Some of this disappointment was tempered when we finally caught a glimpse of the Portola Palace. It is simply an amazing structure and I am thankful that it has survived many years of political turmoil.

We were taken to the Shanbhala Hotel, which thankfully was not the House of Shambhala where we had booked our stay. The House of Shambhala is a wonderful, Tibetan style inn. Our rooms are brightly painted with sashes framing the bed. There is an ornate courtyard at the heart of the hotel and it offers yoga and tantric massage. I am not sure the I will get to try the yoga (more on that later), but hope to experience the massage.

Of the three of us, the fearless leader had little worries about altitude sickness, but unfortunately it hit me hard. I was sick all last night, and was extremely thankful to have a kind and caring husband to watch over me. Last night was incredibly miserable, but by around 10:00 am I was able to stomach some toast. Vivek and I missed a tour of the Portola Palace, but we are hoping to see it when we return to Lhasa in a few days. Rainbow is taking Diamox and seems to be doing well with the altitude. The temperatures seem to be in the high 80s and the strong rays of the sun contribute to the discomfort.

Vivek and I ventured out to the market to find lunch. We found ourselves in a little place filled with Tibetans, but with no hope of reading the menu. We pointed to what a little boy was having and said, "we'll have that." They brought us a steaming bowl of momos (dumplings in broth-perfect for an upset stomach). It cost us 6 yuan (less than a dollar). We probably gave out more money in donations to pilgrims during our lunch then we paid for the food.

Later today our guide met us and took us to the Jokhang Temple. It was filled with monks chanting and eating. The temple was filled with many Buddhist statues and candles burning in vegetable oil. We had a nice view of the Portola Palace from the roof and even encountered a Tibetan kitten. We plan to spend the remainder of the day resting before we head out of Lhasa to Namatso Lake.

Sound of the night: Dogs barking and barking and barking