09.06.09
Posted in Main Page at 11:23 pm by Tammy
Hotel is near Muslim Mosque. I had probably passed by this gate many times, but my eyes were always busy on the food I hardly ever noticed it. This was a pic from Mira’s camera.
It was our regular route to roam from Muslim Mosque to Barkhor Street. There were so much going on in Muslim square.
Being a person with a problem of ADD, I was playing with this hat, completely forgotten the reason we were in this store was to buy some drinking water.
Very busy Barkhor street
Both sides of this streets are full of booths and stores selling Tibetan handicrafts and jewelry. We knew we were gonna spend some quality time here. On this first afternoon, we were just getting ourselves accquainted.
Barkhor Street is always crowded. Local people religiously walk around Jokhang Temple everyday to pay respect. I was amazed by the number of local people there that didn’t seem to be interested in buying anything.
For people who are into religion, esp.budhism, this would be a whole different level of exploration. For me, I walked and watched, hardly could absorbed all that I saw, let alone having time to meditate. Religion is a good thing for individual–it gives you faith.One doesn’t give up easily with faith. Me,sadly, always had too much doubt to commit…
Pretty late in the evening, (8++pm) many people were still proning and praying. What looked to me like a big effort seemed nothing to them. It’s amazing things people can do with faith, sometimes beyond physical boundary.
Day and night, it doesn’t matter.
Pilgrim outside of Potala palace
To visit Potala Palace, you have to make reservation for the ticket the day before, with the reservation, you are then entitled to buy the ticket on the next day, and get to visit Potala for a time as restricted as an hour.Since Panchen Lama is living there, 1 hour for a certain amount of people is pretty generous.
I had always thought Potala is somewhere in the suburb of Lhasa. To my surprise it is by the side of a main road. For a city as small as Lhasa, we passed it right by almost whenever we took a taxi.
No angle is right angle. In this entire trip none of us came out with a decent picture that does it justified.
I just wished she didn’t do that finger thing…
Potala Square is a sacred land. One is not allowed to sit, crouch or even put anything down on the ground.
No pictures are allowed inside the Palace.
Walking down from the inside. Bad bad weather.
Potala is the highest building in Lhasa. This was the city seen from the Palace.
That morning, while waiting for the line to open for booking “reservation”, we walked around the neighborhood…
Turning praying wheels
Gate to Potala Palace
Waiting to book “reservation”
I found this camaflage uniform very intriguing. It’s such a rebel to its original concept.
Outside of our room looking like an Indian (feather)
Trying on a hat
In this store called “Tibetan Antelope” we spent a lot on jewelry.
street scene
Accidentally found this love poem by Tsangyang Gyatso, the sixth Dalai Lama.
“A Moment Gone
by Tsangyang Gyatso
A moment gone, hoisting the wind-horse banners—
but not to beg good fortune . . . only to welcome your return.
A day gone, raising the sacred boulder pile—
but not to accumulate virtue . . . only to cast a stone in your heart’s pool.
A month gone, setting all the prayer wheels turning—
but not to achieve transcendance . . . only to brush your finger tips.
A year gone, prone in the dust of the mountain road—
but not to make obeisance . . . only to press into your warmth.
A lifetime gone . . . turning and turning, mountains, rivers, stupas—
but not to seek rebirth . . . only to meet you along the way.”
Ah it’s beautiful. I am actually touched. Not everybody could write something like this. I know I definitely can’t.
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09.03.09
Posted in Main Page at 8:46 pm by Tammy
We strolled around the neighborhood late afternoon on the first day, after a mandatory “nap”, which was to avoid altitude sickness. (We seldom challenge the authority of our group leader, Mira.)
Lost in the Barkhor Bazaar, we surprisingly found ourselves at the entrance of the legendary Makye Ame Restaurant. We took it as a sign and had our first dinner there.
The food, the mood, the deco… in fact, the whole concept is a reflection of Tibetan culture. On the first page of the menu goes the story of the house. Here is a quick summary of my not-so-romantic version:
A man walked into a Chang house(which now becomes a restaurant with very good business), saw a beautiful woman and fell in love. He dreamed about this woman frequently and went to this Chang house everyday, hoping to see her again. But the woman never showed up anymore.
The romantic strokes: It was a moon-lit night, and this mysterious man was no commoner—He was the sixth Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tsang Yang Gyaltso. He was on a mission to seek the purest and most beautiful woman as Goddess Tara…
I took another quick glance of the first page before ordering—That’s it?! Nothing happened later?
Well I don’t care much for the story. We were there for a dining experience.
The room was dim for a romantic ambience and with the smell of aroma incense burning in the thin air, it felt stuffy. Most windows were shut because of an imminent storm. I could easily imagine drinking in soft sunlight while reading love poems left by Dalai Lama or flipping pages on visitor’s books on a beautiful day, though. It must be a good feeling.
After a long trip, we all looked a bit tired
Deco is charming
We ordered some yogurt, lamb broth, lamb, vege assortment etc.
Food was mama-huhu (mediocre) with a price on the high side. Places mainly attend to travelers normally are not the best. We decided not to come back. If someone fell in love with any one of us, the story will repeat itself…not so elevated though.
Hotel is close to the Muslim Mosque. Outside the Mosque street peddlers selling wonders of food.
This is something I couldn’t make out—Is it blood sausage, or is it just sheep intestine? Gordo confirmed to me by looking at the picture that it IS blood sausage, while the whole time we kept thinking it WAS sheep intestine. Therefore, the full content of this tube was very suspicious. It wasn’t very appealing to Mira, Connie and Vienne. I kind of liked it despite the doubt.
After we took care of the tickets to Potala Palace, we found this place where a lot of locals had their breakfast. It was so popular among the locals we hardly could find a seat available. The fact that we seemed the only travelers gave us a lot of confidence on the quality/genuinety of food.
I ordered “same as everybody is eating” and “same as everybody is drinking”, and there came 4 noodles with a little hint of beef and a bottle of Tibet butter tea. I’d had this butter tea before and liked it. For Connie salty butter tea was just too weird.
A bottle of butter tea
It’s a real local place, and let’s just say, the “uncomfortable-ness” between photographer and objects were mutual. But what I saw was too genuine to miss…
“Lhasa Kitchen” near Barkhor Street is a good place, mainly serves Indian cuisine, Nepal and Tibetan Food at very reasonable price.
The “Snowland” Restaurant opposite to Lhasa Kitchen also has good food and is very popular among westerners, for some reason.
For me these two places beat Makye Ame by miles.
Chongqing hotpot dinner on DeJi Rd
Around this time in Lhasa it gets dark at 8:30-9pm and it was normally after 10pm when we paid dinner bill.
Barley beer
Everything is holly in here, even beer is “holly water” from “holly land”.
Walking in Barkhor Street, whenever I came across something I didn’t quite get, 9 out of 10 the explanation was :”This is to drive evil spirit away.” (Bi Xie De)
“Wow is there so much evil spirit in here?” I asked Mira.
Spicy barbecued “baby lobster”, the culprit of my sore throat
After a barbecue dinner, our hedonistic leader suggested a sauna/massage program which received a unanimous hooray.
This sort of service is pretty expensive compared to that in Guangzhou. In the end Mira and Vienne went for a foot massage and a hair-wash.
Knowing Nam-Tso night would be a no-shower night, Connie and I decided to enjoy a good sauna+bath, and a foot massage.
The team split into 2 floors.
Up on the 3rd having foot massage, Vienne—“Is this a decent place?”
Masseus:–”Yes.”
Vienne–“Do you have “inproper” service I mean?” Obviously trying out his patience.
Masseus:–“No”,glup.– “Second floor.”
There we were, me and Connie, lost in the werid light of the second floor, trying to figure things out.
We were led into a room where there was a big wooden bathtub, a sauna cabinet, a massage bed, and a shower cabinet. Inside there was a smaller room with a t.v, a bed for two, and a nightstand. It looked pretty eerie in the dim reddish light.
Me:”Oh…Now I understand. You take a girlfriend here, have a nice bath outside and…here’s the bed.”
“Who takes a girlfriend when you can choose a girl from the house. ” Said Connie, nonchalantly.
“Ah!”
I did the bathtub and Connie did the sauna. We pretended we didn’t see each other naked. Every few minutes she came out in a hurry to gasp some air, then went back in.
There was a body-scrub service that charges only 15rmb. Although I’d never tried before, I was game for it. Connie said it was a common thing people do in the north.
So this lady came in with a rug, I laid on the massage bed after my bath, and she started scrubbing my back.
She had long fake eyelashes, wore dark eye shadows and foundation. She looked quite cool if she didn’t smile. When she smiled the gap between her front teeth spoiled everything.
I saw a thick layer of dead skin peeling off from me as she worked.
What is more shameful–to be so dirty, to spend as little as 15rmb for someone else to work so hard on your own filth, or to be seen total naked by a stranger?
Anyway the truth is, I was a bit ashamed the whole time.
To make it worse, at the end of it, this girl said:”I thought you are from Lhasa.”
To be mistaken as a local by a local in this case, is not something very flattering, considering all the Tibetan girls I had seen were below mediocre—dark, rough and just not pretty. I blamed it on my large-size earrings and the braids.
It was close to 11pm when we were done. Mira and Vienne were still in the hair salon. How rotten.
This was after body scrub and foot massage, waiting in the hall for Mira and Vienne. Looking very corrupted.
It felt great after the scrub. I concluded it was worth all the shame.
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