Mandala Hotel Lhasa

... and lived in Shanghai, but had come to Lhasa on holiday, saying it wasone of his favourite places. He didn't know the our new-found Tibetans friends, but he willingly spent the rest of the evening translating everything that was said and showed commendable levels of tolerance and respect to the Tibetans, who were drunker than the rest of us and all talking at him excitedly. At one stage he was embraced by one of the men, who stated that the Tibetans and Chinese are linked ...

... for certain hotels and they were not told any details about where they would stay until they arrived. Currently, the only way to get into Tibet is to book a package that includes a guide. Our 'Group' was for two: just Ben and I - hence the expense - and though we often felt a bit 'baby-sat' as we couldn't enter any temples or book hotels without our Guide, their commentary and insights were invaluable and added tremendously to our ...

... Khedu Je and Gyeltsb Je (important Yellow Hats). There was a monk seated in a recliner style chair playing a large drum with a long bent stick and symbols between his knees. There is a statue of the 5th Dalai Lama with Yamantaka and Shri Devi behind him. <br> <br>We left the building and walked down a set of stairs, while we were passing through a courtyard we witnessed a child crying over spilt yak butter... <br> <br>Then we went up some stairs and up some more. We ...

... it. Around this area some of the glass enclosures were open and men were repainting some of the statues. There was Tara, the Longevity Buddha and Vijaya together. They were gold, robed and had jewels. The Chapel of Tsepakme Yabyum had a statue of him with a statue of a person kneeling and praying to him. Chapel of the Scared Goat and Maitreya (Jampa Che Shi). We could not enter this chapel and could not see the goat because he was along the side. This ...

... canyon presents a deepest fall of amazing 1526 meters. Standing there, you will not regret at all for not seeing the Tiger Leaping Gorge in Jinsha river. Another place I¡¦d like to recommend is the Ranwu Lake at Ranwu town.. Inlaid among a huge jade-green meadow, surrounded by virgin forest, with grand snow mountains as back ground, the blue lake flashes bright sunshine. You will see a fancy combination of colours as you might have seen at the Nine village valley in Sichuan ...

... lots of rock slides here and at one point we were stopped while some unsafe rocks were exploded - quite cool to hear just ahead of us. The border town itself was great - a mixture of Tibetans, Sherpas and Nepali. We hit the town with Losang and another guide and danced to a mixture of modern Tibetan, Nepali and Western music until the early hours. Everyone in the club was really friendly and enjoyed showing us all the dance moves - especially Mr Nepalis hip hop ...

... peaked in Lhasa when were interviewed on national TV regarding our views on visas and tourism in Tibet.....not at all sensitive (!?). Leaving Tibet we caught the first flight of our trip to Kathmandu. Flying over the Himalayas afforded us an amazing view of the worlds highest mountain - what an introduction to Nepal! Missing you and love to all Have a great weekend Alex &amp; Sam x

... broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people's feelings," while supporters of Tibetan independence were delighted. Outdoor pop festivals have been canceled in the run-up to the Games, and entertainment venues are coming under tighter control as the Games draw near. The government is keen to keep as tight a grip on entertainment venues as possible for fear they could become hotbeds of dissent. http://www.variety.com/article/VR111798 9152.html?categoryid=16&cs=1

... paikallista(Tiibetilaista) bisnesta tukien.. Matka jatkuu huomenna 2 vrk:n junamatkalla Etela-kiinaan(Chengdu) josta tarkoittus jatkaa mahdollisimman nopeasti Yunnanin maakuntaan.. Makke onkin jo kaynyt tsekkaamassa mestat ja virittanyt hammockit valmiiksi palmujen valiin. Yunnanissa lampotila jo yli +20 C jot toppahousut hylattiin tanaan (Kiitos Salla) Tiibetilaiselle vahaosaiselle.. Minne tuuli kuljettaa... -I-

... br>It will be strange leaving Ruud as we've had a great time and have travelled very well together. He'll always have a couch to sleep on if he ever makes it to the US (or wherever home ends up being) and I hope to be able to visit him in Holland sometime...perhaps while visiting another friend who is about to move to Copenhagen. <br><br>Luckily other travellers had reset my expectations of Lhasa prior to my arrival. It's a larger and "more modern" city than I had originally ...