Guangchang Hotel Lhasa

... to the other side of the city. We walked down the steep ramp at the rear of the palace to the bottom finding the descent so much easier than the ascent. At the base of the palace devotees were circling the palace clockwise in devotion spinning their prayer wheels non-stop. What a fantastic visit and for me a realisation of a dream of over 20years to visit the Potala, so worth the wait this was. From here we took a short drive to Nobulinka the summer palace where the Dalai Lamas ...

... Tibet has made improvement on the life of the Tibetans on every sector. I reckon they just forgot to tell how many Tibetans died from starvation during Mao’s Great Leap Forward when the barley fields in Tibet were transformed to rice fields, what was insane provided the fact that rice doesn’t grow on these altitudes. The announcements also didn’t say what kind of a damage the Cultural Revolution caused in Tibet, where the culture and religion ...

... by proposing a plan to improve living conditions and freedoms, dropping taxes for two years and embarking on a program of extended personal freedoms.

The early 1980s saw the return of limited religious freedoms, but those who exercised their
religious freedoms did so at considerable risk. Talks aimed at bringing the Dalai Lama back broke down in 1983 and the Chinese decided that they did not want the Dalai Lama to return
after all. Around this time, Tibet was ...

My flight to Kathmandu, Nepal leaves at 10:40 so we leave for the airport at 8:00 am. The ride will be very quiet as my guide has just had a spasm because yesterday she gave me an evaluation form and I told her that I would not be filling it out prior to leaving Lhasa as I wanted to spend the rest of my time taking in whatever I could from Lhasa. Shortly after we leave the hotel she asks for the form and I told that I had told her yesterday ...

... The Chapel of the 9th Dalai Lama (Beloved Triple Worlds) has a statue of the 9th Dalai Lama and his tomb. It was built in 1815. Chapel of Kala Chakra (Solid Mandal of the Wheel of Time) or Dukhor Lhakang. It is a large gold model of a building that is 109 meters square. There are 734 statues around it. Thupwang Lhakang or the Chapel of Shakyamuni of Loving Kindness. It was the 7th Dalai Lama's living room. The Shakamuni Buddha (Guatama Buddha) lived ...

... and all is well. So when you book be absolutely clear about what is included and what is not. You might ask them to book you into the Mandala so no room heating problems. Plenty of rooms here. Other than that the service has been fine. It is a mystery just how the government beauracrasy-private travel agents work on this Permit thing but it seems to work. They did everything they said they would. So much could go wrong but so far all smooth. The ...

... was just as busy, but then you could climb to the  top and there were fantastic views from the rooftop - you could see the square, and beyond the mountains - just beautiful. After we walked to a smaller local temple, and got some lunch where I tried the sweet milk tea for the first time (which then became a favorite). The only sinister side was the number of military - stationed at every street corner, watching everything going on. The others were stopped from ...

... Hollywood devotees may be surprised at their idol's current positions. The Dalai Lama condemns abortion and homosexuality while accepting prostitution. For decades the Dalai Lama secured millions of dollars from the CIA and runs his government in exile like a monarch. Despite its shortcomings, Chinese rule has provided the Tibetan region with infrastructure and public schooling and provides Tibetans with widespread opportunities and a degree ...

... Day two: A tour of the Potala Palace and Sera Monastery. We started the day off with a big breakfast at the hotel, while a music video of Tibetan line dancing was being shown on a big screen for our morning entertainment; then, off to meet our tour guide and driver for a tour of the Potala Palace. The Potala Palace is a large complex with a smaller red section up on top of the larger white section. The red section was the Dalai Lama's residence and the fact that the red ...

oh my god, so i just typed out this entire thing, and then the computer turned itself off and deleted everything. so cranky. so i am still in lhasa, just hanging around becuase tibet has pretty much shut down for tibetan new year. there are no public buses for a week, so lhasa it is. which is fine, because there is plenty to do here. yesterday we hired bikes from the hostel and rode out to the dalai lama's summer palace, norbulinka. it is ...