Tibet Post Lhasa

... inside another book (paranoia is a common ailment in this part of the world) and read about the land I had just left. An hour later I got up and left, furtively wiping tears from my cheeks and avoiding any eye contact with my companions, who I was momentarily struggling to disassociate from the homicidal actions of their ruling and only political party.

I returned the book to my friend, thanked him for inadvertently ruining my train journey and suggested we take ...

... at the airport we were met by a big line of people, who were slowly being let in. We joined the queue and when we reached the security guard he wanted to see our air ticket....we didn't have one of course, and had to blag our way in. It took a few minutes and he reluctantly let us past. Once in we had to find the desk, we were early so Air China hadn't set up yet. After a while, we asked for some assistance and we met the head Air China agent, who informed us ...

... and glaciers that reached down towards the road, past ambling herds of yak and sheep, the sky a consistent blue colour.
We reached Lhasa in the afternoon and were a little disappointed at how modern the town looked. It didn't have much of a Tibetan feel to it but we managed to find it but had to look bloody *********** our first full day we went to the famous and magnificent Potala Palace. The ...

... of food, yak butter for the lamps, they can chant prayers, use prayer wheel, perform pilgrimages, meditate (can use mantras) and mudras (hand gestures). The fifth Dalai Lama, Lozsang Gyatso, started the expansion of the Potala Palace in 1645. Today there are two main sections - the White Palace for political affairs (rebuilt in 1645) and the Red Palace for religious affairs (rebuilt in 1693). Today the Palace has 13 floors, 999 rooms (we can only see ...

Below in quotes is a copy of the e mail I sent to a half dozen fellow travelers who are interested in getting Travel Permits to Tibet. After the quoted e mail are some further comments on my trip to Lhasa. "Actually I arriaved in Lhasa noon Wed 14 Jan. Great flight. All went smoothly. But this was first opportunity to get on Internet. Sorry. Only one WARNING: the first 3 Star hotel I was taken to Xia Hua Hotel the room was freezing 12oC and never ...

... us hungry to see the magnificent peak. We took the overnight train, with sleeper seats and realised how important the permit was - we had to get it checked before we even got on the train. We also had to fill in a health declaration on the train because of the high altitude. It was a pretty straightforward journey, good views in the daylight and a pretty empty carriage meant it was a good nights sleep. Everyone was a little apprehensive about how the altitude ...

... personal freedom unheard of under the feudal theocracy of the dalai lamas. China is far from perfect and deserves honest scrutiny and criticism. To expect China not to act like a large and powerful country, however, and to throw stones from our glass house, proves nothing but our own ignorance. --- * KEVIN DELUCA is an associate professor of communications at the University of Utah and author of "Image Politics." http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_103590 98

... 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 ...

· Lhasa, Tibet, China · GMT + 8hrs · Altitude: 11,975ft (3,650 metres) 'The Roof of the World' 'The Roof of the World'. We're seeing that slogan a lot since we got here to Lhasa. That was Sunday evening. It's now Tuesday morning and yesterday was our first full day of acclimatising and taking in the sights and smells of what is a truly 'different' kind of city. It seems to have the same overcrowding and pollution that most ...