Tibet Xiong Bala Hotel Lhasa

... temples. A 4wd drive then took us downtown past the massive Chinese built blocks of flats and official buildings along wide new roads eastwards to the more Tibettan side of Lhasa. The hotel we are staying at is called the Gannan and our room spacious and decorated in colourful painted Tibettan motifs on the ceiling and cornices. It has bathroom, tv, jug to boil water and enough warm blankets for the bed as we were warned it gets cold at night. The 3 flights of stairs left us panting ...

... barrier didn't seem to matter. Of course I did have my guide to translate, but I could tell that this was a truly loving family. The father gave us a tour of the home, while the women prepared dinner. It was all local food. At first I wasn't sure I liked it, but after a few bites, it really seemed to grow on me. We had what they call Tsamba. It is a kind of dough made from barley. They had it plain, but offered some sugar ...

... the largest in the palace with the throne of the Seventh Dalai Lama. Each of the pillars is wrapped in silk and the walls are covered with amazing murals.

I could blather on for hours about this revered place but there is only one way to experience it and that is to simply make the effort and go. You just could not be disappointed.

After lunch we travelled across Lhasa to the Jokhang Temple.

This is the Cathedral for Lhasa and is Tibet’s most sacred ...

Geschafft !

nach der Ankunft in Chengdu - mit dem Taxi zu Sim´s Cozy Garden Hostel. Dort sollte mein permit auf mich warten....
Der Typ an der Rezeption hat auch gleich so wissend getan und gemeint - alles schon arrangiert - um 10 ist Abfahrt zum Flughafen - dort bekomm ich mein permit.

Hat mich dann doch etwas stutzig gemacht, und hab nach dem Frühstück dann doch nochmal nachgefragt ( lernt man hier relativ rasch... ) .... und plötzlich wusste dann ...

... Lama in front of his throne at the back of the room. Behind the throne there were statues of Yellow Hats. There was also statues of the Longevity Triad Buddhas.

We walked through the park where people were having picnics among the trees. We walked past a lot of construction and a zoo.

We went to Jainsel Palace. It was built in 1922 by special builders, the Jainsel. In the middle of the room there were carriages that had been used by Dalai Lamas. One was ...

... Da anscheinend fast jeder ausser uns mit ihm unzufrieden war, wuerde es wohl nicht so gewaltig ausfallen. Wir haben uns dann alle fuer die Version, wir lassen einen Umschlag rumgehen und jeder tut was ein, entschieden. Nachdem Nax ja ausser Gefecht war, sass ich im Bus neben einer Daenin, die sich als der Umschlag bei ihr landete nochmal kraeftig ueber den Guide ausliess, mir erzaehlte wie schlecht sie ihn fand und dann 5 Yuan beisteuerte (etwa 0,60 Euro). Als der ...

... monastery on the way to Xigatse. This was a bit different from the other Monasteries we had visited as it was built during a period when the Mongol rulers of China (Qing dynasty) were protectors of the Tibetan Sakya order which in the 15th and 16th century was the predominant and most powerful Buddhist order. The Mongol court sent many Chinese workers who left their mark on the architecture with typical Chinese wood-ornamentation and green glazed roof tiles. The ...

... woman and she said yes, this is common. After a short wait our plane came in and we walked out to climb the stairs, but not until we had another security check. Most were seated on the left side of the plane. I had a Tibet woman beside me who started her prayers even before the doors closed. Once up and away we were treated to another spectacular view of clear skies ...

... western extension of the Gobi in China's Xinjiang province, and by reputation the fiercest desert on earth. It wasn't an idle reputation: 18 years before, I had spent a month in Xinjiang with a Danish woman, scouring archaeological sights. The heat, the electrified dust storms, the bad food and rough travel, the skin-cracking aridity, had been bearable only because I was blindly in love. In Uighur, the language of the Muslims here, Taklimakan means 'Go in, don't come out'. At dusk, out ...

... information we have with us. We've rested, we've eaten well, we've started taking aspirin (which is seemingly good for the blood at high altitudes) and we've, get this, drank only in moderation (although, whoops, last night we let our guard down a little). We're probably making too much out of this whole altitude sickness thing but hey, neither of us wants to get sick on the upcoming trip, and run the risk of ruining the trip for ...