Tsedang Hotel Lhasa

... couldn't justify condensing it any further. If nothing else, read about the Chinese occupation from 1950 onwards. Oh and get yourself a stiff drink!



A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIBET

The Tibetan people originated from the nomadic, warlike tribes known as the Qiang. The Yarlung kings unified much of central Tibet and extended it into central Asia,China, northern India and Pakistan.

It was through conquest and alliances that Buddhism made its appearance in the ...

... 27,000rupees). Izzy went first to the cash machine outside and came back 15minutes later in tears. The bloody atm would only let her take out 16,000rupees and he other card was rejected. I went and tried and successfully managed to get 27,000rupees out. Now for Izzy, I took her cards and dashed out taking a taxi back into Kathmandu to get money out for izzy, I was taken to the first atm...which of course refused her cards, so I jumped back in the taxi and ...

... That same day we went to Jokhang Temple. I was even getting templed out at this stage and getting blurrer eyes looking at hundreds of Buddas that looked a bit like Marg Simpson!!! We didn't stay here for very long.
We spent the rest of our time in Lhasa wandering the markets and the old part of town. The jewelry was great!!
We stayed in a class hotel which was nice since we were there for 4 nights ...

... We had to cross through a doorway, up more stairs and wait for our group. This Pasang bought our tickets and we now do not have to stick with the group. We entered the Eastern Courtyard (Dheyangshar) and saw women singing and banging sticks. It is something they do when grinding flour to pass the time and make the task seem easier. We entered the White Palace. There are three sets of stairs, the middle set is exclusively for the Dalai Lama. There ...

... version). And as a final insult, despite being in China, a replacement (cheapest) camera was to cost me almost 140 English pounds! Thankfully, despite sleeping badly, I had organized a private trip with others the next day, so my mind was taken off the previous day's events somewhat. I had originally wanted to visit Sera Monastery (2nd in greatness to Drepung), with around 5,000 monks at its height. Now reduced to several hundred, the famous debating was held in ...

... 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 ...

... more out of breath than usual! Sat Nov 8th - Lhasa Today we visited Jhokhang Temple & Bhakor Street/Square. It was an amazing time to visit, no tourists but hundreds of pilgrims, that swarm to Lhasa, and particularly this temple over the winter period. There was a mass of people queuing to get in, and moving around and many more posturing(?) outside. We felt a  little like we were intruding here but it seemed to be ok as long as way didn't get in the way ...

... it saying the service would commmence in September 2008. This is from China Daily: 'Five-star' train's launch hits the buffers (China Daily) XINING: The launch of a "five-star" tourist train service from Beijing to Tibet set for today has been indefinitely postponed, its operator announced on Saturday. A senior engineer of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Corporation (QTRC) said he had received no notice that the tourist train would begin running in ...

... one of the smelliest toilets in the world. Beyond that section, we moved through the Dalai Lama's colourful residences, and many rooms filled with Buddha statues. It also had many 'stupas' decorated with gems and precious metals in which various past Dalai Lamas were buried. There was a lot of incense and yak butter glazing the floors in sticky layers, and the building itself was built using a lot of yak materials. For lunch, we enjoyed some Indian and Tibetan foods ...

... Unsanitary slum? Due mainly to its isolation Lhasa has always stirred the imagination of those in the west and not much was know about the city in the west until the Brits arrived in 1904. A member of that British party commented, "If one approached within a league of Lhasa, saw the glittering domes of the Potala and turned back without entering the precincts one might still imagine an enchanted city. It was in fact an ...