Spellbound
Trip Start
May 14, 2006
1
6
Trip End
May 23, 2006
Lhasa, TIBET,
China
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Our first day there we were shocked to find monks coming up to us and begging for money. We were told later that monks survive off of peoples charity - but even now itīs hard to beleive that the would beg with such aggressiveness. That said, there were a lot of monks sitting and chanting on the street - who were quick to smile rather then to hold out their hands for cash - so it was to these that we gave
Bakhor Square
. The Bakhor is wonderful - it is the area surrounding the Jokhang Temple - where streams of people walk clockwise around the temple chanting and praying while at the same time browsing in the shops. The whole of the Bakhor is filled with shops - a mixture of mostly souvenirs, religious items and food stuffs. Walking through the market areas you are assaulted by the smell of raw yak meat that has been sitting in the sun all day, itīs surface covered in flies. The fruit is obviously imported and each peice is dressed in a styrofoam jacket for protection. There are prayer flags everywhere you look.
There are no words that can describe the Jokhang Temple. We got there quite early in the morning and it was filled with locals involved in their daily rituals. The main temple was dark with a few red globes and yak butter candles for light. The yak butter candles have a smell like nothing I have ever smelled before - it is a very earthy, bovine smell. The main temple is cavernous and there are smaller temples leading off the main one such that it is turned into a prayer circuit. There are different sounds coming from all angles - the murmuring of prayers and shuffling of feet, the slow beat of a drum, the occasional clash of cymbals and some horns being blown from somewhere above
Front of Jokhang Temple
. The worshippers clutch bags of yak butter and handfuls of cash to use as offerings to the hundreds of statues in the temples. It is not possible to differentiate between rich and poor here, and even the smallest of children hold their hands in prayer or touch their foreheads to the gods.
It is difficult to describe this place in words - but I can say that I have never been anywhere as religiously intense as Jokhang Temple. If you are ever in this part of the world you shouldnīt miss it (but make sure you go in the early morning because in the afternoon they cater to tourists).
