Welcome to Lhasa.
Hope you have been having a fantastic time.
Very surprised to read that there is some sort of a mini-Disneyland as well as high end stores. I always thought Lhasa is a laid back and primitive place. I guess, it is getting a modern age make-over!
Tell us more about the Yak Hotel. Are you happy for the amenities you are getting for the price you are paying?
How is the food in the hotel or in the surrounding areas?
And is Wi-Fi connection decent?
Hope my questions are not totally stupid, I really have not read much about the area, but want to visit it someday, thus a deep interest.
Are you able to use Yuans or is there some other currency?
I am pretty sure the scenery is gorgeous, the air pure and excitement just to see the mountains around you.
Have a wonderful time, waiting for more travel experiences.

Most of the built-up area of current Lhasa is built by the Han Chinese, inhabited by the Han Chinese, which has little to do with Tibetans. So, it's just like another "medium-sized" Chinese city. It's only in and aroundthe old town and at the monasteries/temples where one see the real Tibetan Lhasa.

The OP is lucky to be staying at the Yak Hotel which IS in the old town area, though on the main thoroughfare. Just a few steps either way into the smaller streets and alleys and there are still plenty of Tibetan stuff around. If he had stayed further out, it would be much worse.

ileen,

Love the questions :) Will try to incorporate them and the answers into my postings where possible.

The Yak and all accommodations were included in the price of the tour although I did have to pay a single supplement. Wi-Fi worked great and the hotel in general was nice. However, the front rooms facing the main street were very very noisy from 24hr road construction and beeping horns :(

Food around hotel was decent but overpriced in tourist restaurants and quality not all that good. There are lots of local shops nearby and two large grocery stores with good prices and selections.

Isolated ATMs around town at banks only but no issue with Yuans. Just used ATM for cash and did not use credit cards.

More trip postings later...

Great! Thanks.

How disappointing to think that Lhasa has been so built up by the Chinese and that the old Tibetan areas are limited to only a small area.

DMBtraveler - what's your take on Lhasa now that you've spent time there? Is it different enough from China to make it worthwhile to visit?

DMB---Sorry to hear about the noise near the hotel. Hope it stops during the weekend so you can have a good rest.
Have you seen any western restaurants or are they basically Chinese, Tibetan, Indian etc.

How is the weather -- sunny and cool or just pleasant?

Are you planning to go on some hikes with the tour group. I dont have any training in mountain climbing, so can healthy, untrained tourists climb some small peaks or that is not possible.

Always interested in souvenirs--wondering if you have seen any neat stuff.
Also, it is summer time, do you see lots of good fresh fruit and vegetables, roadside vendors, stalls etc.

Hope you have an exciting day exploring the neighborhood. Waiting to hear more details. Have a pleasant day.

Polata Palace

After a night of sleep interrupted by jack hammers and beeping horns, I am up at 8 am for breakfast and my first shower in over three days.

Refreshed, I am still exhausted after climbing a set of stairs to the roof top restaurant. The lack of adjustment to the higher altitude in Lhasa becomes pronounced for me when I do any hint of activity that can be perceived as extraneous. Even a brisk walk can make you oxygen deprived at these altitudes.

With breakfast complete we meet in the hotel lobby for our first tour of a monastery in Tibet. It is an important one as Polata Palace is the former winter home of the Dali Lama who now lives in exile in India.

After clearing an airport type security check, we approach Polata Palace from the right front side and find ourselves going against the grain of traffic. In a clock wise direction the faithful as a part of their daily ritual are circling this holy shrine.

Prayer wheels are spun and prayers are muttered as this spiritual tradition is carried out. I watch up close something I had seen along the highway from the train a few days ago. A ritual is performed by a young man along the sidewalk and he is given money I guess for prayers and blessings.

Entrance to Polata Palace is not free and visitors are given an allotted entrance time. Entering the palace we are scanned through another security check point and reminded that photography is limited in certain areas.

The weather could not have been any nicer for our visit and the massive structure with its distinctive red and white colors seem to glow in the morning sun. Our tour will be a bit of a challenge as we will have to climb about thirteen stories of stairs. I am sure that not many of the locals here do this on a regular basis.

Knowing that this maybe a challenge for visitors there are rest benches along the steep set of stairs we must climb. We are encouraged to take our time and to make small baby steps as we begin our ascent. With a few stops to take in great views of Lhasa below us the walk uphill becomes manageable.

Unfortunately, we reach the area of the palace where pictures are not allowed but it is still cool to walk through and see all of the neat exhibits and Buddhist artwork. We do get to visit the area where the Dali Lama lived and see various tombs of the past Dali Lamas but not without climbing a lot more set of steep stairs and navigating narrow passages.

As with many Buddhist monuments the amount of gold used to build them is phenomenal. What is also surprising to me is the amount of money that is donated as offerings inside the monastery. While all of this is amazing to look at it gives me a different perspective of the life of monks and the operation of monasteries.

It is a real disappointment to me that I cannot take pictures especially when we are encouraged to purchase books that have pictures of everything we are looking at.

After about two hours of touring we begin our descent down thirteen stories which is certainly less painful than going up. Again the views of Lhasa below us is stunning with clear blue skies and towering snow capped mountains surrounding us.

For me, we pass an interesting item on the way downhill, a tree with money attached to it. Now I know that despite what my parents told me, money does grow on trees, at least in Lhasa. It is time for lunch then more touring around Lhasa.


Video: http://youtu.be/4aLPYu4Y6sE

dgunbug,

I think a visit to Tibet would be worthwhile only because it is a place that few outsiders get to visit.

However, I think a 3/4 day visit to Lhasa would be enough. In a weird way Lhasa was too modern for me and the restrictions being on an organized tour did not really suit my style of traveling.

In many ways once you have seen one monastery you have seen all of them. In my opinion there was only one of them that was really interesting and it was about US$50 if you wanted to take a picture of it's coolest exhibit :(

ileen,

There were restaurants advertising "Western Food" but I would say we were all interested in the local stuff. Near the hotel there is a large outdoor street market area with all kinds of goods for sale including fruits.

The weather was actually very nice during our stay. Cool in the mornings, sunny afternoons with rain showers in the mountains. The air was very dry and I often ended up with a bloody nose. Lining the inside with Chapstick (a tip from Kathy, a RN) helped :)

Unfortunately, no mountain hiking as the local mountain were actually far away. With the tourist restrictions here you probably would need a permit to visit them and I am not sure much hiking is done nearby.

The typical souvenir items are around but I am not much of a souvenir collector except pictures. However, I think it would have been cool to bring some yak cheese or butter home.

Looking forward to hearing about the Nepal portion of your trip. I was hoping to hear more enthusiasm regarding Lhasa. We also found the portions of china that we visited to be a bit disappointing as in each city/town, there was only a small preserved "old town". That's not to say that the trip was not fabulous...it just wasn't the very foreign.

So interesting!! Love your video. You did have great weather. I think only the very young and hardy could have climbed those stairs. Congratulations that you did. Your views of the mountains wonderful. Good to know that the people still make lots of offerings to the temples. The Chinese have not wiped out the people's beliefs. Also so many people with face masks. Is the air dirty??
Keep up the reports, when you can. This is a trip that I will not be able to do.

DMB--Thanks for the latest video. Looks like you are having fun seeing the palace. No Photos is disappointing, but I am sure the sights are etched in your mind!
Take care of your bloody nose!! Hope it does not continue throughout the trip.
Yak curry looks almost like chicken curry. Did you taste it? Does the meat taste different or you cant even tell what you are eating as the curry flavoring is usually powerful and appetizing.
Are you able to walk everywhere or sometimes you have to use the rickshaws?
Well, have another wonderful day and taste something new.

I visited Tibet for 3 weeks in 2010 and spent total of almost a week in Lhasa. I just wanted to add a point or two here.

Potala Palace was not and IS NOT an active Tibetan Monastery. Right now, it's more or less a museum run by the Chinese Government. As the OP mentioned, entrance is not free, and the vast majority of visitors to Potala Palace are NOT Tibetan. Instead they are mainly Chinese (ethnic Han or other groups) tourists from other provinces, and a few foreign tourists.

Tibetans DO make pilgrimage to Lhasa, of course, and one of the things they'll do is walk (and/or kneel and prostrate thing) clockwise around the mount that Potala Palace sits atop, but most won't go up to visit. And they certainly won't be offering RMB/Yuan there.

Pilgrims and local Tibetans mainly go to the major monasteries in the city, like the Jokhang. While tourists pay a modest fee to visit, Tibetans can go worship free of charge (though the line in the morning can be very long). What they do offer is yak butter, which they buy from vendors in the square outside the temples, and then they scoop the butter into butter lamps inside the temple.

Another interesting report DMB and it seem that a lot of people like this one!

As a Buddhist I must point out that what you wrote <i> "As with many Buddhist monuments the amount of gold used to build them is phenomenal." </I> is not true. I have never heard of any monastery or temple made out of gold and you probably misunderstood gold paint for real gold.

No shower for 3 days! Lucky you don't need to wash your hair :)

Elainee,

I did not think the air was dirty (polluted) mostly dusty from being dry and from a lot of construction around the city.

That part of Tibet is quite barren with not much vegetation. Therefore dusty.

It would be terrible if TIBET had major industrial pollution. Good to know it is "natural".

New Mandala Restaurant

From Polata Palace we are driven around the streets of Lhasa and then exit our mini van to walk a dusty path for lunch. Our first group lunch in Lhasa is at New Mandala Restaurant and although we have the option to dine on the roof top we decide to eat inside instead.

Interestingly, from our table we can see a group of police or military personnel stationed on a roof top across from us. They are probably keeping tabs on the streets and square below us or maybe just seeing what we will be ordering.

After breathing the dry and sometimes dusty air I cannot wait to coat my throat with a refreshing Coca Cola. Not surprising the Coke is served not quite cold and although I can tell a slight difference in taste from the ones back home, this one still does the trick.

Wanting to try some local flavor I order a yak curry set and naan bread. Although we are just a few steps from the kitchen my meal is served lukewarm. However, the portions are huge and in all honesty a “set” should and can be shared between two people.

On the train to Lhasa we passed a lot of grazing yaks and my first impression combined with seeing the harsh environment was that this was one tough animal. Sampling my curry dish my first impression was right. However, it did turn out to be a good exercise for my jaw without having to worry about running out of breath.

Another interesting thing about dining at New Mandala was the wait staff seemed indifferent to us being there. This did not really bother me and I pass it off as just them being uncomfortable to communicate with us because of our language and cultural differences.

Overall my lunch experience was okay but nothing to get too excited about. Nonetheless, I am recharged for some more touring around Lhasa.

rkkwan,

Thanks for posting and adding "good stuff" to the thread. You have filled in some of the things I should have mentioned and also confirmed some of my suspicions.

copinesp,

Thanks for joining in :)

My posting mentioned "monuments" not monasteries or temples built from gold. My reference to monuments in this case were many of the former Dali Lamas tombs that we were told are plated in gold. One tomb we are told used one thousand kilo of gold.

As in other postings, I am only sharing what was told to me and have no way to verify the truth of it. As before, I see no reason for a tour guide to purposefully be less than truthful. I am just not that cynical about people.

I would certainly hope there are not any monasteries or temples made of gold.

By the way, do you know what is done with all the money offered and collected in the monasteries?

We visited one where I was surprised to see about 3 or 4 monks sorting and packaging large sums of it on long tables. I would guess it goes to support the monasteries but I wonder how much of it goes to the government.