Oct. 27- Jokhang Temple and Potala Palace

On Monday morning we had a 7:30 wake-up call. I was so out of it I couldn't figure out where the ringing was coming from. After I remembered that we were in Lhasa I thought it was my phone so I threw it on the floor but the ringing continued. I finally realized it was the hotel phone and answered it. I was kind of warm until I thrashed about looking for the source of the ringing and then I was freezing all over again. It took all of our willpower to get out of bed and get dressed for the day. I literally ran all over the room to try to generate a little body heat. We went to the hotel breakfast which was about the same as what we had on the Silk Road Trip. The two ladies who were monitoring the buffet were wrapped up in huge down quilts. I had peanuts and 2 steamed buns. We met Joe down in the lobby at 9 and he had brought me an old pair of shoes to wear so I wouldn't have to buy any. I was extremely grateful because it was 40 degrees and raining on our first day there. Mr. Huang said that at this time of year it never rains because it's very dry. Of course, on our first day there what does it do, it rains. Actually it was more like sleet than rain. We drove from the new section to the old section to see the Jokhang Temple. 

The atmosphere around that Temple is indescribable. There were monks sitting outside and chanting with circular tins in their hands and they kept pouring some kind of grain over it. Joe said it is a very common way of praying. In front of the temple there were dozens of Tibetans prostrating. They had pads underneath them and they would bend to their knees, stretch out on their stomach, come back to knees, stand up with their hands together, reach their hands to the sky, and then repeat it over and over again. The Jokhang Temple is the holiest temple for Buddhist Tibetans and Joe said that most consider their lives incomplete until they visit that Temple. He said that many prostrate for every step they take towards the temple no matte how far away they are. Many Tibetans die while trying to make the pilgrimage to Lhasa. When we were in the temple Joe pointed out that there were teeth in the wooden pillars. He said that if a Tibetan dies while making the pilgrimage their teeth are brought to the temple and put in the pillars so that their spirits finish the journey. Hearing this and looking around at all the Tibetans gathered in the temple, some of them so old that they had to be carried on another's back, I could feel the enormous power and spirituality surrounding that place. There were lines to enter each room and many people were holding their prayer wheels chanting "om mani padme hum," a Buddhist prayer. Others carried containers of yak butter to pour into the candle holders. As I thought about how far some of those people had come just to be able pray in that Temple I couldn't help but feel like an intruder. There we were sightseeing while the Tibetans were praying for spiritual fulfillment. In the middle of the temple we saw where the monks gather for their group prayers every day. They sit on cushions that are lined up in rows. The temple was lit by candles and was very cozy on the inside. The intense spirituality radiating from that place is, to say the very least, awesome. 

After the Temple, Joe led us down Barkor street that makes a semi-circle around Jokhang Temple. He told us that on our free day it would be a good place to come to for shopping. I made a mental list of many things that I wanted to buy and hoped I wouldn't exceed my spending limit! Once we made the loop around the street we got back in the van and headed to Potala Palace. We were dropped off in front to take some pictures and Joe told us that the Palace took 49 years to build and is 400 meters across. It was absolutely huge and just perked on the side of a mountain. Apparently only monks, wealthier citizens, and the Dalai Lama were allowed in the Temple when it was first built. We finished about one hour early before our designated tour time so Joe took us to a local shop to look around and have some tea. The tea was so good and burned my hands because they were so cold! Selina and I both bought paintings of mandalas that were painted by monks with mineral paints. Mandalas come to the monks during meditation and they do a little bit at a time as the vision comes to them. The more detail the painting has, the longer it takes to paint. Selina and I are almost twins but one thing we differ on is color preference. She was drawn to a bright colored mandala while I immediately went for a black background with gold and silver paint. The shop keeper told me that mine probably took over 2 months to paint because of all the detail. While they were wrapping our paintings we sat and talked to Joe and he asked what our names meant in English. Selina told him that her name means Goddess of the Moon and then he asked me what mine meant and the only definition that I've ever found says that Cody means pillow or cushion. He thought that was really funny and so did Selina and you have to admit it's a little absurd. After our purchases were wrapped we headed over to the Potala Palace for our tour.

As we made our ascent to the upper part of the palace it began to rain harder and the thin air made me feel severely out of shape. At least I like to blame it on the thin air :) When the Dalai Lama stays in Tibet he lives in the Palace but the current Dalai Lama is living in exile in India. Joe said that the Dalai Lamas that have lived in India live longer than the ones that live in Tibet because life is harder in Tibet. We rested towards the top while Joe got our tickets to enter the upper part of the Palace. As we sat there, a small dog with legs about 8 inches long came up the stairs and made it look like nothing. He stopped to look at us and kept climbing the steep stairs like they were a flat ramp. It was a real morale booster that a dog with 8 inch legs could go up the Palace easier than we could. The first room we entered was the Dalai Lama's office. The intricate detail that was involved with every aspect of that office is mind blowing. Every piece of furniture and every inch of wall was covered with complex carvings and pictures. I've never seen anything like it. We saw where the Dalai Lama meets with his advisors, where he does independent study, and where he sleeps. In the room where he does his study only the Dalai Lama is allowed to go. There was a huge rug on the floor of that room and it was amazing to think that only Dalai Lamas have stepped on it. Colors were also very prevalent not only in the Palace but everywhere in Lhasa. Colors are very important to Tibetans and each color symbolizes a part of the earth. Blue means sky, red is fire, yellow is earth, and green is plant. The monks wear the dark red and no on else is allowed to wear that color.

After the Dalai Lama's office we saw several tombs of past Dalai Lamas. The largest we saw was for the 5th Dalai Lama and it had over 3000 kilos of gold on it. After the 5th Dalai Lama died the government kept it from the people for 15 years because they wanted them to keep building the Palace. The 6th Dalai Lama stayed in his hometown during this period and was known for writing love poems and romances. He was looked down upon because thought he only cared about all of his girlfriends. I just thought that was an interesting piece of history for you :) After we finished going through all the rooms we walked down the back of the Palace. The wet and slippery steps made the going very slow but we all made it down without incident. Joe dropped us off for lunch and then we had the rest of the day to ourselves. We went to an internet cafe for an hour and then ran back to the hotel because we were so cold. We would have walked around more but the cold wet weather did not look appealing. While our room was not much warmer than outside at least it was dry. We found several Chinese soap operas on TV and found one that was very entertaining. It had a love triangle, a crazy old Chinese man with afro hair, and an evil kung fu guy who escaped from prison. We had fun inserting our own lines in place of the Chinese ones. As dinner time approached neither one of us wanted to get out of bed and go back outside so we ate Ritz crackers with peanut butter for dinner. We hoped that the rain would cease for our free day in Lhasa on Tuesday!