Dalai Lama Drama
AT AN ALTITUDE OF 11,995 ft (3,700 meters) Lhasa, Tibet is one of the highest cities in the world. The air contains half the oxygen found at sea level, making climbing around town exhausting.
For the past two weeks we had traversed the Tibetan Plateau north of the Himalaya from the Nepal border to the capital of Lhasa, stopping in Nyalam, Shigatse, and Gyangze on the way.
The Himalaya were always our guide.
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Crossing into Tibet from Nepal was a shit show. Pilgrims were doused in delouser by uncaring Chinese military border guards. As western tourists we were spared this humiliation. All bags were methodically searched, and camera memory cards were scanned. Imagery of a free Tibet, including the Tibetan flag, or the Dalai Lama were grounds for refusing entry into the country. A Lonely Planet guide on Tibet was pulled from a traveler’s bag and chucked into the garbage without pause.
This journal entry could get you kicked out of Tibet.
The Chinese government mandated that as foreigners we were only allowed to travel to the Tibet Autonomous Region, and permits were necessary, organized through a travel agency - which is not our usual traveling M.O.
Tibet claims it is an independent state under unlawful occupation, and China claims Tibet has been a part of China for more than 800 years. In recent history, China invaded Tibet over its natural resources and border with India, and has occupied it ever since.
Trouble between the two parties is rampant and drama is common; from monk suicides to the abduction of a 6-year-old declared the next Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama (in exile in India). In a diabolical move to silence dissenters, Beijing has been sending mass amounts of Chinese to settle Tibet to water down the indigenous population.
Once granted access to the ‘Roof of the World’ our group of 16 traveled everywhere together, by law. Had we strayed from our group we could have caused serious trouble for any Tibetans we may have met. Strict entry/exit regulations made our following trip to Phnom Penh a major headache, but that’s a story for another time.
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After a quiet night in Nyalam we headed northeast on National Road 318 to Shigatse and the Tashilhunpo Monastery, at 12,000 feet, one of the Great Four Holy Monasteries of Tibet. While two-thirds of the region’s holy buildings were destroyed in ‘incidents’ during China’s Cultural Revolution, Tashilhunpo was mostly spared.
On the road again we passed mile after mile of desolate, dusty landscapes with snow covered peaks in the distance. Rainbow prayer flags like confetti at every high pass. Typical Tibetan housing sat like beehives in the distance, imperfect white walls dirty with earth and crowned with black and red cornices.
Gyantse Dzong fortress built in 1365 - Gyangze, Tibet.
Gyantse Dzong, a sprawling fortress perched on a mountain top, was visible long before we arrived in Gyangze. The structure appeared to be growing straight out of the hillside and in places it was hard to discern the fortress walls from the land. The color scheme of the fortress mimicked homes throughout town, just on a larger, more grandiose scale.
View of Gyantse Dzong fortress and the town of Gyangze from Kumbum Monastery.
The real draw to Gyangze is Kumbum Monastery, built in 1427 AD. Inside the monastery walls, the air was thick with candle soot and the warm yak butter sculptures released a cloying scent that I had never smelled before crossing the border into Tibet.
Meaning ‘100,000 images’, the name ‘Kumbum’ is fitting for this monastery and its plethora of religious paintings, tapestries, and decorative lintels, and door surrounds.
Detail of Kumbum Monastery.
Tibet is not known for its nightlife or cafe culture, so our last overnight before the capital was spent doing our best to get a warm meal that was at least somewhat recognizable. Not saying we weren’t interested in something new, we just couldn’t read the menus, and couldn’t communicate with the restaurant owners, or the patrons, so we had to resort to pointing and nodding, which the locals found very entertaining.
The following morning we joined back up with our touring tribe and moved on. A stop to see a receding glacier (is there any other kind anymore?) and a stop to cuddle tiny, floofy goats at Yamdrok Tso, and we were Lhasa bound.
Just go ahead and leave me here. At Yamdrok Tso (Turquoise Lake), a sacred freshwater lake in the Tibetan tundra.
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Lhasa attracts tourists and religious pilgrims alike. The tourists are the ones taking photos of the pilgrims, prostrate on the ground before Jokhang Temple. Devout Buddhists come from miles away to circumambulate the 0.6 miles (1 km) around the temple. They drop to their knees, then lay their bodies out forward, stand again, take a few small steps, then repeat the sequence again and again, around the circumference of the temple.
Some pilgrims arrive in Lhasa via bus or car, but some travel miles by foot in this inch-worm fashion in an impressive show of piety. Keep that in mind next time you don’t feel like waking up early for church, temple, mosque, synagogue, etc.
Two days before we arrived in Lhasa, Chinese authorities closed the borders - entirely. We found out via text message from the U.S., and when we questioned our Tibetan guide he pleaded with us not to discuss the matter with him, one another, or anyone while inside of Tibet. Citing his love for his job and his desire to keep it as reason to drop the subject, we did so.
Additional texts gave us more pieces to the puzzle. Two monks had self-immolated in front of Jokhang Temple. China’s strict censorship of anything that goes in or out of Tibet meant our guide was not allowed to talk about this, nor could we read about it or watch it on television. We just pretended nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
Policemen wore fire extinguishers around Barkhor Square, and lighters and matches were confiscated at the barricades enclosing Jokhang Temple. It was all so surreal.
View of Barkhor Square and Potala Palace from Jokhang Temple.
When walking around anything venerated in Tibet you always keep the holy object to your right side, and as visitors we respectfully adhered to this custom (and so should you). Clockwise is key.
No matter where one stands in Lhasa, you’re in the shadow - figuratively, and often literally - of UNESCO World Heritage Site, and monstrous mansion on the hill, Potala Palace. Former chief residence of the Dalai Lama, the government converted it into a museum after the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India during the Tibetan uprising in 1959.
Potala Palace.
If you’re not acclimated to the altitude, climbing the stairs to Potala Palace is like running with your luggage to catch a flight and jumping on a down escalator. Progress is minimal, pauses to catch your breath are important.
About 1. 25 miles (2 km) north of Lhasa is Sera Monastery, one of the most important monasteries of Tibet. Founded in 1419, it is known for its monk debate sessions. With closely-cropped heads in their crimson red robes they argue Buddhist doctrines, increasing individual comprehension. These debates are filled with gestures, each with a different meaning, including clapping loudly to stress a point, and wrapping the upper robe around the waist. A colorful, noisy, spirited practice that can only be witnessed at this level at Sera Monastery.
Debating monks at Sera Monastery near Lhasa, Tibet.
With all this secrecy and, at its most extreme, cultural genocide, one might wonder if they should even travel to Tibet. Your Yuan will inevitably land in the pockets of the oppressors, but the Dalai Lama himself encourages visitors knowing they will spread the word when they return home.
Chinese authorities have begun promoting domestic tourism to Lhasa on a grand scale and plan to see ten million visitors by the year 2020. UNESCO is concerned about the potential destruction of the traditional cityscape that may come from the renovation of historic sites expected to accommodate the surge in tourism.
“The Place of Gods” may soon be rife with escalators, drive-throughs, and selfie sticks.
VERDICT: Mostly Harmless, as long as you’re not a Tibetan spiritual leader.
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LINKS:
Shigatse, Tibet: Second largest city in Tibet. Home of Tashilhunpo Monastery.
Gyangze, Tibet: Home of Kumbum Monastery.
Panchen Lama: Second most important spiritual figure in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama.
Dalai Lama: Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th Dalai Lama, and spiritual leader of Tibet. He was recognized as the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama when he was just 2-years-old. Currently in exile in India.
Tashilhunpo Monastery: Built in 1447, seat of the Panchen Lama, the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism.
China’s Cultural Revolution: Mao Zedong’s attempt to purge China of all things capitalist, to preserve Chinese Communism. Sociopolitical movement from 1966 to 1976.
Gyantse Dzong: 14th century fort in Gyangze, Tibet.
Kumbum Monastery: Built in 1560 AD by a local prince in Gyangze, Tibet. The present Dalai Lama studied and lived here. NOTE: There is an extra fee to take photos inside that is not included in the entry fee. Bring cash.
Yamdrok Tso: Sacred freshwater lake in Tibet.
Lhasa, Tibet: ‘The Place of the Gods’. Tibet’s capital city at an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet.
Jokhang Temple: Tibet’s capital city, Lhasa, is built around this temple which is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists as the most sacred temple in all of Tibet.
Potala Palace: The highest palace in the world. Built between 1643 and 1694, with more than 1,000 rooms. Chief residence of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa, Tibet. UNESCO World Heritage Site. NOTE: There is a quota of daily tours allowed. Your guide should reserve your time slot in advance during high season.
Sera Monastery: Home of the debating monks just north of Lhasa, Tibet.
