Seeing the Sights in Lhasa

I didn't really have much time to check out Lhasa when I first arrived, what with leaving for Mt. Everest a day and a half later. So once we got back, I thought I'd check out the main sights. The two major attractions here are the Jokhang Temple (one of the main spiritual centers of Tibet) and the Potala Palace (where the Dalai Lamas live, when not in exile). The actual temple bit of the Jokhang is only open in the morning, so I went there first. Once you enter into the temple complex, there is an outer courtyard that surrounds the temple itself. In this courtyard is a path of prayer wheels that circle the temple. It was a pretty amazing scene - there were hundreds of pilgrims bustling through, spinning the wheels, burning incense, fingering prayer beads, and chanting under their breath. Then I got in line to wait to go into the temple. I was wondering why I was the only tourist there (Western or Chinese); I was half-expecting to have somebody call me out of line and tell me I was doing something sacriligious by standing there with all the actual Buddhists. Later I found out that I was in the pilgrim line - most tourists just pay a 70 yuan entrance fee to cut the line and go straight in. As it was, I was happy to spend forty-five minutes surrounded by people who had travelled for days or weeks to get there.

The inside of the Jokhang was just as bustling. The main area of the inner sanctum had several huge statues - two of Guru Rimpoche (the guy who helped Buddhism gain a foothold in Tibet), three Future Buddha statues, and one statue of the Bodhisattva of Compassion (the Dalai Lama is supposed to be a reincarnation of him). Around the big statues were dozens of little chapels with other deities and historical figures in them. What was more interesting to me than the statues and paintings (eventually all the gold statues of a deity/bodhisattva/historical figure in meditation start to look a bit similar) were the crowds of people. The place was packed with people shoving one mao (10 cents of a yuan) notes into cracks along the wall, burning incense, and adding yak butter to the big vats of candles in front of every statue. It was a really impressive scene to witness.

Afterwards, I also climbed up to the upper levels of the outer temple complex to go explore. There were some good views from up there and I stumbled across a couple of friendly monks who were washing off some small buddha statues. It was really a great morning.


[1 - Glad to be back in Lhasa: an alleyway near the Oh Dan guesthouse; 2 - Pilgrims prostrating themselves in clouds of incense at the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa]


[3 - Pilgrims inside the Jokhang, 4 - Prayer wheel path inside the Jokhang]

The Potala Palace was an entirely different sort of experience. Even getting in was a big hassle. First of all, you're supposed to show up the day before at 3pm to wait in line for two hours and get a sheet of paper saying you were there. Then you are supposed to show up the next day at 7:30am to wait in line for the ticket office to open at 8am so that you can give them your little "I waited in line for two hours" sheet, passport, and 100 yuan to buy a ticket. Then, finally, you are allowed to go in. I skipped the whole wait in line the day before thing, and managed to BS my way into getting a ticket at 8am. But that still meant that I had to haul my butt over there at 8am, even though I wasn't planning on going until the afternoon.

Overall, the Potala had some interesting rooms and chapels, but it was a stark contrast to the Jokhang. Instead of earnest pilgrims, the Potala was filled with huge Chinese tour groups. It was cool to see where many of the Dalai Lamas studied, meditated, and prayed (and even some of their tombs), but it was hard to really get into the place when I kept hearing nasal Chinese tour leaders screeching out explanations over their megaphones. When asking for directions I managed to pick up a Chinese security guard who then led me through the rest of the palace and explained everything to me in Chinese. I didn't really catch most of what he was saying - probably because words like jade, pearls, reincarnation, and Bodhisattva of Compassion are not really in my Chinese vocabulary. In then end I came away from the place glad that I had seen it, but without the same excited and happy feeling that I had when leaving the Jokhang that morning.


[1 - My escort/guide through the palace, 2 - The Potala Palace]

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