rach*in*china: Tibet Part 2

DAY 4 - WEDNESDAY

Woke up at 5.30am, which is a shock to you as it was to me. We had an early breakfast (cup of tea) then a late breakfast (a boiled egg and some gruel), then met at 10.30am for our day in Lhasa. Our first stop was the Jokhang temple in the middle of the city. It was absolutely packed, inside and out. We couldn't take any photos inside, which was a shame because it was so beautiful. The inside of the temple was a maze of little rooms surrounding a massive statue of a Buddha. We were able to climb up some pretty risky stairs to the roof, which had a wonderful view of Lhasa, the Potala Palace and the mountains. Even though it was only one flight of stairs, we were all out of breath like we'd run a marathon.

We then walked around the markets surrounding the temple. We really had to be careful where we walked, otherwise we could unexpectedly step on someone praying. Yup, in the middle of the street. What they do is take three steps, mark their spot with a twig or something small, then lie completely down, get up and do it all over again. They do this all the way from their homes to the Potala Palace. We watched one chap for nearly 20 minutes, and he only traveled a few hundred metres. Dedication.

We ate lunch at our motel, then we were shipped off to a "medical institute" to be checked out. It was all Chinese medicine, and they claimed to be able to do amazing things like cure diabetes, insomnia, asthma; provided you buy months worth of pills and powders. And they diagnosed you by feeling your pulse and looking at the palms of your hands... Right. Needless to say, I'm a sceptic.

Next stop - Potala Palace! For a tourist attraction 3000 metres above sea level, you'd think they'd install an elevator or a chair-lift, but no cigar. It took us nearly an hour to climb the steps up to the palace, and then when we thought it was all over, there were more steps inside! On the way up, I was befriended by a Korean guy who couldn't speak Chinese, and could only say "Korea" and "Australia" in English. We 'cheers'-ed our water bottles a few times for good luck. Inside was incredible of course - so much gold and jewels. Seriously - they could just sell off their statues and become a First World nation. No photos again. The descent down was much nicer (isn't it always?). We then returned to the motel, attempted to eat a bit, then I went to bed. While I was out of it, Aisesin went to the hospital because she was feeling very lousy, and was pumped full of oxygen to fix her migraine.

Outside the Jokhang temple - Bajiaojie markets

The view from the roof of Jokhang temple

People praying outside Jokhang temple

The Potala Palace

Flags outside Potala

The view from Potala

Monks outside (the metal cylinders on the wall represent reincarnation - people walk past and spin them)

DAY 5 - THURSDAY

Up at 5am again with another headache. We Llft the motel bright and early to head to Nam Co, the highest lake in the world. Before we left though, we all stocked up on oxygen canisters because we were heading to over 5000m. The cans look just like large fly spray cans, with a mouthpiece on top. The drive to Nam Co was four hours, and I wanted to sleep, but I couldn't manage to fall asleep (again, very odd for me). We first drove to the look out point, which was called Lakenla in Tibetan, at 5190m altitude. It was so beautifully cold, there was even snow on the ground. I had no problems breathing, but I was in the vast minority. Two Korean girls in the group didn't listen to the tour guide when she said not to use too much oxygen at once, so they got high. Then one passed out, the other threw up. Serves them right. We then descended a tad and drove to Nam Co. Stretched the old legs, just managed to refrain from throwing up in the bathroom (because of the bathroom), hopped back on the bus and went for lunch (not so crash hot).

Our afternoon was pretty much uneventful - we visited Lhasa's power plant (whoo) which was in the middle of nowhere down a dirt road that wasn't well suited for tourist buses - our driver left the road so many times to avoid crater-like pot holes, and made me wish I had brought a pillow to sit on. We returned to our motel around dinner time, and I buggered off back to Bajiaojie to see if I could do a spot of shopping. Turns out I could, and I did. Caught a rickshaw doodad back to the motel, and slept...

There is one thing I have not yet mentioned. Thursday was the day of the toilet. Of all the shockers I have seen whilst in China, todays were by far the worst. And they're in order from almost gag-worthy to knock-out stuff...
4) The motel toilet - no water, and you can see straight down... strange,
3) Restaurant at lunch - just a hole, only one person throwing up outside,
2) Nam Co - no doors, and only knee high divisions, just a channel, and quite a few women throwing up outside,
and the winner is
1) Pit stop on the way up the mountain. The view was lovely, as the back wall was only waist height, and overlooked a river and a mountain, but everything else was horrible. Cloth door, dirt floors with two side-by-side channels dug in, we were sent in two at a time... AND we had to pay for the privilege. Marvelous stuff.