The land of the smiling faces

It was a wonderful flight from Katmandu, beautifully clear and the mountains were absolutely just ‘right there,’ since we flew over them. Manoj, our tour leader said that he has flown this route over a dozen times and had never seen them this clear, so we were lucky indeed. Saw Everest, Lhotse and all the other big boys. Quite a thrill!!
We drove the two hours from the airport to Lhasa along the Brahmaputra river which runs over 1,800 miles through Tibet until it eventually dumps into the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. It reminded me of the Nile where in there was vegetation and arable land on either side of the river in a small band, and then nothing but desert stretching out to the mountains in both directions the further you got away from the river itself.
I knew that we were getting close to Lhasa as the distances between the villages became less. Eventually it was just one long stream of buildings, so I kept a keen eye and suddenly, there it was, the sight I had really come to see, the Potala palace, the home of the Dalai Lama when he lived in Lhasa. I have always been fascinated by pictures of the palace. It seemed such a remote and exotic place, and here I was seeing it with my own eyes. It was really reassuring to know that there are still magical places in the world for me. While I enjoy every place I visit, there are special places that hold special meaning for me. Red Square in Moscow was like that for me as well.
We got to the hotel about 5 p.m. and went for a walk and wow, what a contrast to Katmandu. People look you in the eye and smile, even before you do. Greet them with a hello in Tibetan and they positively beam. Little kids run up to you saying “Hallo,” and laugh and giggle when you say “Tasha delay,” (phonetic pronunciation). It was a continual parade of happy, friendly faces.
When we returned to the hotel, everybody who had been out said the same thing. How they felt the coldness and distance when walking in Katmandu, and how warm and accepted they felt here.
In fairness to the Nepalese, Kathleen said that she had been impressed by the friendliness of the Nepalese before, and I wondered if the political situation with the king taking absolute power and the Maoists being active just has people on edge and they’ve no time for frivolous encounters when lives are at stake in the country.
I asked Manoj about freedom of the press since the stories about the Maoists are very inflammatory, and he said that the papers were very controlled. Anybody who writes an uncomplimentary article or is critical of the situation just disappears. Again, cause for unsmiling faces.
So with that being said, I’ll not say anything critical about the Nepalese, but will just enjoy the wonderful Tibetan people.
After dinner, Carol had a crampy stomach and decided to stay in the room and take recovery time, and therefore, I went out for a walk after dark. I had asked Manoj if it was safe to walk and he assured me that it was. Getting off the main street there weren’t any lamps lighting the way and so it was dark indeed. In spite of this, I never felt safer, not even walking my own driveway. There were literally thousands of people out and again I was continually rewarded for my walk by the friendliness of the people. Most people keep their doors open to the street and I saw what looked like a huge chunk of butter inside a doorway. I stopped to look and the woman inside greeted me with a smile, invited me in and offered me tea. I continued on my way and a man making prayer flags hailed me inside to see him working. It wasn’t a sales pitch, he just smiled and kept working. Some men playing a dice game with a cup similar to bar dice but with really tiny dice invited me to sit and watch and play. And all of this in the course of a simple one hour walk.
Being at 11,780 feet to start our Tibetan adventure is a good primer. We have been to our ultimate altitude which is 17,500 feet before when we were in Peru, but we were 14 years younger, a somewhat easier task. But at any rate, to start here at about 12,000 and then work our way up is a good way to approach things. We will have four nights here in Lhasa and that should help us acclimate to the elevation. We had a little headache to start with, but that has gone away, and although we get short of breath, we’re having we’ve been walking up the stairs as some extra preparation. However, after visiting the Potala Palace today and climbing the approximately 14 stories to the top, we woozed out and took the elevator upon our return.
The visit to the palace was everything we had hoped it to be. It is such a magnificent edifice. I’ve seen pictures of it all my life and to walk up the stairs and enter was an absolute thrill. To see the Dalai Lama’s quarters, the room where the 17 point agreement was signed, and the various chapels was just awe inspiring. There are over 1,000 rooms to the two parts, and many are closed off to tourists. It’s a good thing, since we spent almost four hours there.
We walked around the Barkhor market place in the heart of old Lhasa and it too was great. Sunday is Buddha’s birthday, and tens of thousands of pilgrims are in town to celebrate. Most from the far reaches of Tibet, and almost all in their traditional regional dress, their everyday clothes, gave an insight to the many different aspects of Tibetan society. They all walk around the palace several times, no small feat since it’s more than a mile around each circuit. They go postrate in prayer 108 times when they are in from of the palace. No wonder there aren’t any fat Tibetans.
Another highlight of the day occurred when we were walking back to the hotel and passed a barber shop. I love to get haircuts in places that we visit and since I didn’t get Carol to cut it before we left, it seemed the natural thing to do. It was really fun. There was a young woman of about 25 finishing up a man’s hair and they had us sit down. Her husband appeared and so he washed my hair while she was finishing up the man. Add to the scene a 3 year old being tended to by a grandma and you have the scene. Younger sister appeared and was shocked to see a westerner in the barber chair. Carol took some video of the boy and grandma and really enjoyed just taking in the whole scene. The husband disappeared and when he returned, he had a camera and took pictures of his wife cutting my hair. We thought that this was an original experience for them. It was probably a real mind blower to cut a westerner’s hair. The haircut cost $3 and when we went to leave, dad wouldn’t have it. He had to have more pictures. There were pictures of the barber wife with Carol and me, pictures of Grandma, baby, Carol and Me, pictures of
Grandma, wife, wife’s sister, baby, Carol and me, and any other combination you could think of.
Then it was our turn, video of.... Well you get the idea. Everybody had a grand time, and I got a really good haircut in the bargain.
We walked down the street but were stopped again by a giant carding machine carding wool. Naturally Carol had to stop and watch, and then we went through the video thing again. Although we don’t mind at all, and they really laugh and giggle when we play the video back for them. The smiles of the people are so genuine and come so easily that even with the political situation of being taken over by the Chinese, these are irrepressible people. You see people laughing on the street just amongst themselves, men and women horse playing and laughing, and everybody just seeming to enjoy life.
Our original plan was to spend most of the trip in Nepal and about a week here in Tibet, mainly coming to Lhasa to see the Potala palace. But Carol had read a book by Tenzig Norgay’s son about his father and the conquest of Everest with Edmund Hillary, and really wanted to see Everest. We looked at lots of various programs for months and couldn’t decide which, and what, to do. Then a World Expeditions brochure came to the office and I brought it home for her to see. It was a company of which I had never heard, and we had never received any literature from them before the brochure appearing at the office one day last October.
Carol looked at all the programs and immediately became enamored with the trip we are now on. Given the political and social situation in Nepal, and how much we are enjoying Tibet with another 21 days to go, it was obviously the right decision. Another example of how our travel spirits take good care of us and lead us in the right direction, if we only let ourselves be open to what they are trying to show us
So, once again, everything is going swimmingly for us and we’re enjoying ourselves immensely. There’s lots more to talk about, but I want to get this off today. Hope to write again before we leave Lhasa.
Hope you are all well. Stay safe and we’ll be home all too soon.
Love to all,
Carol and Jim