Tibet, the Roof of the World

August 2014:

Our recent trek to Tibet, a once in a lifetime trip to the “roof of the world”, was an extremely fascinating, yet raw, spiritual and nature-filled experience.

Lhasa is easily one of the most complex cities, both physically and mentally, that we have ever traveled to.  As hard as it is to get there (required to have a special permit, and you have to travel with a guide), we feel so lucky to have been able to get a peek into the lives and history of the Tibetans.

For starters, the altitude is no joke.  At 13,000 feet, no one is out of reach from the hands of the ugly monster known as altitude sickness.  Grant did his research, and had us in preparation mode a week before we arrived though…natural vitamins, loads of advil, and endless amounts of water! I’m happy to report that it worked!  Even after three days there, we could still feel the effects of the altitude on our bodies, but we didn’t get sick!  Yay!

This is a portion of the water we consumed over 3 days haha

The Tibetans and Chinese have quite the history, dating back to the Cultural Revolution of the 1950’s, when the Chinese invaded the land and took control.  The Chinese claim their take-over liberated over one million Tibetans from feudal serfdom.  They claim that before they took control, Tibet was a place of poverty and feudal exploitation…they’ve since brought roads, schools, hospitals, airports, factories and rising incomes into the land.  The Tibetans though, can’t forgive the Chinese for the destruction during the take-over (hundreds of monasteries and shrines), the restrictions on religious expression, the continued heavy military presence (everywhere!), and, most evident, their second-class status in their own land.  And of course, you have the issue of the Dalai Lama living in exile in India….to reiterate, extremely complex.  The unspoken tension could easily be felt.

Our sightseeing began at the beautiful Norbulingka grounds – the former summer residence of the Dalai Lama.

Next up, the highlight of the trip, Potala Palace!  Once the seat of the Tibetan government and the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas, it towers over the city of Lhasa below, while being surrounded by the dramatic mountain range of the Himalayas.  A magnificent white and maroon sight!

Simply put, it’s massive - at 13 stories, containing over a thousand rooms.  Alongside hundreds of nomad pilgrims, we walked the hallways once inhabited by the Dalai Lama, and stood in constant awe as we gazed at thousands of statues and stupas in the chapels and prayer halls of the Palace.

Afterwards, we made our way to the 1300-year-old Jokhang Temple, considered the spiritual heart of Tibet; Pilgrims can be seen prostrating themselves as they circulate around the Temple, through the Barkhor.

 

To end the day, our guide treated us to a proper, traditional Tibetan meal.  It did not disappoint!  To survive at such a high altitude, you have to eat pretty hearty meals:  yak meat, potatoes, dumplings, vegetables and vegetable soup, and tsampa (porridge of roasted barley flour).  Side note – not much can grow at this altitude, except barley, which as a result is a Tibetan staple.

Our second day of sightseeing began at the beautiful and remote Drepung Monastery, the largest monastery in the world, with around 7,000 resident monks at its peak.  Today, only around 600 monks reside here.  Its main purpose today is as a prestigious University for monks, who study here for years.

As I’m typing this, I’m reminded of the scents of incense and yak butter that followed us around the city from site to site.  Butter lamps could be found in the Palaces, Temples, and Monasteries – the burning yak butter represents the illumination of wisdom, and helps focus the mind and aid meditation.  Pilgrims wandering from room to room would pour small amounts of melted yak butter into the lamps, as an offering.

Sera Monastery, another working University, also has around 600 monks in residence.  Here, we were lucky enough to see a handful of the monks in action, debating (aka quizzing each other).  The monks standing have passed their exams, and are quizzing the seated monks, who have yet to pass.  They were very animated, attracting a lot of attention!

It’s still hard to believe that we were there.  And it’s hard to process everything we saw, heard, experienced, etc.,…a truly unforgettable trip to the roof of the world.  The Tibetans are extremely religious people, often selling everything they have to make it to the holy land of Lhasa.  Imagine giving up all of your worldly possessions, in order to just “be” in your most holy of places.  You can’t help but think about your own life, and wonder, what would I do with my life, money and possessions aside.  Talk about a whole new perspective on life.  With this though, comes an extreme amount of poverty, which was evident throughout the city, and very hard to swallow.

I’ll leave you with a morbid, yet insightful and interesting fact  that our guide shared with us on our last day (you’ll understand why that’s important).  She was explaining to us the funeral rituals of the Tibetans…stupa burial (reserved for the Dalai Lama – corpse put into the stupa and preserved for worshiping), sky burial (simply put, the corpse is devoured by vultures), cremation (reserved for high monks and aristocrats), and lastly, water burial.  Children under the age of 8 and those with a low social status are thrown into the river, left for the fish to eat.  So, if you ever find yourself in Tibet…be warned, NEVER order the fish at a restaurant!  Thankfully, we had nothing but meat during our time there!

Being serenaded on our first night in Lhasa

 Crowded streets of Lhasa

Cheers!  Last night in Lhasa