Lhasa

Lhasa, at one time must have been one of the most beautiful cities on Earth. It is still beautiful now, but it has obviously been raped by China. Despite being the capital of Tibet, the city feels Chinese. Every sign has three languages, giant Mandarin symbols, slightly smaller English, and tiny Tibetan. China has its mark on everything. The architecture is primarily Chinese. Worst of all are the platoons of Chinese soldiers armed with AK-47's everywhere, even in tiny alleys.

This said, Lhasa does have its charm. The Tibetan people are kind and always smiling. 360 degrees of mountains surround the city. Praying pilgrims and monks walk the streets like everyone else, doing the koras and spinning prayer wheels.

Dominating the town is the Potala palace, sitting atop the highest of the city center's hills. The inside is just as impressive, housing mazes of temples, stupas, and elaborately decorated rooms. Sadly, it feels like an empty shell, with the Dalai Lama gone. It doesn't seem like a giant museum like the Forbidden City; Potala still feels alive and holy, just empty, waiting for the Dalai Lama to return. you can tell the lamas had quite the power given the splendor of the compound. It is hard to escape the looming of the palace anywhere in the city.

Another of the highlights was the Sera Monestary, North of town. It is the second biggest monastery in Tibet and is set amongst towering hills. Every afternoon, the monks gather together to debate scripture. One monks sits, asking questions, while the other stands answering point by point. Every time the standing monk makes a point, he winds up his body, then throw its all into a big animated clap. The whole courtyard was symphony of yelling and clapping. This was the highlight of the city for me. Despite not being able to understand a single word, the debates were so engaging, I spent nearly an hour watching.

We wanted to do some hiking around the city, but our permits only allowed us to walk so far out o Lhasa. We broke the rules once and hiked slightly our of our permitted bounds. The views of Lhasa were great! Well worth the risk of whatever might have happened if we were caught.

After maybe two days there, I was ready to leave. Although the city was beautiful and generally peaceful, with the streets lined with people getting closer to nirvana, there was little more it could offer me. The excessive Chinese presence seemed so out of place, it was almost like a Chinese city in a foreign country. I was ready to see the landscape and the Himalayas.