Lhasa is known as a “Holy City” at the top of the world. The mysterious Lhasa attracts millions of tourists from all over the world each year. Some travel to Lhasa by train, some by air, some by car, some by bike, and some even on foot.
Today, let’s follow a foreign traveler to explore the mysterious Lhasa.
Lhasa in the morning
As Lhasa is located at elevation of 3650m, some travelers might suffer from altitude sickness. To adjust to the high altitude, experienced travelers always choose to spend their first day or two in their hotel lobby or room, watching the ancient and modern world outside.
However, the temperature rises with the sun coming out. The morning sky here is unbelievably clear and blue. While in the afternoon, floccus will appear mysteriously in the sky.
Close to the sky due to its high altitude, the sunshine here in the afternoon is burning. You can wear a T-shirt or coat cycling in the town and take clear and high-quality photos. Without the crowds of visitors in summer, the chilly corridors and sun-washed paths in the Potala Palace seems all belonging to you, and you don’t have to line up at suburban monasteries such as the Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery.
With a few pedestrians, you can watch the Tibetan Buddhist believers circling the Barkhor Street undisturbedly.
Lhasa at night fall
Though Lhasa’s night often requires people to wear heavy winter coats to keep warm, it’s still easy to stay warm in a variety of clubs, restaurants and cafés with fire pans.
In one cozy café, I met some young locals who took me to their home. There I saw lines of prayer flags between buildings blowing in the wind, making peace for everyone.
They led me to a house, where a thick curtain was hung on the door to defend the wind and keep the house warm. They showed me their living room equipped with lush carpets. There are butter tea, yak meat, potatos, carrots and mushroom stewed in pots on the oven that surrounded by benches with cushions. After eating up these food, you will feel warm from inside and out.
Like many Tibetan young people in Lhasa, my friends listen to Tibetan folk songs and Lhasa-style rock music with their iPods. Guitar solo and the Buddhist mantra "om mani padme hum" was also played in songs.
Lhasa's nightlife
On the Beijing Road, many young Tibetan girls dressed with riding boots, leather pants, braided hair and surgical masks to keep sand and dust off their faces. In all-night ballrooms, young people from various regions were attracted to relax and have fun there. Folk dances were also staged at night clubs and people can join in if they wish.
Monks in meditation
The highlight of my trip was a two-hour rickety bus trip up to the Ganden Monastery, located in Tagtse county of Lhasa and one of the six major monasteries of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Inside temples, buildings are painted in red and yellow. Meditative monks focused their attention on paintings drawn on the mandala. Then, they destroyed those paintings, symbolizing the fast decay of life.
I missed the last bus at 1 p.m. In order to go downhill before sunset, I decided to hurry up. But I suffered from the altitude sickness. The local people gave me a lift and drove me to Lhasa, they also told me to drink butter tea so that I could become warm.
Butter Tea
After drinking some butter tea, I didn't feel cold any more. At the same time, I found that Tibetans like the butter tea so much.
Yes, Tibetan people love butter tea very much. Butter tea for Tibetan people is just like coffee for westerners. You can see lots of local Tibetans sitting tea houses, drinking a cup of butter tea and chatting with friends. They are enjoying a low-paced life which is extremely different from the fast-paced life of metropolises.
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