Thursday, December 27, 2007
Ganden Monastery, Tibet
It's a one to two hour drive through stunning landscapes to Ganden Monastery which lies 40 kilometres north-east of Lhasa. The views are postcard-pretty - turquoise rivers, Himalayan peaks and yellow-green autumnal trees. The drive up to the moanstery involves half an hour of switch-backing along a steep mountain road. The nun we have picked up along the way asks us to stop so she can be sick.
Ganden Monastery lies at 4500 metres on a hillside overlooking the dramatic Kyi-Chi Valley. It was the first Gelugpa monastery and has been the main seat of this order ever since. Founded in 1409 Ganden means 'joyous' in Tibetan. Of all the great monasteries it suffered the most at the hands of the Red Guards.
The chapels are similar to other monasteries. The most impressive thing about Ganden is it's stunning location. There are 360 degree views of the valley and the Himalayans. I feel I'm on the roof of the world.
Drepung Monastery, Tibet
Eight kilometres outside Lhasa lies Drepung, the city's other great Gelugpa monastery. Over 10,000 monks lived here before the Cultural Revolution and Chinese takeover in 1951, making it the largest monastery in Tibet and one of the largest in the world. Only 600 monks live here now.
The word Drepung means 'rice heap' and refers to the large number of white monastic buildings piled up on the hillside. The buildings containing chapels and meditation halls are connected by steep staircases or wooden ladders. It takes some effort to reach them. Inside are gold Buddhas, thangpas, scriptures and lacquered walls. Photography is allowed here but for a charge of about 20 Yuan for each chapel.
The huge scale of the monastery means it takes at least three to four hours to visit the main areas. A few nuns live around the monastery. Our guide takes us into the humble house of one of them. She has a photo of the Dalai Lama hidden under a veil.
Lhasa, Tibet
This evening I attend a cultural show at the Shangri La Restaurant with involves a number of short songs and traditional dances. The Yak dance alone is worth the 40 Yuan fee.
Norbulingka, Lhasa, Tibet
After lunch at the Yeti Cafe I decide to visit Norbulingka, the summer palace of the Dalai Lamas founded in 1755 by the Seventh Dalai Lama.
Norbulinga means 'jewel park' and is a sprawling complex of gardens and palaces which incorporates the New Summer Palace and the Palace of the Eighth Dalai Lama. I found none of the palaces particularly impressive, not least because many of the rooms are closed to the public, though a great effort has been made to maintain the gardens which are lovely and colourful.
Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet
The building is of such mammoth proportions it's difficult to know where you are. Climbing the labyrinthine staircases I emerge on the roof of the White Palace, which were the private rooms of the 13th and 14th Dalai Lamas.
Across the roof is the entrance to the 3rd floor of the Red Palace. I walk through a series of dark chapels which include the jewel-encrusted tombs of the Eighth and Ninth Dalai Lamas and glass showcases of Buddha images, mandalas, thrones and statues.
Descending to the second floor leads me to more temples. The first floor is closed but then the highlight for me is the Chapel of the Dalai Lamas Tombs on the ground floor. The room is dominated by the huge 12.6 metre-high chorten of the Fifth Dalai Lama (who built the Potala Palace) gilded with 3700kg of gold. On the left and right of him are two smaller chortens containing the Tenth and Twelfth Dalai Lamas, who both died as children.
It take me an hour and a half to walk through. By the end of my visit I'm feeling nauseous from the smell of the yak butter candles in every room.
Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet
Our guide had queued up for our entry tickets yesterday. We have a tight time slot so cannot dilly- dally. No photography is allowed inside the Palace and there are cameras in every room watching.
It's another steep climb to the entrance along wide steps. I'm out of breath by the time I reach the entrance. It's a place of massive proportions. There are 1000 rooms, although only 70-odd are open to the public.
It used to be the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas until the Dalai Lama was forced to flee. It now has no official purpose and is effectively a huge museum filled with groups of Chinese tourists, which is ironic considering they tried so hard to destroy it.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet
It's my third day in Lhasa and I still haven't adjusted to the altitude. I've been having crazy adrenalin-fuelled dreams (which continued throughout my whole time in Tibet) and nursing a constant headache.
Even so I don't want to miss out on Lhasa so I'm up at dawn to catch sunrise over the Potala Palace. Climbing a small stupa across the road for a charge of two Yuan I join a bunch of tripod-wielding Chinese camera enthusiasts jostling for the best angles. Sunrise isn't spectacular in the traditional sense as it's cloudy and dark but it gives the Palace a brooding, gothic feel as it looms over the city.
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