Trip to Tibet: [Part Two] Potala Palace

Me and Jo.

April 27^th:

I woke up the next morning from the ringing of our hotel wake up call. We had to run down to catch the shuttle back to the airport.

I lost my appetite when the hotel provided us a gross, processed breakfast to go, but I had a great time chatting up with Jo, Tracy, and Leon on the bus. They were all so sweet and funny and I felt like it was a good sign that I met them. As the plane took forever to lift off, we all reminded each other to drink a bunch of water. None of us could afford to get altitude sickness and one way to stave it off is to stay hydrated. The air is “thinner” in Tibet so the slightest movement can make you out of breath and dizzy, as the brain adjusts to getting less oxygen to the brain. Nicknamed the "rooftop of the world," Tibet is the highest region on Earth.

Ready for liftoff!

I was a bit worried I would get sick, but I was reassured when at 12 PM, we finally landed in Lhasa. It was daytime so the view from my window seat was, to borrow a word from my friend Helen, “surreal.” 

Truly unbelievable still.

I grabbed my bag and hurled on my winter coat. (Guangzhou was 30 degrees warmer than Tibet at the time.) I exchanged contact information with my new friends and we parted ways. As soon as I walked out of the airport, I was on the lookout for a sign with my name, but was stopped by some taxi drivers. They asked if I needed a ride and when I said “no,” they said I was beautiful and asked if I could take a picture with them. I did and then finally saw my driver and tour guide. My driver’s name was Ngudup, who did not speak English, and my tour guide’s name was Gyantsen (pronounced “Gelsin”). Both had distinctively Tibetan features (wide cheekbones and beautiful, brown skin). We drove across the mountain range of massive mounds that jutted from the earth. I had never seen anything like it and told Gyantsen how my eyes could not believe what they were seeing.

We drove into Old Lhasa where we stopped at a Tibetan, whole-in-the-wall restaurant and I had some chai (“chang la mo” in Tibetan) and buckwheat noodles. It totally hit the spot. As we ate, I asked Gyantsen dozens of questions. He shared with me how when he was 9, his parents paid Nepalis to take him across the Chinese border. He eventually went on to live in India for 13 years and only came back a few years ago when the Dalai Lama asked Tibetans to return to their homeland. He also said he loved his freedoms in India but missed his family. Upon his return, the Chinese government took away his passport. He reminded me to be mindful of what I say in public because of the heavy police presence, but feel free to ask him questions otherwise.

We drove to my hotel where I would be spending two nights, passing the massive, Patola Palace along the way. I had 10 minutes to drop my things off to the hotel before going back down and meeting the two other people I would be traveling with. In the elevator, I ran into Marcello, who was from Chicago. We waited for Beverly who was from L.A. but currently living in Shanghai. I generally have a good judge of character and I could tell immediately, that we would all get along. I could not have imagined two more perfect people to have traveled with. Although both are just in their early 30s, they seem so much wiser beyond their years. It would turn out to be a major plus to travel with such positive-minded individuals.

Drepung Monastery

Me looking a hot mess at Drepung Monastery.

I had already missed the first site of the day but Gyantsen said I would see it later when we had time. We first went to Drepung Monastery. Walking up the steps to the monastery that spread across the mountains, I got incredibly winded. I was 3,000 meters above sea level so I reminded myself to take it easy. I have to admit that I knew little about Buddhism aside from what I learned in high school and what I saw when I went to the Taxila ruins in Pakistan a few years ago. Marcello and Beverly were quite knowledgeable from all of their past travels but Gyantsen informed us of the different symbols, murals, statues, stupas, and photos that filled the monastery. Like many Tibetan monasteries, it only housed a fraction of the monks it used to in the past and seemed nearly empty until tourists flocked in. I would learn tons abut Tibetan Buddhism from the several monasteries we visited along our trip. I find it to be a fascinating religion.

We then went back to the Explore Tibet office to take care of payments. We oddly had such a great time hanging out with the company, which seemed like a big family. I played ping pong and had this sweet goji berry soup that their cook informed us was good for women. He did not speak English so one of the other crew members had to translate. He offered Marcello another soup that he said was good for men and needed no translator to say it was “good for sperm.” We asked them many questions and Marcello was curious about the Tibetan flag, but they informed us that they could not talk about that. Throughout our trip, we would learn just how mindful we had to be with such sensitive subjects.

At this point my head was throbbing. We were dropped off at our hotel where Gyantsen gave me the oxygen machine in case my headache worsened. I told him I was familiar with them because my grandmother used one. Due to my flight delay, I lost the one extra day I had to adjust to the altitude. I was tired but was excited to get to know my new travel mates over dinner. We walked to Dunya Restaurant (yes, dunya as in “world”), which was co-owned by Tibetans and a Dutch expat family. Marcello described how he came to Tibet on a self-described “Eat. Pray. Love.” journey. I listened closely as he listed all that he learned on his eight months of traveling throughout Mexico, where he lived with his partner, and East Asia for the past four months. He said to not take things personally and always seek the source of other people’s actions. He also learned to never apologize and how to let go of things, especially the physical things he realized he did not really need. Beverly had done tons of traveling herself and encouraged me to travel more too. I only got a small taste of travel in China. I walked back to the hotel promising myself I would take their advice and do more.

April 28^th:

Before bed, I used the oxygen machine for 5 minutes but the headache quickly came back. I went to sleep and woke up the next morning relieved that I felt a hundred percent better. Our first stop was one of the highlights of any trip to Lhasa, Potala Palace. It sits on a small mountain, towering over the center of the city. It was the residency of the current Dalai Lama before he went into exile in India. It had the luck of not being destroyed after Chinese forces took over the city and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is truly massive and currently undergoing renovations, so parts of it are closed off to the public. 

Circling around the monastery were a mass of Tibetan pilgrims, with their prayer beads and prayer wheels in hand.  That only gives a false impression of the inside that is filled with hoards of Chinese tourists, that push and shove and even Beverly (who is generally calm) had to tell some people off. The palace was heavily guarded as well. One of the guards even stopped to tell Gyansten that my tour group looked “different than the others.” Marcello’s family is originally from Mexico and Beverly’s family is originally from Hong Kong, so I am sure we looked pretty odd. A few Tibetan pilgrims pushed through the crowds trying to make their rounds. This was odd as Gyantsen said that most Tibetans feel sorrow for what has happened there. I don’t think I would feel too happy either if one of Islam’s holiest sites was treated like Cinderalla’s castle. A new building next to the palace was filled with what were said to be gifts from various Chinese dynasties to Tibetan kings. The writings on the wall outlined how Tibetan-Chinese relations have always been strong throughout history. I do not doubt this, but it did not feel right. I have visited museums in Xi’an and even one in Shunde, and every one of them gave me that similar staged, phony feeling. China is an amazing country with a long, intriguing history but I don’t like the feeling of nationalist propaganda being shoved down my throat cus all of China’s history ain’t pretty. Across the street, the Chinese government installed a memorial to commemorate the 30^th anniversary of when they “liberated” Tibet. Marcello, called this “a slap in the face.”

A hike up the palace.

This place is massive! Its walls are thick and high, basically built like fort.

View from Potala Palace.

I couldn't ignore the photo op.

Outside Potala Palace.

We had dinner at the New Mandala Restaurant on the busy, Bahkor Street. The food was great and I highly recommend it if you are looking for Indian or Nepali food. As we ate, we could see the Chinese guards installed on rooftops who monitored the crowds with their binoculars. I wondered what they were trained to look for. After lunch, we discovered someone let the air out of one of our tires and broke the hood ornament. We were parked within a Chinese police compound and Gyantsen said this was unexpected but not uncommon. 

Yummy momos!

We then went to Sera Monastery absorbing more knowledge of Tibetan Buddhism, which rests at the center of traditional Tibetan life. Unfortunately Sera Monastery is basically a staged monastery. Some of the monks are real but many of them are paid to take part in the debates and chanting the monastery is known for. Looking at the rest of Lhasa, you could clearly see how Tibetan life has changed a lot in the past few years alone. In 2007, the Chinese government completed a railway line into Lhasa, an amazing engineering feat just in time for the Olympic games. Since then, many Han Chinese have moved in and commercialized the city. The flags outside most of their stores demonstrate their patriotism. Tourism has become a major source of income for the region too.

Within Sera Monastery. 

Monks chanting at Sera Monastery.

Many Chinese proclaim that the Chinese brought infrastructure into the underdeveloped region and freed Tibet from backwardness and feudalism in 1950. They explain how wealthy kings ruled over the land with harsh impunity and the rest of Tibetans lived in abject poverty. It is hard to fight how they see Tibetans as one of the many ethnic groups within diverse China. Many Westerners are not aware of this, but Tibetans were also a part of the forces that moved into the city to “liberate” their land and were even involved in the violent destruction of Buddhist landmarks. The 14^th Dalai Lama escaped from Tibet, fearing for his life. Many Westerners support the radical Tibetan activists today who argue for complete Tibetan autonomy. These radicals, of course, are not representative of the opinions of all Tibetans today. Still, many see the Chinese as having “invaded” their territory and resent the heavy-handed Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama, however, argues for a “middle way” where Tibetan autonomy is actually recognized, but within the state of China. Many Chinese people, however, consider him a trouble maker. His photos are not even permitted within the region.

Before my trip my student, Ivy, asked me why many Western people wanted Tibet to break away from China and why they all like the Dalai Lama. I told her not to generalize Western opinion like that because I did not place the Dalai Lama on this ultra-holy, god-like pedestal. I did not tell her though, how I still think the Dalai Lama had a lot of spiritual wisdom to offer and that I agreed with him on a middle approach only because Tibetan freedom now seems so improbable. This does not mean I support the Chinese government’s oppressive rule and handling of advocates for Tibetan freedom, nor the propaganda a lot of my students have been fed. My class kept telling me to be careful because Tibet is so dangerous. I joked with them saying the Chinese government tells them it is dangerous. They responded by telling me that the American government tells me it is safe. Honestly, they aren’t wrong as Han Chinese people have been brutally killed and businesses burned down by Tibetan advocates. Aside from that, Tibet is pretty safe.

That night I had trouble sleeping, a symptom of altitude sickness, and knew it would mean trouble for the next day.