Oct. 9, Lhasa Tibet

Greetings from Tibet! We've been here 3 days and leave Wed. AM on our 8-day land-cruiser voyage to Nepal.

We are at about 3400 meters according to Jeff's watch - 3700 according to the book. Lhasa is the holy city of Tibet and the home of the Dalai Lamas (all except the 14th which we can't discuss [there are Chinese police and video cameras everywhere]). The weather has been really sunny and warm during the day, but drops down to about 35 F at night.

The first day here we went to the Jokhang Temple which was constructed on what was thought to be the heart of the demoness that was keeping Buddhism from being spread during the 7th century. There was a lake there which the 33rd king ordered be filled in and the temple be constructed. This is Tibet's holiest shrine. We first got there and walked around the 3 story temple, and then at 6 PM the locals were allowed in for free and a huge line emerged. At 7 PM the monks started chanting which was neat to hear. After that we went to the worst Tibetan restaurant ever which gave Liz serious food poisoning! Night 1 was vomitting and diahrrea; day 2 couldn't eat, and night 2 a temperature of 100.2. Jeff was a sweetheart and nursed Liz back to health complete with holding her hair while she puked, rubbing her tummy, and getting more water in the middle of the night.

The next morning we had 2.5 hour Tibetan language course (initially meant to be 1 hour but we have some very zealous, nerdy group members trying to out do each other with their more complicated sentences that it took forever). Classically, right afterward we all resorted to "hello" and "how much" instead of "tashi delek"...

After the class we took a bus out to the Sera Monestery which is on the side of a mountain to hear the monks debate. That was quite entertaining and we got some good photos. The monks loved the attention. In a large courtyard there were a couple hundred monks paired off with one sitting on the ground asking a question and the other directly in front responding and then slapping his hand to emphasize the points. Sera Monestary was founded in 1419 and has about 600 monks who attend 3 different colleges. We skipped the group dinner as Liz was sick and got an early night.

Yesterday, we saw the Potola Palace, winter home of the Dalai Lamas. Apparently getting to see this is getting to be more difficult each year and next year the rates will be trippled to 300 yuan. We needed to inquire ahead, get a permit, show passports, they kept our passports, and can only see it in 1 hour. It is huge and multilevels - 13 stories! This is where Brad Pitt's 7 Years in Tibet was filmed. The building was started in 1645 during the reign of the 5th Dalai Lama and took over 50 years to complete. Many of the Dalai Lamas have been buried here. One of the shrines was made of 498 kg of solid gold plus thousands of jewels. It was 5 meters wide and 7 meters tall. Very impressive.

After Potola Palace we ate a small lunch, tried a pancake (thanks Dad for the tip), and went shopping at the Barkhor which is a kora (pilgrim circuit) that proceeds clockwise around the outside of the Jokhang Temple and is loaded with shops. Only these vendors must have litterally thought Jeff was Brad Pitt because they started asking prices at about 3 times what we would pay in the US. That was a little frustrating, but fortunately there isn't anything we need. Jeff does want a large horn that collapses down (Mom want to carry that back from Bangkok?). Ha! We will try to bargain again today as the Chinese Golden Week holiday ended yesterday so there may be less tourists to buy.

Speaking of Jeff looking like Brad Pitt, he has had Chinese women ask to take their photo with him at various places, and then yesterday two women told them they loved him and wanted to marry him and asked where his wife was! He immediately turned to grab Liz and said - she's right here.

Yesterday afternoon Brett, our guide, who by the way is excellent (he spent 10 months teaching English here in Lhasa and is very knowledgeable on the area and Buddhism) arranged for us to visit a hospital and meet with a Tibetan doctor. The doctor went over the medical tonkas (which are the religious paintings) and described how Buddhism, astrology, and medicine intertwine. He also mentioned that they still do blood letting and have 77 points for blood letting, and that rural doctors taste people's urine as a quick diagnostic test. They have the urine, pulse, and color of the tongue and eyes for dianostic tests. He also mentioned that they cure stuttering by rolling back the tongue in a metal vice and slicing it at the base which separates the vein in two and is a form of blood letting. He said the patients always say it works because if not, they do it again. Ha! Very primitive by our standards.

Today we visit a blind massage school, and then tomorrow is completely free. Several of us are going to try to hike up to the top of a nearby peak that is 5100 m. We'll see how we do. We probably won't have internet until we reach Kathmandu - although Brett keeps talking about some resort we'll be at for 2 days at the border which might. Love Liz and Jeff