Tibet - People and Places

On Friday afternoon we arrived in Tibet, where apart from all the yaks (see Peter's post) we've been incredibly fortunate with our timing. This year the Chinese and Tibetan New Year coincided. Saturday was the last day of the Tibetan New Year festivities, and a very important day in Tibetan buddhism. We visited the Potala Palace that morning, and the Jokhang Temple in the afternoon. It's the low season for western tourists, and high season for pilgrims from all over Tibet. We were virtually the only westerners at the Potala Palace, seeing only three others among the masses, and definitely the only westerners in the crush of pilgrims at the Jokhang Temple. There are three important circuits for Tibetan pilgrims: through the Jokhang Temple, around the Jokhang, in the Barkhor circuit, and an eight kilometre circuit around Lhasa city. Each circuit - and every visit to any chapel or monastery - must be completed in a clockwise direction for good luck. Some pilgrims prostrate themselves with every step, travelling thousands of miles in this manner. Young and old, monks, city folk, and nomads, the sense of faith and devotion in the atmosphere was palpable.

Within each monastery there are thousands upon thousands of statues of various Buddhas. After several monasteries it becomes a bit like the oversaturating "Maddona and Bambino" effect in the churches and art museums of Italy. Buddha doesn't come in just one flavour, but in several important ones: past Buddha, present Buddha, future Buddha, Buddha of Longevity, Buddha of Compassion, and many subflavours. There are also important monks, Taras, characters who were close to Buddha, and various fierce protectors. Four monasteries later I am dreaming about the various buddhas...

The New Year pilgrimage brought many nomadic tribal folk to Lhasa, and I could spend a month here simply looking at and photographing the people. It seemed that for many of the out-of-towners I was one of the few blonde women they'd ever seen, so I attracted a lot of attention on the circuit, with many people smiling at me, saying hello (in Tibetan "tashi delak") or asking if I would take their photograph. One old lady insisted that I sit with her and her friends for a group shot :) The townsfolk are far more cool, though they will also smile and say hello if they catch your eye. The kids are especially funny, shouting "HELLO" as we pass, then the bashful ones hide behind their siblings as we turn. A few more proficient in English have come up to us and started asking canned questions like "what is your favourite animal, what is your favourite sport?" One little girl who spoke great English was astounded to see Peter's green eyes, thinking that all westerners had blue or black eyes.