We were picked up at the station by our guide Norbu and having read that the tourism market in Tibet is catered extensively towards the Chinese and thus the majority of guides are Chinese, equipped to provide a superficial Chinese friendly view of Tibet, we were extremely pleased to discover that Norbu was Tibetan. Norbu was odd, I'm still not made up my mind of what I thought of him. Norbu was the son of a very wealthy Tibetan family, indeed his dad was a key player in the building of the China-Tibet road, his only care seemed to be himself and making himself more money to buy new gadgets/an Australian girlfriend. He would take us into really expensive stores and push us to buy really expensive things whilst not concealing the fact that he would make a commission from what we buy. He also talked constantly about the tip that we were expected to give him at the end, how much other groups had given him, what he wanted to buy with it. He was largely apolitical, he had friends everywhere, in all of the stores he took us into, all of the restaurants he took us into and even the Chinese guards that were stationed all over the place. When he asked him about political issues he gave us a Chinese line answer (the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibet, he is allowed to come back in a spiritual context but not a political one). But he was also a lot of fun, he was young, loved to drink and smoke and was very corrupt, which made for a lot of very funny stories.
Norbu took us the first night to see the Potala Palace, which is kinda hard to miss. Sitting on top of a hill it is an enormous red and white palace that overlooks Lhasa. It used to be the home of the Dalai Lama and was built in the 5th century, it is now a museum filled, i am told, with religious relics. We opted not to go into it having heard negative reports all round and knowing the logistics of getting there were difficult, but that night we went to the public square opposite the palace to get a good view. It was kinda disturbing. There is a Chinese flag flying conspicuously atop the Potala and the square opposite is a monument to the Chinese takeover of Tibet complete with music, military displays and dancing fountains. It couldnt really be more symbolic. That was our first taste of the political tension that is covert but everywhere in Tibet.
Our second taste was a little more scary. On our third day in Lhasa we ditched Norbu for the morning in order to go back to the Jokhang. The Jokhang is the spiritual centre of Tibet, a fifth century temple that is still buzzing with life and fervour, it is still the most holy spot in Tibet and so pilgrims from all over the place come to pray at it and then make kora (three circles around a holy path) at the Barkhor surrounding it. Norbu took us there the day before and we were transfixed by it, the sights and smells were intoxicating and the people praying were just incredible to watch, all standing out the front of the Jokhang praying in an incredibly physical way with absolute dedication. But as happens when you are on a tour you are rushed through it all and Cathy and i decided we needed to go back to the Jokhang and just sit and take it all in.
We were also so awed by these pilgrims that we were desperate to interact with them, we wanted to give them something, Norbu suggested bottles of water. So we went that morning, armed with bottles of water, to the Jokhang. We were sitting out the front watching the pilgrims pray when an tiny old woman in colourful traditional dress came over to greet us. We offered her a bottle of water but she gestured instead to a packet of peanuts, we tried to give it to her but she wouldnt take it, instead she made us open the packet and have one each before she would take one and then she sat down with us and ate. After a while she reached for my hand, took off one of her silver rings and put it on my finger. I was overwhelmed, this woman, evidently not a wealthy women, who didnt even know my name had just given me a precious piece of jewellery taken from her own finger. I didnt know how to accept this gift and so took off one of my necklaces and gave it to her. At this moment everyone in the Jokhang started looking at us, all of the pilgrims, the monks and most importantly, the Chinese guards. Giving a pilgrim a gift breaks with the norms of tourist-tibetan interaction in a rather large way it would seem. A monk came over to sort out what was going on and somehow established that we had just exchanged gifts and hurriedly moved the lady on. After this the Tibetans stopped staring at us and indeed became quite taken with us, one man came over and started to show Cathy how to pray but the Chinese police never stopped watching us and were now starting to circle closely so we decided we needed to make a hasty exit. We then went and hid in a cafe and did some normal, approved tourist things, buying stuff and taking photos of pilgrims from a distance and so on, in order to wear off our fear of being watched.
We were also so awed by these pilgrims that we were desperate to interact with them, we wanted to give them something, Norbu suggested bottles of water. So we went that morning, armed with bottles of water, to the Jokhang. We were sitting out the front watching the pilgrims pray when an tiny old woman in colourful traditional dress came over to greet us. We offered her a bottle of water but she gestured instead to a packet of peanuts, we tried to give it to her but she wouldnt take it, instead she made us open the packet and have one each before she would take one and then she sat down with us and ate. After a while she reached for my hand, took off one of her silver rings and put it on my finger. I was overwhelmed, this woman, evidently not a wealthy women, who didnt even know my name had just given me a precious piece of jewellery taken from her own finger. I didnt know how to accept this gift and so took off one of my necklaces and gave it to her. At this moment everyone in the Jokhang started looking at us, all of the pilgrims, the monks and most importantly, the Chinese guards. Giving a pilgrim a gift breaks with the norms of tourist-tibetan interaction in a rather large way it would seem. A monk came over to sort out what was going on and somehow established that we had just exchanged gifts and hurriedly moved the lady on. After this the Tibetans stopped staring at us and indeed became quite taken with us, one man came over and started to show Cathy how to pray but the Chinese police never stopped watching us and were now starting to circle closely so we decided we needed to make a hasty exit. We then went and hid in a cafe and did some normal, approved tourist things, buying stuff and taking photos of pilgrims from a distance and so on, in order to wear off our fear of being watched.
This is the lady, I dont know how to rotate the picture.
I've just realised i have photos on this computer, i shall add some to accompany my tales. Hmm, they are taking a bit long. Maybe I'll do it another day
loving the stories jo! safe travels
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