Now - photos from around Lhasa...

Here is one way to keep your toddler/baby out of trouble - bind them to your back. This is how many young children are transported in Tibet and it is not unusual for us to see the carrier reach around the back and check those split pants for any action :-)


Pedicabs are a great way to get around Lhasa but you have to work hard at bargaining for a decent price. Many of the pedicab cyclists wear copies of DC shoes which is quite amusing. As the pedicabs ride the streets the riders whistle or ring bells in order to keep people out of their way - they move pretty fast and sometimes have to break sharply, when this happens we hear the groan of metal upon metal.


We spotted this bicycle with two seat tubes. It looks like the owner may have wanted a longer wheelbase without adjusting the reach from the bars to the saddle :-)


The narrow streets of the Barkhor area...



Hauling goods through the narrow streets.


Shopfronts adjacent to the Jokhang monastery and on the kora circuit.


K writing postcards - needlessly inspired by a great view of the Jokhang opposite :-)


Looking down at the kora circuit of the Jokhang with monks, pilgrims and stalls in view.


In an act of unusual behaviour, I awoke early one morning to go and visit the Jokhang temple early in order to escape the large tourists groups. K did wake up and make me coffee...just before she went back to bed :-) Instead the Jokhang was overwhelmingly full of pilgrims who were devoutedly saying mantras. The atmosphere was amazing - there were hundreds of people queuing to see the Jowo Sakyamuni statue. Before entering the temple, many of the pilgrims would have circumnambulated the outside of the Jokhang complex three times, thus fulfilling one kora. I walked the kora also, watching the activities en route...

Pilgrims throwing juniper into the burners near the Jokhang.


The entire area around the Jokhang was filled with smoke, sometimes it stung my eyes and made them stream with water.


Yak butter lamps burning in the small hall in front of the Jokhang temple complex.


Pilgrims are able to buy/rent(?) a thermos filled with yak butter. The melted butter is poured onto lamps inside the temple as offerings (they have a large yak butter holder with many wicks stuck into it that people continually top up with yak butter from their flasks...and which a monk keeps neat and orderly by scraping the excess back into the mass of yak butter). Sorry...no photos of that as there are no photos allowed in the temple.


The various faces of pilgrims and people walking the kora: For many people, visiting the Jokhang is a lifetime ambition. Some people may have walked from afar in Tibet to get to Lhasa. It is possible to determine which region somebody comes from by looking at their dress - unfortunately I am not adept in this and cannot fill you in on the details, neverless, it is interesting to see the different types of people who come to Lhasa. Some of these people will have to beg for Yuan in order to be able to get the funds to return home again.

Many Tibetan women look so elegant and formal in their style of dress. In the background too you can see pilgrims prostrating.


Many men are also decorated with jewelry of carnellion and coral beads. You can see the thick smoke in the background of this photo too.


Many people walk the kora whilst muttering their mantras using prayer beads to count the number of mantras that they repeat. For most this is an automatic action and it is not unusual to see many people walking ther streets of Lhasa whilst fingering their prayer beads (much like a rosary).


There are also various size prayer wheels that people spin. The wheels are on the end of a handle and inside the main body is enclosed a paper coil of mantras, each spin of the prayer wheel is the equivalent of saying the mantras inside. Many people speak the mantras and spin the wheel at the same time for extra credit :-)


Nuns walking the kora.


People of all ages, with various degrees of fitness will circumnambulate the Jokhang, each has their own reason. Perhaps it is for prosperity, for strength for the next generation, for a good husband or wife, for longevity... It was interesting to watch and see the different faces.













K in the Danbala Bar with the Pekingnese pup which she cannot leave alone :-)


Thanks for reading :-)