The Road Across Tibet Photos - Lhasa to Gyantse

FINALLY!!! Photos form the trip from Lhasa to Kathmandu. There were over one thousand photos and we have selected about one quarter of them for your viewing pleasure....this is the first batch.

The day before we left we went over to the Jhokang to say our goodbyes to Lhasa - check out all that juniper smoke!


and we spotted this funny sign (we had seen the sign plenty of times but I guess we never really read it :)


The night before we left we said goodbye to our friends at the Danbala...ooo, the puppy!!!! :)


In the morning we packed the truck, met the guide...left the guide behind...and hit the road for Yam Drok Tso.


We were on the Friendship Highway!!!


We took the side road up a very long, but gorgeous pass to the view over Yam Drok Tso - lovely! When we were done looking we headed back down the pass and back to the highway. The ride up was making my legs burn, thinking about how it would have been to ride that monster!



The road between Yam Drok and Gyantse was under construction so we had to take an alternate route - beautiful, with it's views of villages and mountains, and also a bit adventurous when you have to take some off road shortcuts! :)




When we got into town we had time to have alook around before it was time for dinner. The following morning we got up early for the sunrise and then we went to see the Kumbum and the Gyantse monastery.

This is the typical monument that we have seen all across China and Tibet - the Chinese are definitely making their mark on Tibet.


This mural also struck me as more Chinese than Tibetan...though it is depicting snow leopards, something very important in Tibetan Buddhism.


Gyantse has 2 sides, like nearly all towns in Tibet. We walked from the Chinese side (where we were staying) to the older, more Tibetan, side of town that sits between the old fort and the monastery.






We saw lots of people around...


This woman was washing freshly shorn wool - beating it with sticks...


Many locals walk the kora...



What a cute puppy!!!! :)


More details from our walk through the village...Tibetan villages are so different!










After sunrise we headed back to the hotel and had some breakfast - A likes savory stuff for breakfast so she was eating thukpa, I like sweet stuff - my pancakes were long gone!!!!


This is the Gyantse fort. It was held by the British when Younghusband was marching to Lhasa in the early 20th century...not much happening there these days, though :)



Looking from the fort side you can see the spread of the monastery...all the dark red buildings, pretty much, plus the Kumbum.


At the entrance to the monastery are two rows of prayer wheels - you can spin them as you enter and as you leave :)


Just as you make your way in through the gates the Kumbum draws your attention!


You can see the scale of the Kumbum by checking out the people walking in front...


The famous eyes!


The building has many floors, each with a walkway around that level...



Not built exactly square, though :)


Those eyes are on all four sides, they are hard to escape :)



Hey, those are just like mine!!!


Inside the Kumbum there are lots of narrow stairways...


And lots of little rooms with statues and paintings covering their walls.


Some of the statues and paintings in the multitude of little rooms on each level....










There were many people paying homage to many of the different staues...leaving offerings, lighting yak buter lamps, etc.


After the Kumbum we headed into the assembly hall - the main building of any Buddhist monastery...




There were two huge sand mandalas in the assembly hall - gorgeous!!!!



Off the main room of the assembly hall was the protector chapel - a chapel dedicated to the protectors (a big part of Tibetan Buddhism)


There was a monk sitting in there reading scripture, chanting and occasionally beating the drum


The walls are covered with paintings depicting sky burials (the typical Tibetan burial - leaving the body for the vultures and other scavengers) and the protectors and there were lots of masks for ceremonies and festivals.