DAY 4 FEB 9 TIBET- ROOF OF THE WORLD

Ah arrival- beautiful blue sky's and crisp weather.  After several military and police checks on the way to the hotel- say what????  You heard me- having to show the passports and our "papers" over and over again.  I asked the guide- WAZUP?  "Since 2008 this is how it has been".  Evidently, the Chinese moved in a major military and police presence to keep a lid on any ideas of liberation...or was that immolation.  It was a rather creepy site from the touristy point of view...well alrighty then- on to the the St. Regis already- all 3 of us in need of a delousing.  Why is Buddha Bubba turning grey??

ST. REGIS HOTEL

We check in -a very very cool place.  "Seems like we are the only people here", I say to Edward, the Dutch Manager who greets us.  "Oh no, there are a few others and please don't take a shower your first day here- too stressful on the system".  Are ya kidding Dutch!  We are sure we have coodies and I am thinking  you don't want them in your joint.  And he was right about a few others being here- 4 of them- in this huge place.  Wondering why....

 So it was Eloise at the Plaza-  what a difference a day makes.....as Pleepita pointed out this is more like it Mom!  He so enjoyed ordering the poor butler around and around

 Buddha Bubba, on the ride from the airport, turned grey and now  is as white as a sheet and proceeds to get dizzy, nauseous and faint...oh no, altitude sickness????  Very common over here.  Our oh so smart traveling companion, Annie, prepared by taking the altitude sickness pills to acclimate the bod for this elevation of over 12,000 feet.  Further she noted, " due to the lack of vegatation and those cold winds the air decreases by 50% at this time of the year."   Ayia yia yia yia.  So here comes the hotel doctor- yes available 24 hrs a day.  Took him 5 mins to get to the room with "mountain medicine" and a large tank of oxygen.  Ok Bubs sleep it off.  We're going touring...and Annie looked at me in disbelief...you're going to leave Buddha Bubba here?  Oh don't worry Annie- Pleepita and Buddhist Butler Boy  will stay with here to keep an eye on the Bubs.



Friday our guide explains a bit about the Buddhist artifacts displayed in the hotel entry way. We're outta here.  We need to catch up from missing that first day of touring.....

YAK ON THE GROUND FOR MORE FLAVOR

YAK CHEESE

And the weather turned...from blue sky to a windy dust bowl with temp dropping.  Now we see, taste (those masks are making sense) and feel why that plane couldn't land yesterday...so on to an authentic lunch with our darling guide "Friday".  Yes they told us no alcohol as that makes for altitude problems.  Honey, after those plane rides and 5 star nightmare hotel if I don't have a glass of something YOU WILL HAVE ATTITUDE PROBLEMS.  Thanks Annie for taking the lead on this one and ordering those jumbo MOUNT EVEREST beers for us at lunch.  So well "paired" with my Yak steak.  Yes Yak.  It was delicious!  Who knew from Yak...a stroll through the market oh so YAKITY YAK...

WONDER IF THEY WILL SHIP?

YES I'LL HAVE SOME OF THE TONGUE

Bocahita tries to convince the Tibetan that surely there is a way to ship this stuff as her Bubs is an excellent grillmaster and she is sure no one in Boca has had a Yak BBQ.  No shipping?  Ok well how about a special YAK SUITCASE?  Oh if Buddha Bubs wasn't conked out at the hotel he could be helping Bocahita buy some Yak and figuring out how to wrap up in his underwear in hide in his carry on...of course it would last at it sits out on the street for days- duh.  No beef over here just that oh so delicious Yak...Yak milk, Yak tea, Yak cheese,  Yak curry, Yak candles, Yake lamps, Yake cream for your face- La Mer has nothing on this stuff-oh yes Bocahita must have some!  "No Yak attack allowed enjoy while here", convinced Friday.  Hmmm thought Bocahita- wonder if they have some Yak wine???



THE BARKHOR
Lhasa's liveliest neighborhood bustles with Pilgrims, locals and hey where are the tourists??


Now we were ready to walk over to the Temple...hey Friday what are all the Police and Military doing here- every 10 feet marching around in packs??  Watching the Monks and Pilgrims circling the Temples?






 Per Friday, "Yes Bocahita that is exactly correct.  I guess they want to remind us of who is in charge.  Since uprising in 2008 it has been like this".  OMG.  They all look Chinese.  "Yes the majority are with a few Tibetans thrown in for PR".  But Friday this doesn't make for a tourist friendly experience?  Is their presence here due to those self- immolation's going on by your Monks I have reading about recently?  "What?"  You know the Buddhist Tibetan Monks lighting themselves on fire to protest heightened government repression of Tibetan Buddhist monastic activities and that ever growing desperation over Tibetan political and cultural autonomy?  Hello, Friday don't you see this stuff on the NEWS?  "No, but we hear some things by word of mouth".  And sure enough while we were watching BBC news at the hotel and hearing about the most recent self- immolation's of the past two days the screen went black for the next 1 min.  How's that for some BUDDHIST INCENSE-ORING.......time to check out temple.

Watching the Pilgrims taking a "KORA" around the Jokhang Temple was fascinating- dressed in native garb, carrying pray wheels, pray ropes.  And a whole lot of PROSTRATIONS going on...

The Tibetans were preparing for Tibetan New Year-their biggest holiday of the year.  Pilgrims, Pilgrims everywhere.

The local "prostrator" tries to convince Annie that her Yoga downward dog is nothing compared to the up and down and sliding around on the ground....
Of course shivering in the wind we figured out why the "tourist" season is in the summer so again we had the place to ourselves.  Conversely making our visit very much a part of the local lifestyle (well, other than the St. Regis)- what an incredible experience.

Bocahita was on the hunt for an "authentic" prayer wheel as a remembrance of Tibet.  And Friday knows just the place to get one....her fiance happens to work right around the corner at a high quality shop.  Oh my, what a coinky dink Friday.  And yes the Tibetan hottie made the sale....shhh don't tell Buddha Bubba as it was quite heavy and of course he would have said "we don't need another damn thing to put into storage HONEY!".  And by divine intervention he is in the bed....

AND A LITTLE BACKGROUND ABOUT THIS MOST FASCINATING PLACE...

Tibet's reputation as a land of exotic mystery is due to centuries of geographic isolation and it's unique culture- based on Buddhism and also influenced by Bon (an older shamanistic faith).  And let's not forget in 1950 China marched into Tibet and annexed the country-anybody see Brad Pitt's movie 7 Years?   The Tibetan Plateau stretches across 463,323 square miles with a population of 2.8 million.  Bordered by the Himalayas- a mere 14 million years old are the youngest mountains on earth and the highest!  70 peaks reaching elevations of 23,00 ft including Mt. Everest the world's highest at 29,029 ft.  Oh now I get why they call it "Land of the Snows."

In spite of the Chinese "occupation" Tibet still clings strongly to its cultural heritage- most visible in the revitalized monasteries.  Since the introduction of Buddhism in the 7th century the religion has permeated all aspects of Tibetan Life- with monasteries acting as palaces, administrative centers and schools.

In the 13th century, Tibet submitted to the all-conquering Mongols (more about that latter- Bochahita and Bubs have been invited on an Orthodox Mission to Mongolia latter this year-oy!) appointed the early on lama as Tibet's ruler.  His disciples became the Dali Lams and rulers of Tibet for 500 years.  Each new Dali Lama is seen as a reincarnation of the previous one.  Hence the "liberation" of the territory by the Chines in 1950.  Out the door ran the Dali Lama we know today- fleeing in 1959 to India where he head up the Tibetan Government in Exile,...until recently.This past year he resigned as the leader of the exiled government (Dharamsala, India is their hangout) and handed the reins over to Lobsang Sangay and for the past 15 years a researcher at Harvard.  Go figure.
The Chinese were po'd over Obama's meeting last year at the White House with the Dali Lama....imagine that- Obama interfering in another countries internal affairs.  Have you met the Dali Lama?  On my wish list.  I just can't seem to be in the city he is speaking in the US.  As he says "it all comes down to happiness".   The soon to be President of China is on his way to visit the US.....Hey hey Mr. Obama what say you about these human rights issues?  Buddha Bubba is praying Bocahita keeps her big bazoo out of the mix while they are guests in Tibet.....