Lhasa Day 2 - Jokhang, Sera

It rained all night and is cold and rainy this morning. Our first stop of the day is the Jokhang Temple. We are told it is the most revered religious structure in Tibet, with construction beginning somewhere between 637 and 649 A.D. This is our first trip to the Barkhor, the old Tibetan part of Lhasa. We see first hand the damage from the incidents that occurred in this area in March.

The Jokhang Temple has many pilgrims making their way inside. We have to literally wedge ourselves into the crowd to get in the door. This is not for the claustrophobic or the agoraphobic.

Aaron and Ci Ri, our guide, in front of Jokhang:


The large incense burners in front of the temple:


The courtyard of the Jokhang from the roof:

After a tour of the temple, we walk the Barkhor circuit all the way around the temple seeing all of the vendors selling various goods. They are everywhere. Aaron finds a souvenir for himself and I find some tiny bronze bells to add to my collection of hand percussion.

We head to Nu Mandala, a Nepali run restaurant for lunch, sitting on the second floor overlooking the Barkhor.

Now, there are moments for all of us that are risk vs. reward; an opportunity to be missed or taken, even though we are almost certain of the consequences. I was faced with that opportunity and went for it. I ordered the Yak Curry set - Yak Curry with rice, an eggplant sauce named Dal, red chili sauce, and spicy sautéed vegetables. It was delicious. Yak has a beef-like quality, but is a little chewier. So certain was I of the results, I even took something for it right after I ate as a precaution.

We finished early, which gave Aaron and I an hour and a half to do some walking around the Barkhor and Lhasa. The first street we headed down was lined with army trucks, with speeches and military music playing at high volume over loudspeakers. The soldiers had set up various stations along the street doing services for the locals – haircuts, medical exams, some were doing repairs on a Rickshaw. We can only assume it was a large goodwill event for the area. It was very colorful, but we are not allowed to take pictures of soldiers or policemen.

After our walk, we met our guide and our driver and headed for the Sera Monastery. Founded in 1419, this monastery is known for its colleges. All of the monasteries we have seen are fairly dark inside, with lots of chapels, stacked with statues of the various Buddhas and other figures. This particular monastery also does a lot of printing by hand. Large wood blocks are covered in ink and pressed onto paper or fabric by the monks.

We returned to the Jin Bo Hotel. It was at that point that things for me started going, uh, south. My stomach began to hurt worse and worse. Not only that, but during my walk with Aaron, I was looking around and never saw some knee-high parking posts with large steel balls on the top. I walked straight into one, slamming my left knee into it. Now my knee was swelling up. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent in bed with my knee propped up on a suitcase and me trying to find some way to make my stomach feel better.

We cancelled dinner. There was no way. I did manage to pack, as we are departing for parts west of here in the morning. But you know what? Even after the “Yak Attack”, as it will be forever known between Aaron and me, the Yak Curry was still worth it.