Lhasa - city of contrasts

Sitting on our balcony outside our hostel-room in Lhasa... The sun is shining, birds are singing on the yard, and so are the Tibetan woman on the other side of the yard. I feel great! I just had a shower (in warm water, for once!), and finally my stomach works fine, and accepts the food that I want to eat. Lhasa is a city of contrasts. The light here are just perfect for taking photos. The sun creates sharp shadows in all the smiling faces around us. The colorful monk-clothes glows with an intense red light, just like the coral-necklaces on the traditionally dressed Tibetan woman doing her pilgrimage.... Contrasts. The second the sun sets below the great Himalayan range it gets cold. Very cold. Our room has no heater, and the thermometer on my watch reads 5 degrees when I wake up in the middle of the night and have to run for the toilet.... Contrasts On so many levels. The most peaceful and loving people on earth living under a cruel Chinese oppression. Praying monks and nuns in the middle of the holy city guarded by police and military. A Chinese red and white banner reading something like "china helping the Tibetan people" right in front of the "Potala Palace". Once home for the spiritual and political leader of Tibet - the Dalai Lama - now just another empty tourist attraction where you’re bags are x-rayed and checked for illegal pictures of the former resident.
Despite governmental supported mass-immigration of Chinese people (which are promised reduced taxes if they move to Tibet), and bad conditions for the native's the Tibetans seems to live their lives with hope, and happiness. A people with the most honest eyes, and curious smiles, seem to host no aggression to what so ever. And I believe that the Buddhist message of compassion lies deeply rooted in every Tibetans heart.

We arrived Lhasa after a crazy 5 days rollercoaster in a LandCruiser over the Himalayan range. The tour included incredible sights from 5200 meters, fantastic monasteries and forts, colorful prayer flags reaching towards the sun and clear starry nights. We were riding the "Friendship highway" in 130km/h, and the driver insisted to play the same mix tape over and over again. A mix tape made up by equal parts Tibetan schlager, Indian bollywood-hits and cheesy Chinese pop. 5 days, same tape, max volume! The ride also teaches us not visiting the dreadful Tibetan public toilettes，and gives us all a slight case of mountain sickness. Mountain sickness is natural on altitudes above 2500 meters, and creates symptoms like headache, difficulties to breathe and sleep.
The first day we climbed from 2000 meters up to a pass on 5200 meters. We all got out of the car, and felt like we just landed on the moon! The views, the sounds, the light, the air even time itself was as take from another planet! Everything very slow. Wee-wee for 15 minutes? Trying to walk! Moonman?... Deep breaths! 90 years old, or just "high"? ;-)

Upon arriving Lhasa the three of us just throws in our backpacks on the hotel, and head straight for the holy Tibetan part of the city, and the "Jokhang ". The Jokhang is the most holy place in Lhasa. This is where all the pilgrims from all over Lhasa come to do their "kora". A kora means walking clockwise around something holy, to attain better karma. A kind of pilgrimage. The Jokhang kora circulates the Jokhang. Walking the kora together with thousands of happy Tibetans all dressed up traditionally is an amazing experience! This takes place every day! Everybody is happy, and the streets are packed with salesmen selling everything from touristy crappy necklaces to monk-clothes and human skulls. It's a religious Mecca, and also a center of commerce for everything about Tibetan culture. We have been walking the kora everyday. It's always something different! Once I was walking and trying to make a few shots with my Nikon, I heard this massive trumpet sound! Turns out that it's 4 monks in around 25 years age, trying out the 4 meter Tibetan prayer-horn! You know, one of these horns they use in “7 years in Tibet”! I stand in awe, and give them applauders, and walk further just to stumble into 5 old monks singing nose-song-prayers! Sometimes Lhasa is just amazing!

Our friend Malle has left Lhasa, and me and Stefan are going on a 3 day tour to eastern Tibet tomorrow. Since there is no real arranged tourist-trips, we decided to just hire a LandCruiser, and put up notes all over Lhasa if there were any other interested to join us to share the costs. Turns out that we are 9 persons renting a huge LandCruiser! All happy backpackers from all over the world. A Canadian geologist, a girl from London, teaching Tibetan children English, a Dutch rastafari, two girls from Austria and Holland, a Scottish couple, me and Stefan. A great crew! Looking forward for tomorrow!

photos

Hi everyone! I'm just posting the links to the photoalbums! It's getting late, and it's really cold here at the internetcafee in Lhasa

Album 1:
http://www.bubbleshare.com/album/79923.fb8a48c6e05

Album 2:
http://www.bubbleshare.com/album/79930.41c302b1f6c

Stefans pictures:
http://www.bubbleshare.com/album/79935.9541d080dc5

Namaste - welcome to Kathmandu

With a time-difference of 4:45 minutes (!) Nepal is a different country! Nice and calm people with friendly smiles! But the town of Kathmandu is really crazy! Holy cows eating out of the garbage on the streets, small kids sleeping on the pavement, dogs barking in the night, and motor-cyklist with wild looking eyes horning at everything that moves. And of course: The trekk-salesmen... Everywhere: sorry, sir, what country? How long nepal? Want to go trekking? I've got to learn some Nepal, so i can say nothankyou like I really mean it. Apperantly, that works much better than no thank you in english ;-)
Btw, flight was good. Good food, and the Gulf air stewerdesses on was very nice, serving me beer after beer after beer... but omg, was i furious about getting up at 4 o clock, changing airplain in Baharain! I had to wear earplugs when they played the safetyinstructions on maximum volym... Upon arriving Kathmandu airport, and miraculous getting all of my luggage after the 4 flights, my two friends Malle and Stefan caught me, and put me in the deathride-taxi through the nepal capital straight to the worst (and cheapest!) room in town. We stay at "millenium in" on a dirty backroad to Thamel-district. Yea! Way to go! I didn't go to Nepal to bubble around in jaquzi, so i'd rather stick with the 100rupie-room (around 1 Euro), and have good beer on the balcony, watching the flags of the golden temples blow in the moisty air of Kathmandu valley....

On Saturday we take of for Tibet overland! That means 8 days of driving up to the Tibetan plateu... First day we stay at 2000 meters, and next day we climb up to 5500 meters, which i think will be very hard, but on the otherside, I beleive the reward will be great when aproaching the holy City of Lhasa all three of us in a LandCruicer...