Chinese Version / 中文版本
Couldn't believe I had the same scenario like yesterday that there was no hot water in the bathroom in the morning, I could only boil hot water for shower again, it was so pathetic!
Then I was invited to have breakfast with Zhu and Chloe. As I still had 2 hours before the Potala Palace tour, I agreed to go with them. It was a very small restaurant and located quite far away from our guesthouse. It took us almost half hour on foot. When we arrived, it was not yet opened. By looking at the front door of the restaurant, I did not know what kind of food they served. I even did not have a clue when I sat inside, there was no menu at all. People had to order food at the reception in front of the kitchen!
When the first food - Sichuan clear noodle came, I suddenly realized that I forgot to bring the battery of my camera, it was still stuck with the charger under my bed! At that moment I was really panic because I planned to go to the Potala Palace after breakfast. If I went back to the guesthouse later, I would definitely be late for the palace. Although I was in everything-is-possible China, I was afraid they would still deny my entry to the palace due to my late arrival. On the other hand, wasting one more day here in Lhasa was not a part of my plan.
While I was feeling so helpless, Zhu asked me not to worry, as he was going back to the guesthouse and take the battery for me. How come everyone in the guesthouse is that nice? I am really lucky to meet such nice people while traveling. (I am still very thankful for Zhu's help!!!)
One thing should not be forgotten, that the Sichuan clear noodle was very tasty, though I did not know what that noodle was made of. I just knew it was an cold appetizer in spicy sauce. Most importantly, I am not really a cold food person but I still found it good, it was really surprising!
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| Ready to climb up the lethal staircases |
My visit time of Potala Palace was 12:30 in the afternoon. Because of Zhu's selfless help, I successfully made it there before the appointed time. Firstly, I went to line up in front of the front entrance. The staff approved to let me in after checking my "Purchase Proof" and ID card. Then I was led to the second stop, the familiar X-ray machine. Any liquid is not allowed to bring in to the palace. It is different from the airport, even a small bottle of eye drop is not allowed to bring inside, let alone my lifesaver sunscreen lotion. As a result, I had to put on enough sunscreen lotion before putting my 'liquids' in storage.
After the X-ray inspection, it was time to climb up the staircases. In fact, Lhasa is located at 3650 meters above sea level, it is very easy for people to get high altitude sickness while climbing staircases. Some people may have light symptoms such as gasping or beating heart; meanwhile some may have more serious symptoms like difficult breathing, headache, even pleural effusion. Since I was not allowed to bring water with me, I had prepared some Dextrose and it really provided energy for me, but still walking in slowly pace was preferred.
The ticket office is located in the mid-level of the hill, which means people have to climb up half of the staircases before buying the ticket. I wonder if this design is to stop people from giving up, when they are already on the half way, the palace is not long way from the office and why not keeping up?
However, there are still many exhausting staircases before the actual entrance. Visiting Potala palace is absolutely not an easy task!
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| After buying the ticket |
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| Mural painting in the temple |
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| The last photo before entering the temple |
When I officially stepped inside the temples, it was forbidden to take photos and wear hat/sunglasses, so as to give respect to this religious place. Tourists can only follow the assigned route, some places are not opened for us. It is very similar to many lamasery, Potala Palace preserves plenty of gigantic Buddha statues. But the most shocking thing I saw was a lama playing a smartphone inside the temple. Honestly speaking, I had been to a lot of churches and cathedrals before, but I had never seen the priests playing with their phone in public. Isn't temple is a religious place? Why can't they just show some respect? Is it just me being too conservative or the world is changing so rapidly? I don't understand.
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| Prayer wheels |
In the afternoon, I wandered around the city center again. But I did have really important duty to finish today, that I needed to go to the travel agency in Lhasa International Youth Hostel. As I needed to pay for the tour to Lake Namtso as well as looking for people who would share the jeep with me to Mt. Everest base camp. Before staying with J and Z, I had planned to stay in this hostel. However, I was too lazy to move around that I did no longer mind the transport was not very convenient.
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| Potala Palace with sunny weather |
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| Spacious Beijing East Road |
At night, Zhu and Chloe borrowed the bicycles from the guesthouse and we three decided to ride to Lhasa river. Since we had just two bikes, I volunteered to be the passenger! Lhasa river is very close to our guesthouse, but it started to rain heavily when we got there. Therefore, we rode along the river to the other side of the guestroom, and we discovered this restaurant with very nice and contemporary designs.
Interestingly, it had a big contrast with the traditional Tibetan houses around. Because the rain did not stop, we decided to try something there to wait for the rain to stop. This restaurant was "The store of accordion". We ordered one piece of Tibetan bread and a dessert of honey ice cream. The bread tasted just okay but the ice cream was delightful. It was better that I had expected. If there is a chance, I hope I can go there one more time before I leave Tibet!
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| Mala Tang |
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| Not clear noodle, but it's still delicious |
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