Let’s talk about monks baby!!
July 14, 2017
We mostly slept through the night (Tyler and tom were up by 6:30, the girls at 7:30). We enjoyed a classic buffet breakfast before meeting our guide Nyima at 9:30 to head to the Drepung Monastery, formerly one of the largest monasteries in the world with 7,000+ monks. Now there are around 420.
We got an excellent intro to Tibetian Buddhism before, during and after our 2 hour visit. The temple we visited was a crazy collection of statues, prayer wheels, carpets, murals, statues, and dozens of devout pilgrims. There were offerings of yuan tucked everywhere. A highlight was making a wish by rubbing a rope dangling from a statue of some Buddha followed by drinking holy water poured from a monk, all to make our wishes come true.
After Drepung, we got back int our mini-van and our driver navigated the insanity that passes for roads in Lhasa back towards our hotel. He dropped us off in front of the old school own and we strolled to a cafe called Tibetian Old Kitchen (more about that name later!). Our lunch of yak momos (dumplings), noodle soup, eggplant, and a yak stew was fine, but not amazing. We later learned that this month old restaurant is owned by the same family who manages the permitting process in Lhasa and they have begun “asking” tour groups to visit for at least one meal.
After lunch, we visited Jokpang temple, one of the holiest temples in Tibet. So famous, in fact, that there is a near constant stream of worshippers circumnavigating the temple in a clockwise direction with a few of them prostrating themselves every few feet. Inside the temple is a massive collection of statute, the most famous of which is a 7th century one that was witnessed by the 1st Dalia Lama. Holy moly!
At this time period, the ruler of Tibet had a clever idea to bring peace talks the region by marrying the queen of the Nepal and the queen of the Han. Each kingdom sent to the king a statue of Buddha to Lhasa. One faced East and the other West as a sign of respect. The one from Nepal remains, but the one from China was reclaimed by the Chinese 1300 years later.
After our tour of the temple including the roof deck and it’s amazing view, it was time to head back to our hotel for a quick break before our next adventure: a cooking class at the Tibet Family Kitchen.
At 5pm we strolled the 5 minute walk to the “restaurant” which is accessed by going through a jewelry store to a family courtyard and up a flight of stairs to the 3 room home of the “head chef.” There in the restaurant’s kitchen we learned how to make momos and handmade noodles. We sliced carrots and cabbage and onions that the chef had purchased from the market a few minutes earlier. It was fun and delicious.
It was there we learned that the Tibet Old Kitchen was trying to be a cheap knock off of Tibet Family Kitchen. So much so that their restaurant menu was literally a photo copy of TFK’s menu. We offered our suggestions, but clearly this is a challenging situation. After cooking, we dined in the living room, which after we left would eventually become the bedroom of this family of 4 ( 2 kids, 5 & 1).
We returned to our hotel around 8pm and the kids watched a video and read while Sue and Tom wandered the back alleys of old Lhasa, eventually stopping in a cafe for a latte and cheesecake. In some ways, Lhasa reminds me of Kathmandu where you can turn the corner past a temple and run smack into a restaurant serving pizza and ice cream.
Back at our hotel around 9:15, Sue read to the kids for 5 minutes before they passed out from the adventures of the day.
