Arrival in Lhasa

We flew from Kathmandu to Lhasa today - a short but beautiful flight. Even though it was overcast, we had good views of Ama Dablam, Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse all sticking out through the cloud cover. Everything went well for our journey but I'm a bit tired as I didn't sleep well last night. We are dealing with a 2 1/4 hour time difference even though we're virtually directly north of Kathmandu. All of China is on one time zone which works for Beijing but nowhere else. It gets light at about 8:00 in the morning and dark towards 9:00 in the evening here in Tibet. Gotta love the Chinese mentality.

Lhasa has changed enormously since I was last here five years ago. The city has really grown up under Chinese influence and there are lots of new buildings in modern style architecture. There are also all kinds of stores with western goods and clothing for sale. Most of the people in the streets are wearing western clothes and there are many more Chinese here than there were before. However, when I headed down to the Jokhang Temple (the main place of Buddhist worship here) it was just like I had left it. There are still lots of pilgrims in traditional clothing and the energy is fabulous. Of course there are more shops and other signs of modernization, but the Chinese haven't managed to beat the wonderful Buddhist vibe from the people yet. It feels really good to be here and I know it's just what I need after my experiences in India.

We have a busy itinerary for the next couple of days as we tour Lhasa and the surrounding area. The rest of my tour-mates are happy that we are going to be able to accommodate everything that they wanted to do while here, so we're back to being a cheery group. There is one additional woman from California (Laguna Beach!!)who joined us in Lhasa so we are a group of nine now. I think it will all work out well.

On Saturday we leave Lhasa and head west into the more rural areas, so I won't have communication beyond Friday evening. I'll be sure to do lots of journaling while on the road so I'll have plenty of stories and impressions when I get back.