Tibet & Nepal : Part 5 - Sera Monastery, Potala Palace, Namtso Lake

I have a feeling I am going to put up a lot of albums. This is the 5th album for my 3rd day in Tibet. Oh wow. But you know, writing it out brings back the same feelings. The same excitement I had when I was there. The same sadness of me leaving the place. The only sadness I felt when I left a country was England. Now, that is another story to tell. Maybe it's because once you have gotten to know the people, you feel connected. Once you have let yourself get familiar and allowed yourself to be comfortable, it pains to tear yourself away from the place.. 

The following day, on 3rd Sept, we decided to do the 'kora' like everyone else. We split during the first round because it was so blinding hot. And we stopped to snap photos. One is suppose to do a minimum of 3 rounds. But I did 2. Haha! The day before, I bought a prayer wheel and a pair of prayer wheel earrings. I am so into Tibet mood.

In Tibet, the faith in Buddhism is so strong. There are huge prayer wheels at the temple. The locals carry prayer wheel reciting - Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum, a combination of millions of scriptures into these 6 characters. 

So while I fail to perform my kora, I snapped photos of the stalls. Bags made of yak wool.

The striped aprons to differentiate the married ones from the singles.

Butter made from yak milk. And the below is the cheese.

We went to the post office to buy postcards, and saw knives were being posted too.

A man saw me snapping a photo of the knives and he showed me his. I asked him how much did he buy it for. He said RMB600.

Saw the skulls of yak. I doubt they are real. The guide mentioned that the skulls can be made.

We went inside a store that sells outdoor attire. We know these sort of attire are cheap in Tibet. This wind breaker is sold for RMB130.

Trekking shoes sold for RMB200. The quality could be questionable.

That morning, I bought two pairs of earrings. They are heavy after some time of wearing it. But I love them! They are really different from my collection of earrings.

Today, our place of visit is Sera Monastery. Paid RMB55. Sera Monastery is famous for its 'Buddhism Scriptures Debating'. This Debate is a form of exams for the monks. The monk clap his hands after making a point. If the monk is unable to answer, the other monks will raise their voices to sort of cheer him on.

 

The hall where the debate is held. Photographies allowed at a price of RMB30 per camera.

Next destination - Potala Palace. A must-see in Tibet. One of the holy places in Tibet. Potala Palace is now a museum. It is also a UNESCO Heritage Site. This is also the winter residence for the Dalai Lama. Potala Palace was initially built by the 32nd King of Tibet. He built the middle red part. Then, the 5th Dalai Lama reconstruct the other parts of the palace as the winter palace.

A reconstructed pillar to remember the people who built Potala Palace. The real pillar was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

No photographies allowed in the Palace too.

After an hour of looking inside the Palace, we walked down the steps which took us about 20 minutes.

The next day, on 4th Sept, our destination was towards Namtso Lake.  This place was an additional destination requested by my friend to be part of our itinerary because this is a must-see place. We left the hotel at 8am.

There were many checkpoints on the way to the Lake. This is the paper the guide had to fill out. It states the time we arrive at each checkpoint. If we arrive too early, we will be penalised. This acts as a speed control.

In the bus, the guide shared her goodies she brought. Tibetan biscuits and sweets.

At 12pm, we reached a high altitude area of 5,190m. Stopped to take photos. The wind was so strong and it felt painfully cold. We could see the view of Namtso Lake from here.

Reached the entrance to the road heading Namtso Lake.

Our ticket for RMB120.

At 1pm, we reached Namtso Lake. There are lots of restaurants around the area, and we had lunch.

Good thing I came with friends who can read and write Mandarin. :-)

Yak dung used to start a fire.

After lunch, we walked to Namtso Lake. It was just a 10 minutes' walk but I felt the difficulty in walking as we were at 4,718metres above sea level.

The amazing Namtso Lake, the highest saltwater lake in the world. The second largest saltwater lake in China.

For RMB5, I get to sit on the yak and take as many photos as I want.

The water was so clear. I tried drinking the water. The first time I tried, I felt a bit of saltiness. The second time I tried, it was tasteless. The guide said she did try it and it was salty. It is not allowed to bring water from this lake as this is considered a holy lake. One needs 10 days to circle around this lake once for 'kora'.

Saw many stupas by the lake. The locals made the stupa using rocks (as they have no money to build a real stupa) in the form of a triangle. A yak skull is placed on the top of the stupa. The skull is placed on sacred sites to help the spirit of the deceased animal for a better rebirth.

On the way back, we passed by tents of local nomad.

At night, we had Dico's for dinner. This place serves fried chicken. It's like KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).

The meat inside was a very different colour. It's darker. And they also serve chilli flakes. That night, we realised we should not have eaten fried chicken because it was fried and we just came back from a sun-killer area.