Images of Lhasa City

Our first few days in Lhasa, Randal and I would tour with our guide Lobsang in the morning, rest in the afternoon, and then go out walking about 6pm. It felt more like the middle of the afternoon because of the warmth and bright sunlight. It stays light until almost 9pm. We would leave the hotel, cross the road and turn left at the first big intersection. After a short walk we would come to a pedestrian area that led into the small, old neighborhoods.

In the evening, Chinese soldiers guard the entrance to this pedestrian area. Randal and I walked through it our first night’s stroll but in these photos we kept to the main road and then cut back into the heart of the old city. I took a photo of the Yak dung stoves beyond the last pillar but some soldiers were sitting there so I was waved away. When I pointed to the stove, I was allowed to take the photo. Obviously I took this photo with the soldiers. You just can’t directly point a camera at them. When we get lost they are helpful at giving us directions.

Chinese jump rope.

I’m guessing that the red scarves indicate these children go to a Chinese school. The school day ends about 6:30 pm There is a long mid-afternoon break which ends about 3:30 pm when the students return for the afternoon session,

An apartment complex. Black in painted around the window to retain heat. Many locals actually use the bicycle rickshaws.

Leave the main road and enter the warren of lanes lined with small shops and courtyard neighborhoods.

In the center of the old section of Lhasa is the Jokhang Temple. Every morning and evening people walk a circuit clockwise around the streets surrounding the temple. It is a market area and there are lots of shops selling souvenirs lining the streets. Randal and I get all turned around in these interweaving streets and always have to ask directions. These women are Buddhist nuns. We will visit a nunnery on one of our tours.

A prayer tower with cloth prayer sheets wrapped around it.

I sneak photos of the women whose, faces, hair and clothes are all so full of character and colorful.

Yuppie Tibet

This café with several floors with ladder-like stairs had the best yogurt cake. It was just like cheese cake but made with yogurt and tangy rather than sweet.