Day 11

It was a good thing that we did this since we overslept. The battery in the alarm clock decided to die at 5:30 a.m. The driver was coming in seven and we woke up at 6:45. We did the best we could and decided that whatever clothes we forgot we would buy in Tibet. We went to the new terminal and it is quite beautiful and very very large. We saw a Starbucks and had a light breakfast. Air China closes the check-in 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time. The plane left the gate 20 minutes before its scheduled time. The flight was uneventful and the breakfast on the Beijing to Chengdu leg was awful. I sat next to an IT executive who had worked for 2½ years in the USA.

Our guide met us at the airport. Everything went smoothly. Thanks to a new tunnel and bridge the drive to Lhasa was shortened from 2½ hours to one hour. It was raining. After checking into a hotel I took a short nap before dinner. We went to a local restaurant. We had yak dumplings, miniature lamb chops, Nepal vegetable curry and some nan. It was very tasty. Since the temperature inside the restaurant was less than 50" Fahrenheit, everyone eats with their coats on. Our guide, Tseping, and driver, Tensing, joined us for dinner, but ate a simple chicken and rice dish.

It was still raining. Tseping had two children 13 and 5. The 13 year old was sent off to middle school in China when he was 11. He is required to stay there for 4 years without coming home. He passed a test to qualify and then the authorities decide where he goes. Tseping felt that this was best for his son. Now the elementary schools in Tibet only teach the Tibetan language one hour a week. Also, the United Nations is helping to try to preserve the Tibetan culture, especially in preserving existing buildings and trying to ensure that new buildings, at least on the exterior, are Tibetan.

The Tibet houses in the country have a large courtyard that is off to the side from the main dwelling. That is used to take care of the animals. Also yak dung is on the roofs to dry and they are the main fuel for the winter. The houses are white because they reflect the sun but there is black around the windows to keep in the heat. There are 5 different colors for the prayer flags which we saw on the top of each house and every large hill. After dinner we went for a short drive to see the Potala at night. It was lit up and quite impressive. You have to walk up 324 steps to get to the top but you supposedly come out the back way and that is an easier descent. We are to do this on Wednesday.

Tibet appears to be a unique place. It was time to return to the hotel and go to sleep.

Day 12

In the morning we went to the Jokhang Temple. It is the religious center of Tibet. Although it was raining, pilgrims were prostrating themselves outside the temple and in the entranceway. They come to the temple in the morning and there is a long line for the pilgrims to visit the various shrines inside the temple. As tourists there was a separate entrance way so that we would not have to wait on line with the pilgrims. Many had come from far away and were carrying everything with them, even when visiting the most holy of places in Tibet. This temple was originally constructed in the eighth century. There had been extensive destruction during the cultural revolution, but the Chinese decided in the late 1980s to rebuild much of this temple. Although there is no electricity, because of the numerous candles throughout there was ample light within each of the small rooms. Tseping explained to us the names of the various Buddhas and their significance. There was also a special place within Jokhang for the Dalai Lama, who is both the political and religious head of the Tibetan people. He left Tibet in 1959 and has not returned. You cannot take pictures inside this religious sanctuary.

We then did the customary tour around the Jokhang which has local shops geared for the tourists throughout. In Tibet you always walk in a clockwise manner. We went into a few of the shops and it could have been a tourist area anywhere in the world. We then decided to go off onto the side streets. It was much more interesting. We found a local “department store.” On the first floor were all types of food shops. There were some interesting spice shops.



We then went upstairs and it was extremely crowded with goods piled on shelves up to approximately 10' high. There was everything there that the nomads and farmers coming into the largest city in Tibet would need to purchase for the winter. Overcoats, shoes, underwear, boots, etc. Tseping told us that in all of his years of being a guide this is the first time that any of his clients had ever wandered into this part of Lhasa. We found it extremely interesting. Tseping then took us to his house in the city to see if we could have lunch with his family. When we got there, no one was home and he did not have a key, so we decided to have tea at the outdoor garden of one of the local hotels. On the way, we bumped into Tseping’s father. He was a farmer, but comes to live in Lhasa during the winter when there is not that much work to do on the farm. Tseping’s older sister stays out at the farm, which is approximately thirty miles outside of Lhasa. The father is 65 years old and has extremely weathered hands. He explained to us that he had taken two walks around the Jokhang with his prayer wheel and this was a ritual that he did everyday that he was in Tibet.

We had made contact with one of the local artists and he said he would set up a meeting for the following night. That afternoon we went to two rug factories, because I was thinking of purchasing an oriental rug for the bedroom of the studio. At the first one we noticed an array of solar heating devices to make hot water for the tea. [show pictures - Image 182]. We saw the weavers setting up their looms. The wool comes from Tibet, but all of the dyes come from Europe. Their rugs were not inexpensive. Tseping suggested that his friends had a rug factory where the rugs would be much more reasonable. We then drove to that factory and looked at the rugs. They were only slightly less expensive, but neither the quality nor the color were as good. Leslie and I decided that there were far better things to do with our money than spend close to $1,000 for a small rug.

We then went back to the hotel and took a short siesta before having dinner with Tseping at another local restaurant. Again, we focused on local dishes, as well as certain dishes from Nepal. It seems that a number of the restaurants feature four kinds of food: Tibetan, Nepalese, Chinese and American. After dinner we walked around the local area and decided to pack it in fairly early. Tomorrow will be a busy day.

Day 13

We spent the morning at the Potala Palace. This was built in the eighth century. It is truly one of the wonders of the world that this magnificent building was built almost 1,400 years ago. It is the current seat of the Tibetan government. Most of the Dalai Lamas are buried in the Potala Palace and their tombs are a major attraction to the pilgrims and tourists. It is a strenuous walk up to the top of palace but, there is something to look at on every level. Again, you cannot take pictures inside the building.

We then had a discussion about lunch. I explained to Tseping that neither Leslie or I liked big heavy lunches. I suggested that we go to a local noodle house for noodles and cold vegetables. Tseping explained that this is something that most of the tourists don’t do. I explained to him that when I work in Beijing and I have workers we often go to this type of restaurant for an inexpensive, and good meal; so off we went. First, we had to find a good restroom for Leslie. After that we went to the local noodle house, which was famous amongst the Tibetan people. It was obvious that we were a curiosity. But the four of us sat down for a delicious and inexpensive lunch of vinegared cold vegetables followed by bowls of noodles in beef broth with some yak meat. It hit the spot.

We then went to the Summer Palace. It was a nice sunny day. The zoo at the Summer Palace is a must miss. We had been warned in advance and decided to pass on it. The Summer Palace is all spread out and there was an interesting display of carriages from the 17th and 18th century used to transport the Dalai Lama. We then ended up back in the center of Lhasa. We went shopping for interesting clothes for my granddaughter, Hannah. We couldn’t really find what we liked and what we did like was expensive. I know Hannah has very definite feelings about clothes. So we decided to pass. We did buy a small sheepskin rug for my bedroom. It cost about $20. That made sense. It was then time to meet the local artists. They had set it up to meet at a restaurant across from our hotel. We were the only ones in the restaurant.

Across the street and there were so many that they moved us to a private room. One of them brought a computer with downloads of her and other artists in anticipation of the meeting I also had my computer with pictures from the Sheng Sheng, which they were all familiar with. We talked about the recent opening at Red Gate Gallery, the sculpture and paintings at the recent exhibit at the Sheng Sheng, how everyone’s art seems to evolve over time and what are the reasons for the evolution. There are no formal galleries in Tibet, but they are all members of the only cooperative. Tseping told me that these were the leading artists in Tibet. Almost all of them teach to be in a position to support their art.

We then went off to visit to two artists studios before joining Tseping, his wife and 5 year old son for dinner. First we went to Yak’s studio which was temporarily in his mother’s house because he was renovating his house and studio. We had to take things out on the roof to look at them. His subject matter is a type of abstract yak, the national symbol of Tibet’s strength. Some of his things are really strong. One was of three yaks with wings within a bird cage. His mother then served us di butter tea. We then went to another artists’ studio . He was formerly a realist, and a very good one, and was trying to become more of a political statement painter. All of the artists had agreed to continue the meeting tomorrow as we will go from studio to studio. Almost all of them are oil painters some of whom also do some photography. There are only two sculptors of note, Gade, and his former teacher, who now lives in Beijing. Gade is really a painter who uses repetitive pieces of sculpture.

We then joined Tseping and his family for dinner at the Yak Steak House. His 5 year old was as active and as well behaved at a restaurant as my 4 year old grandson, Caleb. He knows a few words of English and at his mothers urging talked with me. He is taking Chinese in school and they are teaching him Tibetan at home. Both parents think it is very important to teach people about Tibet traditions. The yak steak was excellent and then it was time to go home and go to sleep.

Day 14

In the morning it was an hour drive to the Gandon Monastery. You take a turn off the main road and climb steadily through 19 hairpin turns. You could tell that the temperature rapidly declined the higher we got. By the time we got to the monastery, which is an elevation in excess of 15,000 feet above sea level it was extremely cold. The monks were in the process of chanting. Listening to hundreds of monks chanting at once is an awesome experience. There were many Buddhas in this monastery and there were a number of people who were visiting the monastery for religious reasons. Tseping took us on a tour of the kitchen where the monks were preparing the daily lunch of barley, noodles and melted cheese for the monks. Again, we could not take any pictures inside the monastery. The monastery had been rebuilt by the Chinese in the 80s.

Currently this monastery had approximately 200 monks. In its heyday, this monastery had over 2,000 monks. In view of the one child policy, very few people were now becoming monks. In the long term this would have a disastrous effect on the local religion with the monks being a disappearing vestige. There were a number of young monks at various monasteries. But, Tseping explained to us that they were attending the monastery because of a better education. At a certain age when they had to make a choice as to whether to continue their studies to become a monk or go out into the real world, almost all of them opt to go out in the real world.

After the Gandon Monastery we went back down into the valley and then climbed up another series of hills to come to the caves. The caves are considered a holy place because one of the caves had a natural formation of three Buddhas. All that was required was that one of the monks identified the form of the sculpture and then painters were then brought in to paint the Buddhas as if it were a local temple. The road ends at approximately 14,500 feet and then you climb up approximately 700 feet to visit various caves until you reach the monastery at the top of the climb. The view was spectacular.

We then returned to Lhasa taking a different road so that we could see some different scenery. We picked up the first artist, Tsireng, and went to Zhang Ging’s studio. It had a large open area with a central garden behind walls that give extreme privacy. Her new paintings in one of the buildings at the rear of the garden, emphasized the relationship between strong passionate women with a sense of humor in the company of a certain Buddha. The Buddhas come from her study of historical wall paintings. Her husband’s works were reminiscent of Keene’s and a number of Chinese artists. Yak and Tensin joined us to give me a CD of their work and some pins with their artwork. We had some tea and then threw darts as the day had warmed up. She gave us a disc showing both her and her husband’s work.

We then went to Sheka Anu’s studio. Benchun joined us. Aku’s new works were self portraits with no ears and tormented facial expressions. They were well executed. He also showed us some of his older works including some realistic water colors for which he told us he had sold 19 out of 20 and wanted $2,000 for the last one.

We then went to Benchun Pamba’s home/studio. The studio was a tiny room in his home. He is a professor of art at the university and his wife is a teacher at the middle school. Art is not taught in the elementary or middle schools so he has to start teaching people from scratch. His work is very powerful and was technically the best we had seen. His colors were fantastic. His main theme appeared to be a man shooting himself in the head but the head was a sunflower. The men wore a jacket but had no pants or female panties. They were painted on large canvases, which were made more powerful in a small room. He has an upcoming one man show at Rossi and Rossi in London sometime in the fall of 2009.

He joined us for a Tibetan dinner at a local restaurant near the Potola Palace. We let Tsipeng do the ordering. Since Benchun had spent four months in the U.S. we were interested in his impressions of the U.S.. Then we discussed his upcoming trip to a workshop for Tibetan artists and art in Italy and his need to go to Beijing first to get a visa. We also discussed the ability to get large projects done easily in China as compared to the U.S. Also, the costs of doing sculpture and the space needs were forcing Tibet artists to focus on painting. It was then time to go home and pack as we were leaving Lhasa early the next morning.

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