Tibet

We are off again, flying to the world’s highest airport. Denver brags about being “Mile High”, but this city is well over two miles up. Whether or not this is another country is under considerable debate, the people here feel they are; China vehemently disagrees. This is Lhasa, Tibet, and it sure feels like a different country to us. Of course, it just feels different being so high. We joke that you know you're at altitude when:
1. one flight of stairs, leaves you exhausted.
2. there’s an oxygen canister next to your hotel bed.
3. the sun is so bright, you go to put on your sunglasses, only to realize they are already on.
4. every thing is above the tree line.
Lhasa is actually in a valley, ringed by mountains. The country’s most impressive and important building is the Potala Palace.

This 1300 room, 13 story, towering edifice is built into the side of a mountain. Standing at its base, with our necks craned upwards, gives us a feel for its immensity. It was originally built in the 7th century, for the powerful kings that Tibet had (for a couple hundred years). Since the 14th century, though, Potala has been the home of the political and spiritual leader of Tibet, the head of the Buddhist world, the Dalai Lama. He hasn’t lived there since 1959, when the DL fled to India, fearful of kidnapping or worse by the Chinese government.
Tibetan Buddhism is vastly different from the Buddhism we saw in Thailand and Myanmar. To us it seems like a cross between Buddhism and Hinduism. Tibetan Buddhism (TB) has many different Buddhas and gods. There’re the Past, Present and Future Buddhas, the Compassion Buddha, the Knowledge Buddha, the Power Buddha. There are two leading Lamas in the religion, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. The former is the reincarnation of the Compassion Buddha and the latter is the reincarnation of Buddha himself. There is an interesting cycle, where, following the death of a Panchen Lama, the Dalai Lama selects the new Panchen Lama. Then, following the death of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama selects the next Dalai Lama. Now, the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama have had some, shall we say, issues. Neither one is very pleased with the workings of the other. We are told there are now 2 Panchen Lamas, the one picked by the Dalai Lama and one picked by the government. There is considerable concern about what would happen to Tibetan Buddhism if the DL were to die. The Tibetan people are very devout, and we join hundreds as they circle temples, cities, even mountains, performing a “kora”, or circumambulation, of a holy structure.
Spinning of prayer wheels like these, with scripture stuffed inside, is a replacement for chanting the requisite words.

Where in the world are Ethan and Siena?
It should be easy, as there’s a sign with the name on it. Mt Qomolangma lies at the border between Nepal and Tibet. It rises to a height of 8844 meters, or 29,035 feet. The winds at the top, touching the jet stream, can reach 250 mph—supposedly it sounds like a 747 engine. It was first successfully climbed by a New Zealander and a Nepalese in 1953, because “it was there”. This is the highest point in the world, better known to the western world as Mt. Everest. We are standing at Base Camp, where most expeditions to climb the behemoth start. As you can see, we are lucky to be here on a spectacular day
Tibetan food is good, though not great. There is yak on every menu in every conceivable dish. We eat the local Momos, yak dumplings. Siena and Ethan even had yak enchiladas and yak burger, respectively. The animals look like a cross between Highland cattle and buffalo and the taste is sort of a cross between beef and buffalo, too.

We try bobis, the Tibetan take on tacos, with an herbed cream cheese and vegetable/meat (read: Yak) stuffing. They have a special
breakfast treat, made with barley flour (no other grain will grow this high), yak cheese and tea. If you’ve never tried it, don’t. It is vile. They also make a local barley brew, Chang. It tastes like smoked vinegar, but not quite so good. One sip was enough for Kim; I valiantly attempted to finish the pint, but succumbed as well. The regular beers, Snow, Tibet and Lhasa, were all decent, if quite light, good for altitude parched throats, and quite cheap, about $1-$2 for a pint-ish at restaurants. This is fortunate, as our guide tells us Tibetans drink a lot of beer—splitting two cases between every three drinkers. The Tibetan people are very friendly, even without the case and a half of beer. They look more like Native Americans or the people of the Andes than the Chinese Han. They teach us several Tibetan words, then laugh at our pronunciation.

Shop kak! (cheers, in Tibetan)
The Beatties