Potala Palace
This morning we went to Potala Palace. This was the winter residence of the Dalai Lama until 1959. Now it is a tourist attraction. We brought our trekking poles because we knew there would be at least 300 steps up. Some were so narrow that we had to place our feet sideways on the steps.
When we got into the top of the palace we could stay only an hour. If our guide didn’t check out by that time, he wouldn’t be able to get tickets for his next tour group the next week. There were lots of Buddha statues in this area. We also saw the Dalai Lama’s room. We took exactly an hour to see everything up there. Then we had to walk down lots of stone steps that were very uneven but they weren’t steep.
View of Lhasa from Potala Palace
Next we went to lunch at one of the best restaurants in Lhasa. After lunch we went to Jokhang Temple. Then we could shop in the market around the temple. I didn’t go into many shops. I was tired and didn’t feel like shopping. I haven’t had much energy today because of the altitude of about 12,000 feet in Lhasa and also climbing so many steps this morning just added to my fatigue.
Buddhist Temple in Lhasa
Lady Posing Next to the Temple
For dinner tonight we ate at the same restaurant where we ate lunch. One of the dishes we ate was yak sizzler. Actually, the yak in the dishes at lunch was much more tender. Yak meat is quite tasty.
7061 steps, 3 miles