I find it quite ironic that Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet, has a Tibetan quarter. The Chinese have embarked on a massive economic and migration plan over the past few years which was facilitated by the railway we just arrived on. As we drove through the town we could see that it looked no different than any modern Chinese town. This pattern would repeat itself as we continued our tour into Tibet: any town with significant Chinese migration would have a new section settled by the Chinese with the original Tibetan inhabitants relegated to the old part of town.
We drove through the gates of the Muslim quarter which also served as the entrance to the Tibetan quarter as well. There were two guard boxes on either side, each with 4 soldiers staring in 4 different directions. While I can understand heavy security or even a military presence at vital infrastructure points this was my first experience in seeing military surveillance in a civilian area. Although they were professional and unobtrusive, I never could get used to their presence and you were never very far from them either. I suppose this is what a military occupation feels like.
Our hotel in the Tibetan Quarter (left side of the street): The Rama KharpoWe checked into our rooms at the Rama Kharpo and Lumbum, our tour guide, told us of the plans for the evening: we would be attending a dinner-show with traditional Tibetan dress and dance. He also told us some bad news (which explained why he was so hard to reach for the past few days): his father-in-law passed away recently and he has been busy helping his wife with the funeral. Tibetan Bhuddist funerary rites last for 49 days which is the length of time one's spirit wanders the Earth after death. During this time, family members carry out various rites to help the spirit find its way. It's quite labour-intensive -- one duty involves family members taking shifts to ensure the candles are always lit.
We were quite disappointed -- David was highly recommending Lumbum not only for his English skills and background as an ex-Bhuddist monk but also for his congenial personality. However, we understood and accepted a substitute who we would meet the next morning.
After settling in a little we met downstairs and headed over to a hotel where the dinner-show would take place. During the dinner we were introduced to some Tibetan dishes: yak meat which I found surprisingly similar to beef (I was expecting it to be more "gamey"), momos which are a type of dumpling, and yak-butter tea. Yak-butter tea is definitely an acquired taste! I think the Lonely Planet described it best: "tastes like smelly socks". It's a salty type of tea and, from a North American perspective, I think it would be more palatable if it were sweetened instead. However, the salt is apparently useful for rehydration.
After the meal the show started and I was fumbling around with my camera trying to get an external flash to work. Unfortunately, the main pin at the base of the flash had lost its springiness and refused to make contact with the hotshoe. In the end, I gave up and used the built-in flash instead.
Tibetan designs are quite colourful from their Buddhist temples to their clothes. Over the next hour we were shown many historical and contemporary dresses from the various regions of Tibet. We were treated to dances and even a brief opera.
Colourful traditional dresses.
Impressive looking historical dresses with some religious significance (as indicated by the skulls) that I can't remember.
Group dance at the end. I was a party-pooper and took pictures instead.All-in-all it was a good evening with good food and our only opportunity to see Tibetans dress up in traditional clothing. We headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.
