One could wander the streets of old town Lhasa for days without seeing everything. Given Mei's sense of direction, that could become a reality.
A quick detour to the Muslim quarter is a good reminder of just how far west we are. Out here Beijing is a long, long way away, despite their determination to prove otherwise with the bloated military presence from the People's Liberation Army.
The tempo of daily life in Lhasa hasn't changed in centuries. What has changed is now you have camera toting tourists chasing you down as you bargain for your daily barley.
The locals no doubt dispute the Liberation part of the People's Liberation Army.
The sun climbs higher and the city springs to life. The scent of frying bread patties mixes with the scent of smoldering yak poo patties. Nothing like the earthy aftertaste of burning yak dung to add a bit of flavor to your breaky.
The pilgrims are out in force again. One wonders where they all come from? Who minds the yak herds when all the farmers are here to pay their respects to the big dude?
Mei and Chungla drive a hard bargain in their quest for some genuine Buddhist prayer beads. Then again, if their "bargain" was so hard, why is the vendor laughing all the way to the Agricultural Bank of China?
"Oh, my! Imperial Storm Troopers! Here? We're in danger! I must warn the others!". Hang on, wrong Empire.
Mei and Chungla try to lead by example when it comes to Chinese Tibetan relations.
Careful, I wouldn't wear that alpaca hair anywhere near a yak herd. They don't want their monopoly in the scratchy outerwear market threaten by foreign imports.
A rare quiet corner in the bustle of a busy capital city. Or it was quiet, until Mei takes issue with Rock's photo taking ability. Not without justification mind you... below is take number 6.
Gotta love the splashes of color hidden around every corner. No, we are not refering to Mei's top.
The local's look says it all. Who the heck are these weird people from across the sea?
Looping back to the Jokhang. Which conveniently presents some more photo ops.
Another group of pilgrims slowly part the veil of juniper smoke from the incense burners that surround the temple. Like ghosts from a lost world, they drift in and out of view murmuring age-old incantations and all the while spinning their mysterious prayer wheels.
Hang on, do I spot an impostor in the crowd? Err, hate the break it to you, but the best way to fit in is to eschew all worldly possessions like a true pilgrim. Yes, I'm afraid that does include Prada.
When you're this high up, it's hard not to feel the spirituality of the place, after all you're closer to [insert deity of choice here] here than just about anywhere else on earth.
Give it up already. When was the last time you saw a pilgrim with sunglasses?
Team J00ster is in da house!
The local prayer flag merchant makes a colorful backdrop for yet another photoshoot. The downside of having a new SLR is that it halves the number of sights one can do in a day, what with all the photostops. And in Rock's case all the, hang on, I forgot which button changes the ISO moments.
What were we saying about photostops? At this rate we'll never get to Potala Palace, which is today's main course (Rock would argue it's yak curry, but since when did anyone listen to him?).
The Potala Palace is so popular it has a fastpast system like a Disneyland ride. You book your tickets the day before and then get an allotted time to go in the following day.
An absolutely stunning day for exploring one of the world's greatest structures.
This is the shot before climbing all those stairs. The after shot didn't make it past Xinhua's propoganda department.
They don't build stuff like they used to. Actually, with the benefit of hindsight, one should re-evaluate that comment after checking out J00ster's Shanghai post, coming to a computer near you in a not too distant century.
The Potala Palace doubled as both a spiritual and political center. Either way, it's pretty darn impressive.
Half way there. Come on, one step at a time, you can do it. You know what, there's an ice cold coka cola up here, so hang in there. (Ok, there isn't, but once you get here it will all be worth it, I promise.)
I like the optimistic attitude. Or maybe you just haven't seen the second flight of stairs yet.
Rock get's ready for the final push to the summit. Where's my ice axe and crampons when I need them... if only for effect.
See, told you it'd be worth it? Coke? I never said anything about a coke, honest.
On the roof of the roof of the world. Cool huh? The view, not the stupid joke.
Finally, time to go in. Well, it will be time once we stop playing with the door streamers.
Everest has a bit of work to do to top this.
Big drum. Luckily they hung it quite high, so that every tourist who comes up doesn't feel the urge to bash it on the way by.
The rooftop courtyard of the palace is a stunning place to pause and soak up the history. And the sun; it's bloody hot up here.
Rock lacks the dedication to be a monk. One needs to look no further than his blog to see why.
Since Team J00ster is so cheap, readers are going to have to use their imagination to fill in what the inside might look like. Yep, you guessed it - photo fee. Actually, imagination won't be necessary since 90% of the readership has just been there themselves.
The tour ends at the back of the palace, which means a whole new side of town to explore. That's your cue to steel yourself for another slew of Potala photos.
Now that is quite an impressive line up of prayer wheels. One hope the big fellow upstairs has a spam filter, because these are going to be sending a lot of prayers skywards.
See what I mean, a whole new angle to shoot from. Even the clouds are cooler in Lhasa.
Mission accomplished. Now that Potala is checked off, it's just about time to hit the road for the ultimate goal: Everest. But first, time to hit the ice cream stand.
Dress up time! Get your cameras ready lads, the People's Daily is looking for a new page 3 girl.
No wonder Tibetans claim that Han Chinese are infiltrating their country.
A new addition to the Miss Universe pageant: the Tibetan Silk Robe category. Forget Evening Wear and Swimsuit, this is where the real action is.
Fortunately out here you can enjoy a tea party without anyone thinking you're part of some lame populist movement that stands against everything but for nothing.
And now for the Lhasa finale. Sunset over Potala.
Team Alpaca gives the ubiquitous jersey one more test drive before the harsh lower slopes of Everest. I do say old fellow, mine is holding up nicely, how's yours?
Sunset comes early when you're surrounded by mountains. Which, for those sick of reading this, is a good thing.
Magnificent!
Too bad they built a big road right at the foot of the palace. But one has to admit, it makes for good lighting effects.
End of another great day in Lhasa; end of another adequate blog post.
But wait, there's an encore!
Errr... you're fired? Most would agree the only person who needs firing around here is the author.
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