Today has been...interesting...and a little unnerving...
Given that the guide hadn't turned up the night before, and we were at a loose end, and decided to head off to Drapung Monastery. It's one of the places that wasn't on the original itinerary, but when I 'd been researching Tibet had decided that I wanted to go.
The guide had told us a few days before that there was going to be a Sky Burial – the traditional funeral rites for Tibetan Buddhists, and as I'd studied The Sociology of Death as part of my degree thought it might be an interesting experience. We'd been told by the guide that we couldn't go to the Sky Burial – but I'd been to see the Police and they said it wasn't a problem. So we set off early in the morning for the monastery.
It turns out that there wasn't a Sky Burial that day and that we'd been given the wrong information, but as we made our way up the hill, we'd been followed by a security guard.
There were no efforts made to stop us – he just seemed happy to follow us at a distance.
Having given up on finding the Sky Burial, and been told it was at another monastery at the other side of the valley, we decided that, given there was an hour until the ticket office opened, that we'd have a look around and then go back and buy a ticket.
The group had split into two by this point, and one half had been told that we all had to return and buy a ticket, which would have meant waiting around for an hour.
A few of us continued to look around – although you couldn't go inside anything other than one of the chapels as it was still all locked up.
The entrance to the main temple at Draprung:
The incredible view over the Lhasa valley:
Looking back to Draprung:
About 10 minutes later, we were told that the security guard was a Police Officer and if we didn't return to the ticket office we would have our Chinese Visas revoked (unnerving when your first told - but it felt like a bluff). As the rest of the group were at the ticket office, we decided the only fair thing to do was to go back and find out what was going on. So we walked back to the Ticket Office to find that all sorts of problems had broken out.
I got chatting to the Police guy, and he told me that the problem wasn't that we'd gone wandering off (although I'm sure it didn't help) – but that we shouldn't have been there without a guide in the first place. We had been told that our permit covered the whole of the Lhasa valley and we didn't realize that some places (like Drapung) weren't included.
We were then held at the ticket office for over an hour until our guide turned up.
Feeling slightly fed up at this point, I got a lift back into town with the driver, but a few of us were summoned to the Tour Office to “explain what we had done”. Apparently, the tour office was being asked to submit a report to the police, and they might have to pay a fine.
There were a few heart stopping moments along the way...but we finally got everything sorted out when our driver (who we'd nicknamed Speedy Gonzales) came to our defense.
In the afternoon we were taken by the guide to Sera Monastery – which is famous for it's debating. Senior monks test more junior monks by asking them questions, finishing each question with a clap to show it's time to answer. The monks have to answer straight away, and there's no thinking time.
If the answer is right, the monk asks another question. If the answer is wrong the senior monk slaps the back of one hand against the palm of the other, and they keep going until the correct answer is given.
Every one takes part – right up to the High Lama, and in one corner all the senior monks were grilling each other. It's all very good natured – although at one point two monks were getting really heated – although it all ended in good natured laughs.
Great fun to watch – although it did feel like there was a bit of show boating going on for the cameras at some points.
Monks going to debate:
Can I phone a friend?:
Getting ready for the next question - which was: Do coconuts migrate?
One sad thing about Sera Monastery is that before the 14th March uprising last year (2008) there used to be over 4000 monks at the monastery. Now there are less than 500.
Some are known to have escaped to India, walking over the mountains because (I've been told - but I hasten to add - not by the monks at this or any other monastery) the Chinese Government won't give them passports. Some are being held in prisons in Tibet, and some are simply missing. The same is true of every monastery you go to here.
And then it was back in the van to Lhasa for dinner...Indian – you just can't beat a good curry...
Given that the guide hadn't turned up the night before, and we were at a loose end, and decided to head off to Drapung Monastery. It's one of the places that wasn't on the original itinerary, but when I 'd been researching Tibet had decided that I wanted to go.
The guide had told us a few days before that there was going to be a Sky Burial – the traditional funeral rites for Tibetan Buddhists, and as I'd studied The Sociology of Death as part of my degree thought it might be an interesting experience. We'd been told by the guide that we couldn't go to the Sky Burial – but I'd been to see the Police and they said it wasn't a problem. So we set off early in the morning for the monastery.
It turns out that there wasn't a Sky Burial that day and that we'd been given the wrong information, but as we made our way up the hill, we'd been followed by a security guard.
There were no efforts made to stop us – he just seemed happy to follow us at a distance.
Having given up on finding the Sky Burial, and been told it was at another monastery at the other side of the valley, we decided that, given there was an hour until the ticket office opened, that we'd have a look around and then go back and buy a ticket.
The group had split into two by this point, and one half had been told that we all had to return and buy a ticket, which would have meant waiting around for an hour.
A few of us continued to look around – although you couldn't go inside anything other than one of the chapels as it was still all locked up.
The entrance to the main temple at Draprung:
The incredible view over the Lhasa valley:
Looking back to Draprung:
About 10 minutes later, we were told that the security guard was a Police Officer and if we didn't return to the ticket office we would have our Chinese Visas revoked (unnerving when your first told - but it felt like a bluff). As the rest of the group were at the ticket office, we decided the only fair thing to do was to go back and find out what was going on. So we walked back to the Ticket Office to find that all sorts of problems had broken out.
I got chatting to the Police guy, and he told me that the problem wasn't that we'd gone wandering off (although I'm sure it didn't help) – but that we shouldn't have been there without a guide in the first place. We had been told that our permit covered the whole of the Lhasa valley and we didn't realize that some places (like Drapung) weren't included.
We were then held at the ticket office for over an hour until our guide turned up.
Feeling slightly fed up at this point, I got a lift back into town with the driver, but a few of us were summoned to the Tour Office to “explain what we had done”. Apparently, the tour office was being asked to submit a report to the police, and they might have to pay a fine.
There were a few heart stopping moments along the way...but we finally got everything sorted out when our driver (who we'd nicknamed Speedy Gonzales) came to our defense.
In the afternoon we were taken by the guide to Sera Monastery – which is famous for it's debating. Senior monks test more junior monks by asking them questions, finishing each question with a clap to show it's time to answer. The monks have to answer straight away, and there's no thinking time.
If the answer is right, the monk asks another question. If the answer is wrong the senior monk slaps the back of one hand against the palm of the other, and they keep going until the correct answer is given.
Every one takes part – right up to the High Lama, and in one corner all the senior monks were grilling each other. It's all very good natured – although at one point two monks were getting really heated – although it all ended in good natured laughs.
Great fun to watch – although it did feel like there was a bit of show boating going on for the cameras at some points.
Monks going to debate:
Can I phone a friend?:
Getting ready for the next question - which was: Do coconuts migrate?
One sad thing about Sera Monastery is that before the 14th March uprising last year (2008) there used to be over 4000 monks at the monastery. Now there are less than 500.
Some are known to have escaped to India, walking over the mountains because (I've been told - but I hasten to add - not by the monks at this or any other monastery) the Chinese Government won't give them passports. Some are being held in prisons in Tibet, and some are simply missing. The same is true of every monastery you go to here.
And then it was back in the van to Lhasa for dinner...Indian – you just can't beat a good curry...
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