Altitude sickness

Lhasa is close to 12,000 feet high.

So far I have managed to avoid altitude sickness, thanks to the slow train ride up and some magic little pills called Diamox. One of the travel blogs said, "try to get a room on the ground floor of your hotel, because when you arrive in Lhasa, you won't be able to climb to the 3rd or 4th floor." I got a 3rd floor room. At the 2nd floor, I said "hah, no problem"; by the 3rd floor, I was breathing heavily.

I had intended to climb a nearby mountain, but after the 13 floors of the Potala Palace, I realize that I was too ambitious. Instead, we will head off to the famous Lake Namtso.

The Potala Palace is indeed amazing: thirteen stories of innumerable chapels, Buddhas, halls, and altars, and countless priceless objects. Each altar was dripping with money and devotees of every persuasion, but mostly Chinese, were slapping bills to their foreheads and then throwing them at the holy relics. A team of seven Tibetans in full view of the public was roped off and counting the money as fast as they could, but the input outpaced their quick fingers. Shameless.

The tombs of the early Dalai Lamas were a bit much; each was several hundred kilos of solid gold. One lama spoke to us and insisted, "the 5th Dalai Lama did not want this elaborate tomb, but we Tibetans built it." They should've given the poor guy a sky burial. Let the birds pick his bones clean so the reincarnation can begin in earnest, instead of putting his remains on show for generation after generation to throw money at.