Yak Meat

Tibetans are a beautiful people with a fascinating culture. Like all cultures, it's changing.

I have not needed to indulge in yak meat or butter tea because numerous foods are available, even pizza. M-Rock has jumped right in, though. He says about yak meat: 'it tastes like beef."

I met a guy who was here seven years ago. He says, ''I can't recognize Lhasa." The Chinese have brought massive changes. Some of the tourists are Tibetan culture devotees who bemoan the changes, but you have to take the good with the bad. On the remote plains, one sees a solitary, thick, white cloth tent, a family's dwelling. Now it has solar panels and a satellite dish, and it is not uncommon to see a 4 X 4 pick-up, too.

Lhasa is full of shops selling everything imaginable: stoves, heaters, electronics, plumbing supplies, and mostly, Western fashions. Even the wannabe gangsta style, with hooded sweatshirts and fake bling, is available. The communists have not stamped out Tibetan religion (they seem to be using it to boost tourism) but they have certainly succeeded in introducing capitalism.