In and Around Lhasa - Traditions

I had a rickshaw ride one night back to my hotel after supper.

Left: Breakfast dining room at my first hotel.

Below: People walking on the Barkhor kora (pilgrim circuit) around the Jokhang Temple. The circle that goes around the old city is 2,300 metres and takes approximately 2 and 1/2 hours to do. I believe there are 8 circles altogether...1 inner circle and 3 middle circles, and 5 outer circles. The people must ravel clockwise. When the do their prostrations they do them in odd numbers, never even.

Yak Potato stew, with a nan, and a plate of baked barley dough (tsampa or rtsam-pa), which is consumed daily as a staple of the Tibetans. To make tsampa,barley flour is usually mixed with the salty Tibetan butter tea.

Tibetan cooking has been influenced by its neighbours, China and India, but makes use of ingredients indigenous to the mountains. Tibetan cuisine is similar to that of Nepal. http://www.tibetinfor.com/tibetzt-en/tibetanfood/introduction/introdction1.htm

Momo's are Tibetan filled dumplings: http://www.tanc.org/new_food/momo.html

Some interesting English spellings appear on the menus in Lhasa, as they did all over China. Here are a few that made me chuckle. They actually made perfect sense, well sort of:

Beer & Liqure

ice cream (2 scups)

Lhasa Beer Bottel

Fresh Brude coffee cup

Suggestions are highly appreciable

I also learned a few Tibetan words:

tashi denek - hello

thuckjeche (took jay shay) - thank you

gucci - please