FINALLY, pictures of Tibet

Here are the pictures the Chinese didn't want you to see...(just kidding). In order of viewing:

1) The Potala Palace, home to all the Dalai Lamas except the present one....

2) Inside the courtyard of Drepung Monastery. The bright paints are used to keep away the termites! This was once the largest monastery in Tibet, home to more than 10,000 monks. Today, by Government rule, no monastery is allowed more than 500 monks. Drepung means "pile of rice" which is how the buildings look against the mountainside.

3) The symbology of the two deer facing the Wheel of Dharma (not a gameshow) is prominent in all monasteries. The male and female deer sybolize opposites - the yin and yang - and the wheel is the cycle of life.

4) The view from the top of Jhokhang Temple in Lhasa. See previous posting about Jhokhang.

5) A native rides down the Yarlung Tsangpo (river) in a yak skin boat. This river becomes the Brahmaputra in India. These boats, like Native Americans' canoes, have been used for thousands of years.