Potala Palace — my Everest

Jan Cornall
Jul 10, 2017 · 5 min read

by Rob Mason

The rear view of the Potala Palace, Lhasa, pic by Jan Cornall

Our epic journey to the Potala Palace starts with a final gulp of water as we leave the coach. How will we cope? We’re at 12000 feet, face an intimidating climb uphill and no water until an uncertain location of the next staging post where our sun drained bodies can be rehydrated.

We are looking at the rear of the “building”. If it were not of such spiritual significance, I could imagine it being a galactic battleship, high up in the sky. If this rear view is anything to go by, we are in for a massive WOW when we get to the front. We approach the first police check point with a certain amount of trepidation — no water, no creams and no lighters — precautions against potential planned self- immolation. The haunting pictures of just a few years ago flash back, reminding me of those poor souls who bravely took this ultimate sacrifice in the name of their beliefs and freedoms.

Our first sight of the face of the Palace could almost be intimidating if one didn’t know better. But, it’s certainly a WOW, WOW! The distinct colour regime of the walls — snow white, saffron yellow and claret red — signify the civil, local council and religious tiers of the superstructure.

An Iced Coffee advert temporarily interrupts our solemn journey. There is a slight giggle in the group — we are already parched and salivating for the iced coffee — but it is elusive and no where to be seen.

A beautiful rose garden welcomes us to the base of our Everest trek to the top of the spiritual world. A garden of red, pink and white roses that our English parents would have been justifiably proud

An oasis appears. It is not a mirage. We can buy water. Here we realise that at 5 yuan for a small but beautifully labelled bottle was a 500% uplift on the prices outside. Hey ho — we quickly agree — the label of the Potala Palace makes it a potential keepsake memento of our epic journey.

Queuing is not a strong value in Asia. We take our place, but there is mild jostling for position by some Chinese tourists who, I am delighted to see later, are in such a hurry that they are too early for their allotted time and are ejected by the first inspector. A couple of western tourists in shorts and singlet t shirts are alongside us. Are they just being ignorant of temple etiquette or is it their protest? We ignore them ….I secretly hope they get rejected.

We leave the base camp -and look up the zig zag pathway of rough paving stones. The zig zag shape is familiar as we travelled this pattern a few days before over the big mountains passes. But this time, we are doing it on foot, ..this time, we are going to higher places.

Zig….a flight of ten steps up then a short slope up that is probably intended to act as a recovery time before the next flight of steps — but it’s still uphill. Another ten steps, and another ten. Breathing isn’t exactly easy. Wheezing overtakes breathing.

Zag… we repeat the same process. Tibetans our age overtake us with ease. Youngsters make friendly fun of our dilemma. We are thankful for Jan, who strikes up a chat with an elderly bespectacled Tibetan man wearing a white floppy cricket hat that reminds me of the white hat my mum bought in the Singapore Cricket Club so many years ago, but I don’t think she would have made it up these steps…..but maybe she would have, just to see the DL’s Palace.

Taking a rest halfway with a local, pic by Jen Truran

Zig,…Zag. I loose count of how many zigs and how many zags.

What seemed like hours later, we solemnly enter the top claret red 5 storey summit. These top tiers are built of wood — to keep the weight down. The stairs are steep, really steep. We are nose to tail with the person in front — literally nose to tail. As we move through the Palace, we go with the flow. Occasionally the flow increases and we are hustled forward by the pressure of the hordes of tourists being corralled by their guides.

Guides with Madonna mics, tourists with black ears with red lights indicate that they are powered up and tuned into their tour guide, but the guides clearly haven’t learned that they don’t need to shout anymore. The cacophony of voices is almost deafening, but Dekyi’s calming and soft voice cuts through and gently caresses us through the hordes.

Once or twice, Walter says that we are about to be overrun by the hordes. We enter a small room, only to find that the hordes follow one after another like lemmings — not thinking that their entry was our exit. Like a champagne bottle, we are the cork stuck in the bottle and suddenly — pop — we are out to our great relief.

As we near the end, a young Road Warrior guide rushes past us, pushing everyone out of the way. He is in danger of being late and overrunning his 60 minute allocation. I wonder what the consequences are?

We’ve seen magnificent Buddhas of all types and sizes. The tombs of the DL’s are staggeringly massive, overpowering, chilling — they send a shiver down my spine. They are overwhelming and, sorry, they are not beautiful.

But the beauty of the DL’s study room defies my vocabulary. We peer into the doorway and drink in the beauty, the serenity and peacefulness of this room, high up in heavens. The window overlooks the green hills surrounding Lhasa.

This must be THE Utopian writer’s den!

© Rob Mason 2017

Rob Mason has worked for many years at a senior level in the rail industry including the London Underground, Rail Corp and NSW Trains. He joined Taste of Tibet as a ‘non-writer’ accompanying his wife Sal, but proved himself to be more than handy with the pen!

Photos by Rob Mason except where indicated.

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Next Writer’s Journey trips heading out:

Backstage Bali, Oct 14–21, seven days, mountains and ricefields retreat.

Moroccan Caravan, Mar 4–17, 2018. A camel riding/writing adventure into the Sahara. Add on a five day residency at the end.

Haiku Writing in Japan, Mar 27- April 3, 2018. Walk the Nakasendo Way in cherry blossom time.

www.writersjourney.com.au

Himalayan Kora

Writings from a Journey to Nepal and Tibet

Jan Cornall

Written by

Writer,traveler-leads international creativity retreats. Come write with me at www.writersjourney.com.au

Himalayan Kora

Writings from a Journey to Nepal and Tibet

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