The Faces of Tibet
Tibetan women walking the circuit around the Jokang Temple in Lhasa
It was raining when we arrived in Lhasa at 8:00 pm on Tuesday evening. I didn’t have a ride arranged, but one of my friends did and he invited myself and two other girls from the train to join him so we could all find a hostel together. We had luck at the first place we went, the Yak Hotel, getting beds in the dormitory for about $4 a night.
The next few days we spent walking around the old Tibetan quarter of town, in awe of the people and the atmosphere we were experiencing. We walked the holy circuit 3 times around the Jokang Temple early in the morning with pilgrims from all over Tibet spinning prayer wheels and counting prayer beads. Some people prostrated themselves the entire circuit. The smell of incense was heavy in the air and we all verbalized how lucky we were to be experiencing this unique place first hand.
Men in traditional head dress (those are prayer beads in his left hand)
Monk in front of the Jokang Temple, Lhasa
Woman in traditional dress, Lhasa
The girls, Hina from London and Ingrid from Spain in front of Barkhor Square, Lhasa
She sold me some prayer beads
Taking a break from prayer for some food and drink, Lhasa
Me and two Tibetan children we met on our walks
Walking the circuit around the Jokang
Tibetan women walking the holy ciruit with some prayer flags in the background
3 women praying in front of the temple
Man prostraing himself around the holy circuit. Some pilgrims do this for hundreds of miles .
Sticking your tongue out is a traditional Tibetan greeting to show that you’re not the devil (or your tongue would be green). I think he was just sticking his tongue out, though:-)
Tags: Amanda Formoso, China, Lhasa, Tibet, Travel
Amanda
I guess the Devil likes sour apple Jolly Ranchers, if his tongue is green!
Great pics, as usual. Though the man walking the prayer beads and the head covering doesn’t seem happy that you are taking his picture.
wuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…
really want to go to tibet.
what is the read thing on the head of the men?
that red tassel on the head is the traditional headress of khampa men who belong to the kham region of western tibet
The Kham region is in Eastern Tibet, not Western Tibet.
What a fantastic journey! I loved your pics, especially the one with the dark clouds over the Jokhang Temple.
Check out my Tibet Travel Blog if you’d like —
http://tibettravelblog.com
and my photoblog –
http://tibetanportraits.com
Hope you get to go back again soon.