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| Near the Barkhor, Lhasa |
We flew to Lhasa this morning. Our hotel is in the centre of the old Tibetan quarter. It is close to the Barkhor and Joktang monastery. I am faily sure I have stayed here before, but if so it was a longish time ago. I haven't worked out exactly when that would have been. As usual on the first day in Lhasa, the program was very gentle. We sorted ourselves out at the hotel and then spent some time in the Barkhor. Then to dinner at a restaurant run by a Tibetan family. This is one of many Tibetan businesses that our tour leader (Jamin) has mentored and sponsored during his 15 years living in Tibet.
All very nice to be back in Lhasa. It has grown substantially since I was last here. Then the Chinese part of the city was about half the size of the Tibetan area. Now they appear to be about the same size, and growing rapidly.
Nobody seemed to be affected by the altitude, which is what I expected from a bunch of experienced trekkers. It did make a change from previous trips though.