Today the sight-seeing with my tour group started. We started the morning at the Drepung Monastery, from which there were some excellent views across the mountains.
The afternoon was followed by the Sera monastery. Compared to other monasteries in China, Tibetan monasteries were more older, basic, humble, higher up, and seemed to contain a lot more dedicated worshippers (if you ignored the tourists!). My group, pictured at the monastery, from left to right are:
Barbara and Harvey: New Yorkers here on a trip attached to a business trip that Harvey was making in Beijing. Barbara was lively and charming, and perhaps a bit of a free spirit! Harvey and I would be partners in optimism later in the trip.Me!
Sonam: Our Tibetan tour leader - good given that we had booked through a Chinese agency. It turns out that he (and Tibetans in general) know a few words of Hindi and Punjabi, and are really into Indian culture. I Bluetoothed him a Dhaler Mehndi song, and a track from Devdas!
Louise: My room mate. She is travelling for an entire year, and has spent 3 months in China already. We have had some really interesting conversations about different countries, and what makes people from those countries the way they are.
Dong Juan and his father Jian: On holiday from Korea. Dong his a student in Electrical engineering, and Jian is an investor.
