7 June - Tibet -Lhasa

The mystery tour continues .. We get collected for a day trip & meet the rest of our group.... So now we are 8 and will together until the 12 June. Great people & one guy in particular, Perret, has covered the globe & been to places I have never heard of.

The focus of today was the Potala Palace ... The iconic monastery that is in every brochure advertising Tibet. It's so popular that they only allow 1000 individuals & 1000 people in groups around per day. One gets a time slot of an hour and you have to keep moving. Before we are allowed in our passports get checked against the list and our bags go through the scanner. It's a truly amazing place that feels very spiritual. It's also a living museum that was spared during the Cultural revolution to due it's Unesco status.

Our group is bonding well, we have a lovely local lunch & then go to the Sera monastery to watch the monks debate. They sit out in the square under trees & take it in turns to debate a question related to their Buddhist teachings. The point of difference here is that there is great gesticulating, shouting & slapping of hands. For all the world it looks like there are fisticuffs going on.

After some free time we are taken to a welcome banquet at the tour companies resturant .
A great meal with good company & few laughs.