Potala Palace (布达拉宫)
Home to all Dalai Lamas since time immemorial. The most renown religious structure in Tibet, but disappointing to visit inside. It doesnt have the religious feel of the other 7 monasteries we entered in Tibet. No monks, no incense, no prayers inside, just plain-clothed curators with watchful eyes. It now sits as a museum. Just partially opened to tourists.
When I last visited Potala Palace with Kylie back in mid 1990's, we were driven to a gate midway up the hill slope. That route is now closed to public, reserved only for VIPs. Now the hundreds of steps from street level are real test of determination. A limit of 2500 visitors per day is imposed: 2000 from pre-arranged guided tour groups, and 500 quota for individuals who need to queue up at booking booth the day before to get 'permission'. Actual tickets (Y100 each) are to be paid for on day of visit, at the main entrance on street level. One could assign a travel agent to buy the tickets at Y200 each. All local tibetans could visit the palace at Y2 each. I forgot to ask if there was a daily quota for them. Probably not.
Potala Palace enshrines all but two late Dalai Lamas. A key question is where the current Dalai will rest after he passes away。The govt did contribute Y64million towards the enshrinement of the last Banchen Lama(Panchan Lama, equiv of Dalai for territories west of Lhasa, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia privices) inside the Tashilhunpo Lamasery (the equal of Potala) near Shigatse.
A photo shows the highest toilet in the world inside Potala Palace at about 3600m above sea level. Nothing fancy, just manholes suspended in midair. Whatever drops though those holes will take a few seconds to reach ground. Several tourists asked our tour guide where the 'highest' toilet was inside the palace. Out of curiosity, I decided to venture inside, took a photo and dashed out. The palace does look spectacular at night, lights on at 915pm.
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