ChengDu - Pandas

Everyone feels so much better today now that we have come down to a lower elevation. 

We visited a great market and then went early the next day to the Panda Breeding Sanctuary.

The adult pandas were very dedicted to eating.

Leslie with a panda statue.  I could have spend many more hours here.  They are so cute.

Don thinks this one should be named Panda Don since he likes to sleep and relax. 

I LOVE pandas.  Especially cute are the little ones.  There were at least four in one large enclosure that were 6-18 months old. 

They didn't appear to have bones since they rolled around and flowed down the play structure.

There were also Red Pandas. 

 They were aggressive with each other and appeared territorial.

I continued to be amazed at how much stuff could be transported on bikes.

And everywhere we went we were reminded that this isn't Kansas Toto.

Lhasa - Johkong Monastary - Tibetian Museum

Many people in Tibet wear masks.  The official reason is because of the dust. 

We had to be careful when taking pictures so we didn't take any of the soldiers.  It was hard to frame a shot without soldiers in public places and squares.   

Lynn was ill this morning from the altitude.  Don had missed the Potala Palace visit because he was ill.    Completely different symptoms.  He had irregular heart beat, high blood sugar and high blood pressure.  Lynn had fluid on one lung, headache and indigestion. Both of us were given oxygen either overnight or for several hours, IV drugs and bed rest.   Since we live at sea level and are overweight, it wasn't surprising we didn't tolerate the altitude well. 

These masks were are the Tibetian museum.

Thankfully, we were both healthy for the trip to Johkong Monastary.  There were no pictures allowed inside.

These are the faithful outside.

Others would walk clockwise around this monastary, or the Potala, or the city of Lhasa swinging their prayer wheels and fingering their prayer beads.

It is even more crowded in the winter when devoted farmers make pilgrimages to Lhasa.

These men were chanting and packing concrete.  They made it look fun and several tourists came over to help and get pictures.  They just smiled, shared a tool and kept chanting.   

It was wonderful and see sunshine and blue sky in Tibet and kids playing.

We enjoyed a dinner show of local tribal dance.

And then they had folks from the audience join them.  Mary, Ed and Dirwin got the honors!

Lhasa - Potola Palace - Visit with local seamstress - Orphanage

The Potala Palace sits upon a hill in Lhasa. You can see it from across the city.  

Yak meat was the primary protein here.  It was quite good, but no, it didn't taste like chicken!  Closer to beef.  Yak butter tea was the drink of choice for locals and yak butter was also used as fuel for the candles in the monastaries.  Yak wool is spun for cloth. 

This is our group of 19 Canadians and Americans with our Chinese Tour Guide, Zhu Zion. 

Dennis and JudyResting on our way up the 350 steps at 12,400 elevation!!The view from the top of the palace was beautiful overlooking the whole city.  Pictures were not allowed inside the palace.

We visited the home of a seamstress/tailor. 

Three generations lived and worked there.Living Room

The kitchen was clean, neat, small and simple.

Most homes have a space devoted to religion/shrine.

Boiling water made easy Tibet was less polluted than China and the sun shone most days. 

We had a really big thunder and lightning storm one night that was fun to watch.

The kids at the orphanage we visited appeared clean and seemed happy.  This little darling was a twin and youngest at 15 months old.

They were obviously short on material possessions.

 It was not a school day and the kids were outside screaming and running as all kids do.

This was one of the girls dorm rooms. 

There are 149 children from 15 months to 22 years. 

They teach the disabled kids old style crafts such as paper making and traditional shoe making.They won't adopt out of Tibet until they are at least 12 years old and understand their Tibetian heritage.