Tibet

Well, I will tell you my Tibet stories up close and personal when we
return, but I (Carla) did not heart Tibet. It was nice to visit, and
the culture is very interesting though. There are many many people who
travel to the monasteries (some every day) to pray to the Buddhas and
worship at the holy sites in Lhasa. We visited 4 monasteries that all
had huge amazing statues of various Buddhas in different temples
throughout the monasteries. There were Buddhas that were two stories
tall, and some that fit in the palms of our hands. Inside the
monasteries, the Tibetan Buddhists bring yak butter tea and yak butter
as offerings to the Buddhas. They put the butter, and pour the tea
into these large bowls that have candle wicks in them, to keep the
flames lighted in front of the Buddha they wish to honor. In the main
room in each monastery is a large room, usually predominantly red in
color, where the monks would pray. There are many tapestry type things
hanging from the ceilings, and there are seats for the monks about knee
level (my knee level) where they sit and pray. We witnessed many
people making the pilgrimage to the monasteries; some have walked for
days on end, some up to a year to get to the sacred sites in Lhasa.
The buildings were very colorfol and ornate, with rickety stairs that
kept going up and up so we never knew when we were going to stop. I'll
try and include some pictures of the monasteries later.