The Jokhang is fantastic

Being here is both fantastic and depressing. Fantastic because it’s Lhasa, one of the most enigmatic and mysterious cities in the world, full of temples and monasteries, monks, and pilgrims spinning prayer wheels.

But all that is confined to the Tibetan quarter. Yes, the capital of Tibet has a Tibetan quarter. That’s where the engine of Chinese development stopped, and some traditional Tibetan buildings remain. In the center is the Jokang, the spiritual heart of Tibet. It’s a magical place full of pilgrims.

But the Tibetans here seem different from the ones in Kathmandu. They seem a lot poorer, dirtier, and unhappy. The monks look especially bad. The ones in Kathmandu all had clean new robes, while Lhasa’s are unshaven and wear dirty old robes. Many of them grabbed me and asked for money. Some foreigners on expensive package tours must have thought they would Free Tibet by giving monks money, but they just turned them into beggars.