Limping Marathon Runner

Light sleeper, I am one. Saya was snoring and EndlessTrail talked in his sleep last night. Saya and Jeffrey seemed better this morning. But, they skipped breakfast. So, EndlessTrail and I got ready for breakfast. Suddenly, I had nose bleed. Must be the dry air. I hope this release some pressure in me. Nose bleed = Internal pressure equalised? The roof top cafe breakfast was good where the cafe is at the top floor of our hotel, over looking the city streets. We could see Potala Palace from here too. I had some food and a couple of hot Lipton teas. We took several pictures on the roof top before going back to our room. I had to pop 2 Panadol tablets to curb that throbbing headache. EndlessTrail and Saya went to settle our road trip (landrover) package. Too bad, I could not join them. I felt slightly better when they were back. My headache was gone.

We thought of going over to Potala Palace. But, an U.S. couple told us that we need to get the tickets in advance. We can only queue up and book for tomorrow's tickets. While walking in the front, I took some pictures of the majestic Palace. There were many vendors selling ornaments and jewellery. Beggars are a common sight, I guess. Reaching the visitor entrance of Potala Palace, the in-charge person told us that we need to queue for tomorrow's tickets inside. We started queuing at 2pm plus. EndlessTrail was in the queue. A little Tibetan girl was playing some games with him while waiting for the ticket sale counter to be opened. I took some shots of her playing with EndlessTrail and other kids too. Ridiculous as is sounds, the ticket counter started only at 5pm. We waited 2 hrs plus. Jeffrey headed back early as he wasn't feeling well again. The three of us walked to the Eastern side of the Palace looking for some Tibetan rock carvings. We found a row of prayer wheels before reaching a small market. We bought some bananas just before getting Jeffrey out of the hotel bed for dinner. I feel better. I hope that I can eat something. Oh yeah, we skipped lunch while queuing for Potala Palace tickets. Jeffrey was feeling okay and we thought of arranging his flight since he wanted to head back to ChengDu on 5th. He would still be with us while we would be heading to EBC (road trip), setting off on 6th.


We took a cab to Lucky Horse restaurant (recommended by the U.S. couple) for our dinner. I had noodle soup with eggs and all of us shared a pot of soup and some local bread. Right after a good dinner, we walked to the nearby Jokhang Temple. It was getting dark. We should visit this temple tomorrow. As we walked back to the hotel, we sighted more beggars since the night is getting darker. Life as seen here, is tough.