After two days of touring, it was time for a kickback day. We walked around the Barkhor (“lookee, lookee, cheap cheap and “I love you”). We stopped at the ex- Holiday Inn for a taste of what the upper crust traveler was experiencing and found a rather depressing, run-down building filled with Caucasians.
We grabbed a beer at the Dunya Restaurant and spent some time talking to Fred, the Dutch owner. This was his first season with the restaurant and it looks like he’ll make it. He’s offering the right things to attract the non-back-packer crowd- cold beer, good food and English speaking staff. He was an ex- tour guide who gave it up and decided to try the restaurant business. He told us stories of the 40 offices he needed to visit to get his green card, the 3 blood tests and the constant battles with the Chinese government. (Rules are changed arbitrarily)
The good news- we were able to confirm a trip to Ganden Monastery with a great English-speaking guide. After our group experience, with two guides- one to count heads and wave a flag and the other who was able to point to things with insightful commentary such as, “Past Buddha”, “Future Buddha”, “Butter candles”, we decided that we needed to get someone with a grasp of English and Tibetan history.
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