Our plane floats along the Himalayan Range taking a left turn around Mount Everest. At this point the white mountains stretch to the horizon separating the lush greenery of Nepal from the dry moonscape of Tibet. We expected poor food from all we had heard, but are delighted to find that every meal is a seven course feast in all our Chinese hotels. Travelling by bus from Lhasa to Gyantse and Shigatse over several days, we were witness to many wonders - chanting red robed monks, prayer flags on high passes, a yak skin boat on a turquoise lake, glorious fifteenth century paintings in a mandala shaped temple, small horses threshing grain, or pulling entire families to market hitched to two wheeled carts, and always the smiling faces of the Tibetan people. The contrast between the Tibetans and the Chinese was palpable, and it was difficult not to make comparisons - hospitable and warm versus stern and cold, colourful and spiritual versus drab and practical.
Tibetan women are beautiful.
They circle the Jokhang temple spinning prayer wheels, with turquoise and silver twined into their shiny black braids. The men wear multicoloured hand-woven cloaks lined in lambskin. Temple roofs are sheathed in gold with dharma wheels and snow lion gargoyles glimmering in the sun. Inside, colours of ochre, red, maroon, vermilion and gold surround us and the statues of Buddhas and Lamas glow in the soft light of hundreds of butter lamps. Brightly painted wrathful gods recall the Last Judgments of 10th century France.