We board the train in the heart of Beijing. There is no distinction as yet between us on the train and the hustle of this sprawling city. And we are on our way: 48 hours to Lhasa. For the first day the train snakes through the valleys and hills, villages and cities of the low lands. Giant streams of concrete, mountains of glass and steel, cities the size of London that we have never heard of pass outside. Construction is etched deeply into the face of this country. And we are on the most prestigious line cutting right through it. Our little bubble of activity is carried higher now. Ascending out of the sprawling activity into more barren lands. The oxygen supply in the carriages kicks in, the lush greens have turned to white and we have unmistakenly entered the highlands. This little bubble of Beijing is injected into territories foreign to it, along paths not yet well trodden.

བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས། / tashi delek	plateau	མཚོ་བོད་ལྕགས་ལམ། / qingzang railway
拉萨站 / Lhasa railway station	old Lhasa	pilgrims and their friendly guardians
the clash of worldviews I	pilgrims	looking
ཐང་ཀ་ / Thangkas	muslim quarter	Lhasa mosque & candy warriors
the clash of worldviews II	everything for the salvation	modern Buddha
པོ་ཏ་ལ / Potala palace	Potala square	new Lhasa and its own life
...	flags	carpets manufacture
wheels of fortune and of destiny	american spies	gents & ladies
inside Jokhang (ཇོ་ཁང་) monastery	['] ['] [']	roofs of ཇོ་ཁང་
only the sky is above	धर्मचक् / Dharmacakra	བར་སྐོར་ / Barkhor
incense	after the rain	praying
close to spirits of earth	flags on the wind	monastery
take long breath	monastery & barracks: protection from spirits & aliens	Buddhas
emanations	sunny days at monastery	debating monks
tradition & comfort	friendship	बुद्ध

photos are (c)opyright by Ryszard Paweł Kostecki
introduction text is (c) by Frank Hellmann
last update : 07.01.2014