"QUANTUM SHOT" #299 Travelogue by Andrew N. Grimes - link
An experience no traveler could ever forget (and may have trouble completely remembering)
Our contributing travel writer Andrew N. Grimes (with Allen and Nancy Grimes) of "In the Rest of the World" writes about their experiences in Tibet, visiting the spectacular Potala Palace. This palace is the former residence of Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who was recently presented with a Congressional Gold Medal by George W. Bush, in spite of protests of the Chinese government.
Flying into Tibet after having traveled over lush, mountainous areas of Western China was a shock. The barren, grey landscape can be foreboding and makes for an interesting first impression.
Each person has a vivid memory that others can't recall
We somehow managed to stay in a comfortable guesthouse reserved for honored visitors which was a nice surprise. The altitude however was not so nice. At a base altitude of 12,300 feet, it takes considerable time to acclimate. Plus, everywhere you go venturing away from base is even higher. Thus, much of the visit was spent "in the clouds", both literally and figuratively. The sights and events of the trip vary depending on who you talk to in our group.
A day trip to 17,500 feet took us past villages where yaks plowed the rocky landscape, and because nothing much grows at such an altitude, it seemed a lot of work with little return. The oxygen pillows provided us were meant to be sucked on when anyone started feeling lightheaded, but we were naive to think inhaling a small amount of oxygen would make much of a difference.
One of us remembers many colored flags flying at the top of the mountain, one remembers a large lake, and another remembers signs pointing to all the other towns in Tibet – but each person has a vivid memory that others can't recall.
Looking at nearly uninhabitable countryside surrounding the Palace made truly appreciate the feat of building such a spectacular structure. The feelings of reverence and devotion permeated the simple rooms on the inside. Monks in their simple garb, twirling beads or prayer wheels, were oblivious to the visitors of which there were few.
Accessible today, the Potala, palace of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa, Tibet is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the "New Seven Wonders" by USA Today. Built in 637, Potala has been destroyed and rebuilt over the years. The current structure covers about 32 acres and was built between 1645 and 1694. It was only slightly damaged in 1959 during the Tibetan uprising against the invading Chinese.
A fragment of ancient art, showing how Potala and the Palace looked in the 7th century:
Although most religious structures were damaged, it is reputed to have been spared by the personal intervention of Chou En-Lai. It served as home for the Tibetan Dalai Lama until the current 14th Dalai Lama fled in 1959.
Magnificent monument, existing in a harsh environment
The building makes up the living quarters, office and seminary in the "White Palace." The "Red Palace", added in 1690 is completely devoted to religious study and Buddhist prayer.
Gated entry into the White Palace:
Western Hall of the Red Palace:
The roofs of the Red Palace are covered with gold:
There are many halls, chapels and shrines filled with statues and works of art. One of the largest contains the body of the 5th Dalai Lama and is coated by 8,200 pounds of solid gold and studded with semi-precious jewels.
Truly, this is a magnificent monument, existing in a harsh and foreboding environment. Visiting Potala is an experience no traveler could ever forget (and may have trouble completely remembering).
actually, for the Quebec ice storm, some areas of the province went without power for as long as six weeks... yes, SIX WEEKS... 100 000 people were evacuated. 16 000 soldiers were sent in for various tasks. 25 people died. yes... quite a storm. I was lucky, I was out of power for 4 days. And it seemed like weeks.
Incredible collection of ice storm photographs! The one I took in Atlanta was definitely an accident and it was quite exciting to wake up and see everything frozen over night...
I live in Ontario, so ice storms are nothing new for me...but the artistic photos will remind me to not just see freezing rain as a nuisance, but to stop and take a look at the beauty it creates.
I well remember the Spokane ice storm. On campus, there is a four story dorm that faces a bunch of tall trees, and the residents were cheering as the branches broke off. Why not? Nobody was walking down there, and it was probably the only entertainment they could get with the power out. I spent the evening in one of the few places with power— the Honors study house. It was quite a party.
The pictures I have from the day after are quite lovely but non-digital. Thank you for posting the link!
Growing up in NY - we have had our fair share of ice storms - and they can be both scary as well as quite beautiful if you can get out and take some pictures.
hi, I came here via stumble, and I just wanted to thank you for actually putting some effort into this post. Nearly every other click on the stumble button produces a blog entry showing extreme natural phenomena, but this one is the first and only that actually had interesting and helpful reference information and obvious thought put into the presentation. Thanks.
hi, I'm from Ontario and remember the ice storm really well... I managed to be able to stay in my home for the first week. After that I had to go to my folks house for a week and finally with a friend for the remainder. I was without power for 21 days. It's amazing how beautiful nature can be when at her most destructive. Everything was quiet, no sounds of cars or anything, just the sounds of the ice as branches moved in the wind and pieces fell. A truly awesome experience!
I live in New England, and Ice Storms are just a common part of life here. I remember a big Ice Storm back in '97 that knocked out power to around a million people. I was out of power for about a week, the entire state of Maine basically shut down.
They can be the most destructive of storms, but they can also be the most beautiful sights in the world. Watching the morning sun set afire a forest enshrouded in ice, with nothing but the sound of tinkling branches falling in the wind, is something you can't forget.
The second to the top casemod is "The BFG", it's very very nice model of the BFG in the Doom games, even with a working stroboscope in it. You can view the whole proces of creating this casemod at: http://gathering.tweakers.net/forum/list_messages/1188110/ . It's in Dutch, but there are more than 100 photo's.
The Wacky Racers cars were built for the Goodwood Festival Of Speed. Each year they build another car from the series and they all drive in a grand parade.
Info at http://www.goodwood.co.uk/fos/intro/jfos.htm
The Pen Guy I love wacky cars and thanks for inluding my Mercedes Pens, its a great honor. I also started a new blog called Art Car Central which I hope will become world's most comprehensive blog about art cars, events, lists, how to and everything else related to this wonderful and unique personal expression.
The truck that has 'US airforce afterburner' written on it, just to let you know, is more than likely a just a monster truck... when they transport monster trucks they remove the large wheels and fit small ones and then transport them separately to be easier.
My direct boss (our CEO) has the Carver. It looks neat and is fun - but hey, 40k Euro for a "cool" joyride that isn't even that eco-friendly? Seems like a waste of sound engineering.
That photo of mountains was taken from the climbers entrance/exit of the Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix, France. It was taken about where the lone individual is in this picture: http://content.cxnx.net/chamonix.net/3316.jpg
Anybody can stand in that spot and see this view by riding the cable car up. You'll never forget it!
re: Police Oops - This reminds me of the only traffic accident I saw while in Rome, Italy for an entire summer.
It stuck with me because if you've every witness the traffic in Rome, it seems totally chaotic, yet I almost went throughout the entire summer walking the roman streets without witnessing a single crash.
The one wreck I did see though was a police officer rear-ended a guy driving a Vespa, and even that accident wasn't that serious. The Vespa owner walked away from the collision just fine. I didn't get to see what happened to his moped though.
Well, it seems that URLs are filtered away on DRB. So, CTRL-C CTRL-V: ,,Long live ages old, never repaired student dorms…
Actually the problem is more complex. There are quite many dorms located in old buildings that have a `cultural heritage’ status and as such may not be modified without authorisation of responsible institutions.
In principle a good regulation, as it prevents ruining rests of old architecture, but sometimes it really backfires - in this case the dorm cannot be modified to provide in-room hot water.
Renovation costs are also pretty high - it’s really controversial sometimes, as the materials used must match the style and finish of the original fittings.Sure again - it’s a god idea, but what if there’s no money for special paint orexotic type of plaster? Shall the building fall into ruin just because nobody’s ready to pay for reverting it to the truly original state, or maybe it’s good to use something cheaper, but preserving the state if not the style? ''
the green car sticking out of the parking is in bordeaux, parking victor hugo, it's an old jaguar , next time i go there i can take a picture from inside if you want :p
"QUANTUM SHOT" #299
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