a traditional losar

tourist shops and restaurants have been closing since november. in january, all good restaurants also decide to close their doors. in de weeks prior to losar (tibetan new year) and chinese new year the last shops lock up for the celebrations. everybody is out celebrating. with lots and lots of chang (home-brewed tibetan barly beer) and beer.

the evening before losar the fireworks start. and they do not finish until late in the following morning. the streets are coloured bright red of all the wrappings left behind by the fireworks. the tibetans are all wearing their best chuba (traditional long coat or dress). barkhor square is lined up with hundreds of meters of people wanting to drip yak butter at all the shrines the jokhang houses (to ensure a good start to the year).

we celebrate losar at puntso’s house, a talented and motivated technician steven works with. at nine-thirty we are picked up by puntso and his brother. at ten am we drink our first cup of home-brewed chang beer with a small yak butter decoration (again for luck). and i guess we were drunk around noon. we eat lots of traditional losar sweets and cookies. pass on the dried yak meat (looks very tough). and enjoy an elaborate home-cooked dinner with the family. mula (puntso’s 80 year old mother) eats her dinner wih the few teeth she has left. the children play in the garden and the men say chapda (bottom up) a bit too often. some beers later we are dressed up in traditional chubas ourselves. everybody is laughing and taking pictures. we dance. at ten pm puntso’s brother drops us of at home. still drunk.

in the days after losar we visit the potala palace, as every good tibetan does. we climb up the long, stone stairs. the palace is beautifully decorated and a bit crowded (luckily without tourists). chinese guards guide us through the house of the dalai lama. the dalai lama left his palace in 1959. today, it feels like a museum. books are left open and cups are left unwashed, as if the dalai lama could come home anytime. the potala palace is still an impressive building. the red palace of the potala shows us the tombs of former dalai lamas, charming little chapels filled with buddha statues, meditation rooms, the throne room and even the bedroom of the dalai lama. as we walk down the stairs at the back of the potala, we are silent. remembering the recent past and thinking of the future.

in front of the potala palace pilgrims are prostrating on the sidewalk. we climb up a hill for a perfect view of the potala. we enjoy the early spring sun and dream of the summer. at the summit café we drink a good cup of cappuccino and talk about the contradictions of the potala palace for the rest of the afternoon.

losar was a great experience. but it is time for the shops and restaurants to open their doors. we are craving for some good and familiar food.