We got there as the 30 or so nuns were chanting. It was mesmerizing. I felt a bit embarrassed encroaching on their life, taking photos and just listening. It was a chance to see up close the auctioning of Tibetan Buddhism. They also have a very nice shop with reasonable prices. Leave a donation or buy something just because you have the money to do so.

I had wanted to visit one of the teahouses in Lhasa while I was there. First we went to the Guangming Gang Qiong teahouse, it was super crowded with locals, felt a little lost and intimidated. So we came to the Tsamkhung tea house instead. Took us a while to find it, it is deep inside an alley off Barkhor street, close to the Makye Ame restaurant. Ordered a pot of sweet tea for 2 (~7 Yuan) by the ticket window, took the ticket, went to another window to pick up our pot of tea, collected 2 tea cups and found a table upstairs. It was mostly Tibetan families and old folks there enjoying their afternoon tea and noodles. We exchanged a quiet smile with them, sat down, sipped our tea and chat for an hour. It was nice and comforting, no one was smoking or gambling, some Chinese solo travelers have came to spend their afternoon reading and writing here too. Highly recommended for anyone who wish to take a break from souvenir shopping at Barkhor street.