The summer place was a favorite of the 14^th Dalai Lama. It is easy to see why. As soon as you walk in you feel away from the hubbub of the city. Step out again horns beep jewelry sellars hawk and you feel bothered. Inside it’s a different world; birds, trees and true tranquility. You can walk around the main wall, you are uninterrupted. The homes of each of the Dalai Lamas feel more like homes. There are some security cameras in the main rooms but you do not feel as if you are taking a tour of a London bank vault as you do in the Potala. Half frozen Ponds and gardens are everywhere, ducks roam and slip in and out of the ponds. The home of the 13^th Dalai lama is particularly impressive. Many carriages both human carried and horse drawn have been moved inside the rooms. “That was one of his hobbies” says our guide. In the houses of the past Dalai Lamas there are Tara paintings for each year of their life. The home of the 14^th Dalai Lama is very beautiful. The paintings on the wall depict the history of Tibet and its people. Apparently the Tibetans also figured out we decended from monkeys, evolution is sort of shown in the paintings. Tibetans had this far before Darwin it seems. “And over here is the first western style bathroom in Tibet” says our guide “It was built for the 14^th Dalai lama and he liked the hot running water”. The conference rooms where fantastic, and you could imagine the meetings that where held in there. In his bedroom I put a kata on his bed. The summer felt like a home.