Monk training

Please forgive me if I already wrote about this, but at our last hotel before we dropped off the grid 3 days ago the service was sketchy, and I am not sure it went through.

On a visit to the Drepung Monastery one of the richest and most powerful of the Yellow Sect monasteries, we happened to witness some of the 200 monks training for their final oral exams. They are split into two groups and one monk from each group is chosen to wear the yellow hat, before being blistered with questions. If the answer is correct the lead questioner slaps his left arm with his right hand, palm down, if wrong the hand will be palm up. It looked very intimidating.

The huge pile of wood is used for the fires which burn under the enormous cauldrons which cook food for 200 monks. It is the largest monastery kitchen in Tibet.