Nightlife is a big part of living in any city. Tibet is no exception. Most students will stay in
during the week but if there is someone's birthday in the dorm we usually go out as a group on
the weekend. This past weekend was my very good friend's birthday party, so some Tibetan
friends and us foreign students went out for our first real night out on the town in Lhasa.
After a vegetarian dinner at "Holy Land" Restaurant about 12 of us continued on to a
dance club called "Queen" on the Westside of Lhasa. Getting there was amusing and one of the
cabs even got lost because the cab drivers didn't know where the club was with just it's English
name. Our cab driver even spoke Tibetan, which made it easier to communicate but it was still
difficult getting to the club. My French classmate wasn't so lucky and his Chinese-speaking
cabby drove them all over town looking for the elusive club. I actually ended up getting my cab
to the right place by remembering that a famous healing rock was located just up the street from
it. No one knew what I was talking about when I started to describe the famous rock to the
driver, no one except the driver himself.
Unexpectedly, our trip to the dance club was a lesson in a Tibetan cultural site. The rock
is known for it's healing properties and many Tibetans who come to Lhasa visit the site to rub
their ailing body parts physically against it. Traditionally, they believe it will help heal or rid
them of bodily pain. The healing rock is located next to a beautiful monastery and coincidently
up the street from a four-story karaoke entertainment center and very the Lhasa dance spot
"Queen" we where going to.
When we arrived there were not many people and the music had not picked up yet. The
staff tried to seat us off to the side of the bar and away from the dance floor, but I insisted we
needed to be closer to the DJ. We ended up right next to the bar and just off the dance floor.
Music at Queen was quite a multi-media experience. There were at least six screens showing
western music videos muted while American, Euro, and Chinese pop music blared over load
speakers. At first we were the only ones dancing and most people just starred at us. They starred
because we were foreigners but also our dancing styles were a little different from the more
reserved style they were used to. After about two hours or so many of the locals began showing
up and started dancing themselves. It became a really live nightclub-dancing atmosphere and we
no longer felt like we were watched but like we were part of one big party.
The night was topped off with a live fire juggling and lip-syncing performance by the
bartender. Followed by another bartender belting out a Chinese pop song. Also after the life
Chinese pop song they played a German song, which completely astonished my German
classmate. However, this was not the highlight of the evening.
The highlight of the evening was seeing another side of my classmates and my Tibetan
friends being able to see how silly us foreigners could be. I think being able to see Americans
and Europeans dance and sing along to familiar pop songs brought us closer and showed them
that we aren't just concerned with school or careers, etc. It was nice for me too to see the other
side of some of my classmates who are serious students most of time. I will never forget the look
on the faces of locals in the club as my friend who is six feet five inches towered over them with
a big smile on his face having the time of his life.
We had a great time out on our first night out in Lhasa and we also all made it home in
time for curfew.