The walkway up to the Potala palace is long, steep and winding - and there are many things to see.
I pass two local men in their temple clothes - a nice jacket and long pants - or if available, a suit jacket, slacks, and bowler or cowboy hat as they look at me curiously.
As I ascend, I catch stunning upshot view of the palace and its grandeur.
a bit later one, I run into two monks coming down the stairs. With no foreigners in the picture, it makes for an idyllic scene.
About halfway up there is a small ridge line plateau where a spot a PLA officer, seemingly a visitor / tourist like the rest of us, getting his picture taken with a panoramic backdrop.
Near the top, a man spinning a prayer wheel and grinning ear to ear to himself passes me. Lost in his own thoughts he does not even notice me. To this day, I have always wondered what he was smiling about so.