DAY 2 (5/6): SPINN CAFE (風轉咖啡館), Lhasa (拉薩), Tibet (西藏), 2017.09.17

Pazu Kong (薯伯伯), a young gentleman from Hong Kong, traveled to Tibet in 2006 with Oat, his travel buddy from Thailand. They spent three months on the road from Thailand to Lhasa. Once arrived, they decided to stay at the sacred city and opened a cafe in the Barkhor Old City. Since then, Pazu’s Spinn Cafe (風轉咖啡館) has become a Lonely Planet recommended hub for travelers (from Hong Kong and elsewhere) to gather and seek for travel advises. Pazu also arranges jeep hire for travelers. We learnt about Pazu from his book “Spinning in Tibet, Selling Coffee in Lhasa (風轉西藏)”. Written in 2009, his book offers a glimpse of his interesting Tibetan experience. About a month before departure, we contacted Pazu for our jeep hire. We asked for an experienced Tibetan driver to take us to the Mount Everest Base Camp, Namtso Lake and a few other destinations along the way. Upon arrival in Tibet, Pazu told us to drop by Spinn Cafe to leave our ID for him to apply for our Everest permits.

After our visit to Jokhang Monastery, it was still too early for dinner. We decided to drop by Cafe Spinn. From Jokhang, it was just a few minutes’ walk to reach the cozy cafe at an alleyway behind the touristy Dan Jie Lin Road. At Spinn Cafe, Pazu was busy serving another group of Hong Kong tourists for their jeep arrangement. He looked talkative, energetic and friendly. We settled down at one of the low tables in the cafe. While waiting for Pazu, we ordered a specialty drink made with local goji berries, and toyed with a pulse oximeter on the table to examine the oxygen level in our blood. Soon Pazu came to sit down with us after he bid farewell to the other group of tourists. We first talked about our jeep arrangement, then soon drifted to Pazu’s hiking experience in Southeast Tibet, his recent travel diary in the Middle East, recommended alternative sights in Lhasa, social issues of Hong Kong, and so on, until Pazu had to leave and meet up with his friends for dinner.

Looking from outside, we could already sense the cozy atmosphere in the Spinn Cafe (風轉咖啡館).