In the current issue of The Economist there is a breathtaking picture of the Potala Palace in Lhasa. The picture was taken from the nearby mountains, so that the top of the hill on which the palace perches is roughly at the same height as the camera. The palace is seen not from the front, as is usually the case, but from a small angle to the left, thus dramatizing the dazzling architectural display facing the valley below. Low sunlight comes from the right, and the left flank of the handsome hill is thus in deep shadow, which makes it look only steeper and higher. The picture is so wonderful that I cut it out and pasted it on the inside cover of my notebook—rather a special place in my own mind. As I was fiddling with the scissors and the glue, I had to admit to myself that Lhasa is even more stunning than Motovun. I am fully aware that most people would take this as quite obvious, and my admission kind of ridiculous, but I am so much in love with my own Lhasa that this admission does not come easily to me. In fact, it took me a few days to pin it down. In the meanwhile, I even thought of skipping it altogether.