Lama watch in Beijing

A weekend trip had us stopping off at the Lama Temple, the center of Gelug Buddhism (the particular branch of Buddhism practiced by the Dalai Lama) in Beijing. In light of the recent developments, it probably shouldn't have come as a surprise that they would step up their security but there wasn't any real change that could be detected on the surface. But then we took a closer look. Scattered throughout the temple complex were a number of plainclothes security personnel sporting jackets and earpieces. As far as we could tell, they were just scanning the crowd for rabble-rousers while attempting to blend in. Nervous much? Although in all fairness it should be mentioned that this was one day before the Olympic torch hit Tiananmen.