China to Tibet Train

Friday 27th October

1st Night on Train

The Highest Altitude Railway in the World...

Another day of doing nothing much, waiting for our train departure to Lhasa. We met up with our lift to Chengdu station together with a Chilean couple who'd bought tickets the same way as us. Each time we had our ticket inspected at the station, we curiously wondered if they were going to ask for our permit. This permit turned out to be a scanned copy and quite honestly could very easily have been created by absolutely anybody! Even ourselves. No originals at all. Anyway, we passed through 3 ticket checks before boarding the train - no requests for the permit. On boarding the train there was a queue. Checking for permits?? Our turn came. They again checked our ticket and let us on. No request for a permit at all!!! We found our compartment and the conductors handed out an indemnity form to waive their responsibility should we get sick from the altitude. We had already completed and signed one of these forms but they weren't at all interested in it. We had to fill out THEIR one! We duly did this, also expectantly waiting for a permit check. No request came. So... were the "rumours" correct? We in fact didn't need this illusive piece of paper for which we'd been forced to pay an extra +/-ZAR450 for!! On the other side of the coin tho', if you DO get asked for it - a random check it appears at the whim of the conductor - and you DON'T have one.... Who knows? Refuse to let you aboard? Fine you? Don't know!! The whole permit thing is such a scam and it's totally beyond our control as the Chinese smugly take your money!

Saturday 28th October

1st Day on Train

The Qinghai-Tibet railway runs for 1956km from Xining in the Qinghai province to Lhasa in Tibet. The newest phase from Golmud to Tibet was built over 5 years, from June 2001, with it's first journey happening on July 1st 2006. This section is the longest plateau railway with the highest elevation in the world - 5072m at the Tanggula station! Each bed on the train is fitted with an oxygen outlet should you require it at the high altitudes and there are also outlets intermittently along the passages. Only being in the 4th month of it's operation, everything on the train is new and clean but appears to be much like any other Chinese train - just marginally more comfortable. The excitement of this trip tho', is not the train itself but the route it follows. Up until now most people flew to Lhasa or took a mountaineous, high altitude bus ride. Today's scenery wasn't too spectacular until we reached Xining when, on looking out the window the ground was covered in snow! We were only at around 2900m so I wonder what Golmud and Lhasa will be like. The trains' electronic board told us it was 1degree C outside and it's only October! When we reached 3320m [according to our info board], we were all handed oxygen pipes which will fit into the outlets above our beds. I must say, that on climbing up to my top bunk I had the first signs of actually feeling the altitude a bit. No headache, just rather lethargic and slightly short of breath! We are due to arrive at the high altitudes [around 5000m] during the night and tomorrow, before going back down to 3640m, when we arrive in Lhasa in the early evening.

Sunday 29th October

2nd Day on Train

Woke up to a clear sunrise over the huge Tibetan Plateau. The temperature outside at 7am was a cool -14degrees C, the altitude was 4600m and the train windows between the carriages, totally frozen and iced up. There was snow all around us as the train snaked it's way along the brand new tracks, through the desolate whiteness. When dawn broke the temperatures started to rise to a mild -5degrees C as the sun "warmed" things up!! The Tibetan Plateau is one of the most isolated regions in the world at an average altitude of 4000m with large areas well over 5000m. Travelling through the aptly named "Roof Of The World", you really feel a sense of isolation in this vast, barren, snow covered, harsh landscape. There's no way to describe it really as it's beauty is as unique as the gers are to Mongolia. Our train travelled for the entire day on the high plateau before descending to the mountaineous Kyi-Chu valley, where the holy city of Lhasa is situated. As arranged, we were met by our Tibetan taxi and had our first glimpse of the overpowering Polala Palace, perched high on a hill above one of the highest cities in the world, at 3700m. We were taken to our "free" one night hotel and what a dump it was. Probably the cheapest they could find! We decided to move elsewhere the next day, together with our Chilean friends from the train.