The access to the station was painless and speedier than anticipated! A special 'soft class' (i.e. bed for the night) waiting room was available with large comfortable leather chairs. At 1100hrs, the gate was opened and we went to the train.
- carriage 5, beds 29 and 30. The cabin is remarkably well presented with super clean pillows and a duvet. Unfortunately, no towel was provided and washing facilities are basins at the end of each carriage - no en suite or showers available. As it is bunk class, I'll hone my mountaineering skills to access the top bunk - no ladder!! Surely Everest is not as challenging as this? CC declined.
Unfortunately, there are only 4 bunk cabins. We usually book the whole cabin but on this occasion as we are on a group trip (the only way for a foreigner to visit Tibet as one must obtain a visa and that can only be obtained through an agent), we had no choice but to share the cabin.
Having taken the necessary train photographs,
we returned to our cabin. Still no sign of our cabin mates!! The train departed promptly at 11.45 hrs. The Chinese railways are as efficient or almost as efficient as the Japanese. It appears we will have the cabin to ourselves for a while. Today is Wednesday and we do not arrive in Lhasa until Friday at 17.30 hrs.
With luck, we will have the cabin to ourselves tonight?? The steep climb to the stratosphere does not begin until we reach Xining at 19.28hrs Thursday. Maybe our cabin mates won't appear until then.??
It is ideal to take the train rather than fly as one can gently acclimate to the altitude - many do not recommend flying to Lhasa as the shock to one's system is too great! When we arrive at Tanggula Pass, the highest level at 5,072 meters the oxygen level will be only 60% of that at sea level! Oxygen will be piped into all areas on the train! Most of the journey from Golmud to Lhasa is above 4,000 metres. However, piped oxygen must be a new invention as while on the Peruvian Railway journey, which is the second highest railway journey (was the highest until the Lhasa line opened in 2006), there was oxygen available if one needed it, it was not piped at least not when we took the train in 2008.
We went to the restaurant for lunch. The only people there were the emigration officials checking Chinese passports, some relief drives and the restaurant staff. We got a pre-prepared meal of rice, meat and vegetables with plenty of chilli. It was good.
The table to which we were assigned was quickly shorn of its table cloth and napkins - they must think we are 'messy'eaters? The emigration officers sitting next to us were most amused when CC, having forsaken the chop sticks, used the Chinese soup spoon😄 I decided to take out a bottle of wine, which we had brought and see what the reaction was...... We asked for glasses - nothing like being brazen!! Next to us were two tables set up in style with proper glasses to which I pointed but in vain, they must have been set for some VIPs - not us - and she produced two mugs for the wine!! Later the table and more particularly the glasses were cleared unused !!
No English is spoken except the necessary 'numbers' , 'ticket' and 'passport'. This we can use to our advantage as we play innocent and they don't know what to do. They are very polite. It appears at present we are the only two Caucasians on board!
The train journey continued... We passed through countryside and city. Most of the cities were larger than Dublin and I had never heard of any of them! Our first stop was Chenzou with a poulation of 21/2 million.
The sky scrapers were a sight to behold.
But there were Olson old, unkempt apartment blocks.
In the countryside one saw paddy field after paddy field - the area under cover increasing as we left Guangzhou.
Construction is huge here - it's like the Celtic Tiger on steroids!!
Prior to arriving at Changsha at 19.28, we went to the restaurant for dinner. Again the tablecloths were pulled back. We ordered a chicken dish and a vegetable one. It was spot the chicken as the Chinese appear to crush the bones and add them too!! They cook most of their food in a very unsavoury oil. J tells them that it is little wonder they die young when their food is laced with said oil. Chinese tea was served with the meal.
On returning to our cabin, there was a middle - aged lady ensconced!! She appeared to be wearing pyjamas but if they were she wore them day and night.
I read until 22.00 hrs. Darkness falls c 19.30 here. There is little dusk. Did I say 'soft sleeper'? The bed was like a plank and the hardest bed I've ever slept on and I've slept on many hard ones.
I awoke at 24.00.hrs but quickly fell asleep til 0840hrs. I awoke to find our cabin mate having breakfast on the equivalent of pot noodles. The Chinese appear to eat copious pots and drink lots of carbonated drinks. One can see an obesity epidemic developing here in the next 10 years. Most bring this type of food on board.
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