Last night we ate at the restaurant on the train. No tablecloths to be folded away on this occasion, as the tables were glass topped!!! Dinner was a bowl of Chinese chicken soup, a bowl of rice and a plate of fried chicken and beef. It was superior to the previous evening.
As we departed Xining at 1948 hrs, we just got a glimpse of the verdant pastures some 75 miles out of Xining. (pronounced Singing).
I awoke just before dawn and I thought I had landed on a lunar landscape, but as dawn broke, a vast white plain stretched for miles before me.
A road paralled the railway line punctuated with trucks and the odd car. There was very large military convoy travelling towards Tibet!!
This morning we breakfasted on the remains of our platform purchases - Chinese food for breakfast is more than a garl can bear!!
The landscape altered for a time as the permafrost was melting
but very soon it reverted to its frozen state,
with signs of intermittent thawing.
We reached Tagghuala station 5,062 metres above sea level - the highest railway station in the world!
Shortly after, we reached Cuona Lake ( heavenly lake) - most picturesque with the snow clad mountains fringing the lake on the far side and on the near side a small beach hugged the train line - a mere 3 meters away. The lake has an area of 400 metres and is reputed to be the highest fresh water lake in the world.
We then entered Nahchu, one of China's largest grazing areas. The area abounded with sheep, cattle and Yaks. The nomadic herdsmen had their homes dotted across the landscape.- simple buildings with a car and a couple of motor bikes parked outside or an even simpler tent. These nomadic herdsmen, move their animals cyclically in summer only and return to more solid homes for winter.
Their area is are defined by very colourful prayer flags - different colours represent different wishes eg peace, health, a long life and many other prayers As we would learn, they are to be seen all over Tibet - on mountains, rooftops and bridges. Further along the route the settlements appeared to be organised in hamlets.
We are now finally travelling through the Nyainqentanglha mountains, the final mountain range we were to traverse before we reach the plateau. The landscape has altered again from thawed permafrost to a snow clad landscape.
It is snowing again as it was at the Tagguala pass and cloud/fog obscures the landscape.
We enter D valley with its flowing river. The landscape is more benign . A mossy grass grows in the valley, the nearby mountains are free of snow though in the distance one can see the snow clad ones. Settlements have become more numerous. The animals are grazing in the valley and the shepherds are in the fields watching their animals. It is a very pastoral scene. The sun is shining and we have been informed that our ETA is 1700 hrs - a half hour to go!!
The entrance into Lhasa is one of the most beautiful I have seen. - snow- capped mountains acted as sentries on either side of the wide valley, with its fast flowing river; a tributary of the Bramaputra River. Indian Buddists come to Tibet on pilgrimage to visit the source of the river, which has religious connotations for them.
Trees, grass and shrubs are now visible, a stark contrast to the snow and thawing permafrost which characterised most of our journey. The same symmetry of planting was visible here as we saw on much of our journey from Guangzhou. Here we saw the farmers in the fields, bent over weeding between the rows- this perfection comes at a price!!
We finally arrived in Lhasa Railway Station at 1720 hrs- ten minutes early. We had completed our journey - 53 hrs and 35 minutes!!
The carriages emptied and what a sight - there mustn't have been a spare seat or standing room on the train- one can even purchase a standing room only ticket!!
There were obviously some tourists, mainly Chinese, but the majority were Tibetans.
We were a little concerned not to find our guide on the platform. As we exited the station, the ticket collector demanded our passports and visas and handed them to a female police officer, who took off so quickly that I had to run to see where she was going- not to be advised at an elevation of 3,650 metres. In the hut to the right of the station were other foreigners! Our passports and visa were quickly copied and returned to us with a pleasant smile.
We exited on to a wide square at the front of the station to await our guide but were quickly told to depart by a very officious, young policeman. One young girl had breached a cordon, blissfully unaware that she was the subject of all the policeman's frantic whistling, as a friend photographed her. We then realised that no one was allowed into the station except passengers. At the entrance some 30 metres from the station doors, we met our guide, who took us to the hotel
As we journeyed to the hotel, we saw the famous Potala Palace, once the seat of the Tibetan Government and winter palace of the Dalai Lamas, towering above Barkhor, the Tibetan east side- the western side of the city is Chinese. Our 4 star Tibetan Lhasagang - Gyan Hotel is situated right in the heart of the Barkhor. It is beautifully appointed except again for the plank style mattresses!
We rested, decided to make a foray into the Barkhor, located outside hotel gate. We went to the Bank of China next door and were able to cash euro in an ATM by inserting our passports in addition to the money . It was all very efficient as the directions were in English. The service is available 24 hrs and the rate to the Euro was excellent. Contrast that the problems we had with Bank machines and credit cards in France!!
We repared to a restaurant nearby and had an Italian meal - our first since arriving in China and most welcome!!
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