Photos and videos at the end.
I had a reasonable sleep on the train to Lhasa and woke at 7am. I was in a sleeping compartment with 3 others, 2 guys from Taiwan and Bala from Singapore. Bala would be joining the same tour group to Mount Kailash. We had gone some considerable distance in the night. I made my way to restaurant car, which was quiet. The carriages were also quiet as I moved through. People still sleeping after the late boarding and settling in last night.
At the restaurant car, I had no idea about what to order, so I did what I usually do. Look around at what I thought looked ok and when the attendant came over, I just pointed at that. I’m lucky to not have any allergies, and can eat what I want without fear. I baulk at somethings though, like eating meat from street food stalls.
I stayed in the restaurant car a while, enjoying the view. We were moving along a wide river valley over braided rivers and mountains on each side, with higher snow covered mountains in the background. Recent snow. Not unlike what you see among the braided rivers in the middle of the South Island in New Zealand. Stunning shafts of light shone through the broody clouds and onto the rounded hills to the right. I was happy. A very happy camper indeed.
Travelling by train is not for everyone especially as the landscape didn’t change very much. But I enjoyed the slow travel, 22hrs on the train overall, perhaps a little monotonous towards the end.
It was relatively quiet in the restaurant car after breakfast. I’d move along if and when it got busy. But it never did. I saw my first Tibetan chorten on a hillside, a structure with wind blown prayer flags radiating from a high point in the centre. We went from river valleys to wide open plains. A herd of wild yak here and there, shaggy black coats among the short grass and lichen.
Often referred to as "The Roof of the World," the Tibetan Plateau is the largest and highest plateau on Earth. Treeless, except for a few river valleys, the Plateau is an expansive alpine zone, with more than 17,000 glaciers covering its surface.
Bala, who shared the compartment with me, came to join me. He spotted a fox. And wild donkeys. Bala goes on trips to photograph tigers in the wild, Bengal, Siberian and others. Has been to the coldest inhabited place on earth in winter (-45C in Siberia). We were later joined by Ziggy and Chandga, both from the US, who are also part of our group. We played cards for a while. The people I’ve met so far have some amazingly travel stories.
Around midday, we passed the highest point of the route at Tagula Pass at around 5,000m (15,000ft). Fairly unremarkable except for a glaciated mountain on our left. So far, I’m not feeling any effects or hints of altitude sickness, may it continue.
As I mentioned, the landscape didn’t change much. Wide plains, distant mountains. Reddish, rain channelled earth, yellow sandy topsoil, clumps of light and dark green lichen, interspersed with very short grass. Fragile, but resilient at the same time. We remained around 4,500m for a long time along a vast plain with red weathered mountains on either side. Towering white clouds with brilliant blue sky pockets. Dark undersides threatened rain, or trailing purple sheets of rain in the distance.
Occasional signs of human occupation. Stubby ponies. A small flock of sheep here and there. An occasional group of squat and very isolated hunkered down houses. The two lane main highway to Tibet often ran close to the railway. Mostly heavy laden trucks lumbering along with very few cars.
The landscape changed as we got closer to Lhasa, some high mountains with glaciers and snowy peaks. Little fields of barley started to appear here and there. And then small settlements with a very specific style, a few buildings surrounded by a low wall, presumably to keep animals in or out.
We arrived at Lhasa railway station around 7 pm. Hundreds of passengers spilled onto the platform and we made our way to the exit gates. Again a passport and Tibet permit check. There was a bit of drama as my passport and ticket combination wasn’t scanning. All I could see is a big red Xs on the phone of the guard at the exit gate. A guy who spoke English helped me sort it out. I went outside and was joining by Bala, Ziggy, and Chandra. And also Daniele who I had seen on the train. He was also part of our tour group.
More drama as the taxi driver dropped Daniele, Bala and myself off at the wrong hotel. Nobody spoke English, and it took quarter of an hour or so to figure things out. Our actual hotel was only five minutes walk away so was glad to get there. By now it was 9 pm and was it was good to stop. Looking back, the train to Lhasa was a great experience and I’m so glad I did it but it did get a little monotonous towards the end.
Double click on photos to enlarge and scoll.
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