My journey begins on the train from Beijing to Lhasa. I can’t believe after all my preparation that the trip is finally here. I’ve got my warm mittens, my long underwear and took my last dose of altitude pills. I made it to Beijing’s West Station, where I caught the train at 9:30pm. I can’t believe in just a matter of 48 hrs, I journeyed from the east to the west of China. Since moving to this country almost 3 years ago and hearing so much about Tibet – it’s mystery and beauty, I knew that I would eventually travel here some day. This dream has finally come true. I knew it the moment I stepped onto the platform and saw the sign on the train: BeijingXi à Lhasa. This trip hasn’t come without anxiety either. I wasn’t sure I should travel with a friend or do this trip on my own. Ultimately, I felt that this was a place I needed to discover on my own terms, while still hiring a local guide to be with me for the next 8-10 days. But, I could decide where we would go, how long we would stay there.
I decided to splurge and go with the soft sleeper. It was a little extra, but this meant that I had nice sheets, a tv, a closing door, and extra oxygen if needed (the cabin is pressurized, so when we reach altitudes of nearly 5000m, I would be sure to survive.) My three bunk mates arrived. In my broken Mandarin, I learned that they were from Beijing were going to Germu (in Qinghai province) on business. I also learned early on they were quite friendly – offering me food, drinks and cigarettes, even though I’m not a smoker. They were so comfortable, in fact, that one of them even sat on my bunk in his underwear, while I wasn’t there. When I returned, they inquired about the authenticity of my blonde hair, and watched me carefully as I wrote in my journal with my left hand (being left handed in China apparently quite a novelty).
I read for a while, then turned over and nestled in for a good nights sleep.
The guy in his underwear began to snore. I’m off to a good start.
I was up early the next morning to the sound of one of the attendants announcing breakfast. I make my way to the restaurant car, and look out the window and am pleasantly surprised to see rolling hills, the absence of tall buildings and a sun drenched sky. Out of polluted Beijing. The day also brought with it new faces. I met a fellow Canadian, 65 years old, who told me about his adventures traveling around the world mostly by train. Also exchanged some stories with two Latvians who were going to stop by Mount Everest on their trip. I get the impression that a unique kind of traveler comes to this place.
The hours seem to go by in minutes, as the scenery outside the window is constantly changing – flat grass land one minute, rice paddies the next. Passing by the city of Xian later in the day, a place I had been to about a year ago with my family. This time, I was seeing only the perimeter of the city wall, decorated with red lanterns.
My only agenda: sit, read, listen to music, write, take the occasional photo and enjoy the passing scenery. I couldn’t peel myself away from the book -“The He*venly Man” – a true story of a Chr*stian mission*ry in China. While China’s scenery was unfolding before my eyes, so was the reality of this man’s story. The best book I could possibly bring with me on a trip like this. This is the beauty of traveling by train, you have hours of time at your disposal. And on this occasion, I also had time to adjust to the ever increasing altitude. My ears were already popping.
I noticed how the scenery became increasingly varied the higher and higher we got. That afternoon, I saw incredible jagged mountains, grasslands, and small villages. Before I knew it, the afternoon passed and we are into the next evening. It’s just 8pm, and “Mr.Underwear,” as I am affectionately calling him, has already snuggled in for the night. I opened my China travel book to semi prepare myself for the things I will be seeing and doing. 10:30. My eyes began to get droopy, so I turned of my little light. The cabin… completely dark…and yet, a new light shone through the window…
…A full moon and the most incredible starry host I have ever seen in my life. By this point, I really started to notice how high up we actually were: the tops of the mountains were seemingly at eye level, and the sky actually looked closer, as if I could just pick any star and put it in my pocket. People who have traveled to Tibet before have told me, and I began to understand, that it isn’t called “the rooftop of the world” for nothing. All of heaven was seemingly displayed before my eyes.
The next morning, I woke up and heard and announcement that we had finally reached the Tibetan Plateau – which means that we had climbed up to an altitude over 4000m. That is high people! I opened the curtain and it looked desolate. Like no civilization had even touched these parts of China. All I could see was beautiful snow capped mountains, sheep, goats, and yaks! I went to brush my teeth, and wash my face – I opened my tube of tooth paste and facewash - poof! They exploded! I got back to my cabin, and had to sit down cause I noticed I felt a little sick to my stomach and a little dizzy.
We stopped next to Namsto Lake, the worlds highest saltwater lake. Its hard to tell where the lake ends and the sky begins. It is so vast. Everyone on the train stopped to peer out the window to take pictures. Now I really feel like I’m on top of the world. The scenery after this point continued to blow me away. Tibetan homes began to appear in the countryside, the sky is story-book blue, and Lhasa is on the horizon. I would soon be arriving in the capital of Tibet.
