I am on the most breath-taking train ride in the world. I am on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, and the scenery is absolutely spellbinding. No where in China would I imagine such an open area, free of pollution, enterprises & peddling people. This part of the country is untouched - the Southern Region of Qinghai on into Tibet. If Lhasa is touristy, dirty & dismal, only China is to blame. If Lhasa reeks of China, at least I will have had the experience of this beauty. I am in awe of this beauty. Google the pictures and no justice is given.
I am traveling with 4 people all together. Ann and I met the other 2 in Chengdu, at the Youth Hostel. The 4 of us signed up for the Lhasa "tour-permit" at the cheaper price of 1000 yuan, or 250 each. We all got our permits, but no one has asked to see them yet. I do not see anyone who would care. Foreigners seem to be no problem on this train. I have only seen one other foreign-looking person.
The scenery really is beautiful, and I do not believe even American can offer such beauty. This train-ride is 48 hours if you can believe it, and one of the chief concerns of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is altitude sickness. Oh, and minorities (non Hanzu) seem to be a majority on this train. I am seem Muslims, dark-skinned folk and people with different styles from the Han. Maybe the Han are in the sleepers? Ann and I paid for sleepers, but we are trading in-and-out with Kathy and Jason (the other 2 people we met at the hostel; they are British but their parents are Hong-Kong born). Kathy and Jason did not get as lucky...they had to suffer a long night in the the hard-seater section of the train. Poor Kathy has AMS and has already thrown up a few times. She and Jason just left to nap in our beds. Ann and I have a whole seating section to ourselves right now. We are filling out health cards saying we can adept to the 3000-meter altitude. I guess we can!
I am writing and trying to make my sentences go someplace exciting! This train moves slow, but at least the blue skies and green hills make up for it, and maybe it is the vastness that makes the train feel so slow-moving. In fact, there are faster trains than this one, I believe.
When I walked by a foreign man, he said, "Hello, very much!" Another man I walked past said, "Thank you!" when I asked to get by. Ann is studying Tibetean right now. What is the point? Nothing will ever be comunicated during this short trip besides things the listened already knows, Hello, Goodbye, Sorry, thank you.
I thougth I knew how to say, "Do you speak English" in Tibetean, but I already forgot. Oh well! I wrote a bunch of postcards - nearly the whole book, but I have no addresses. I have no way to get some of these addresses anyway, unless I have them written done in Suining someplace.
The train ride must be 5x longer than it should be. We are making a horse-shoe. Where is the logic?
The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is a wonder of the world with startling views, high altitudes, and crystal clear views to free your wandering mind. I see snow-covered mountain peeks, blue American-like skies, winding streams of blue, and open plains of green and white. How I detest the Han as we slowly approach Tibet.
It was snowing when I woke up. We are now embarking upon the highest point of the journey, over 5000 meters high! I feel swollen and sore. The outside beauty is so striking, and that is because the beauty lasts and lasts. A beautiful nature that lasts for 40 hours. Earlier we rode past the prettiest lake I have ever seen - the lake with the highest altitude in the entire world. The water was this crystal blue-green-turquoise.
"Dear Passengers..."
"Dear Passengers..."
"Dear Passengers, you will never forget your journey on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The opening of the railway on July 1, 2006 is a date we will remember forever."
"Dear Passengers..." Ann and I had to laugh at the stupid announcements that kept coming on, spoken by a Chinese man with a British accent.
I hope something incredible happens. Not an iPod explosion (apparently that has happened, and Ann's iPod does not work in these high altitudes. Mine is smaller though.) No, but something incredible like the lyrics of my John Lennon album that I play...I just took a picture of myself to see if my ears are really bronze, as Ann said they are. How strange...
I am traveling with 4 people all together. Ann and I met the other 2 in Chengdu, at the Youth Hostel. The 4 of us signed up for the Lhasa "tour-permit" at the cheaper price of 1000 yuan, or 250 each. We all got our permits, but no one has asked to see them yet. I do not see anyone who would care. Foreigners seem to be no problem on this train. I have only seen one other foreign-looking person.
The scenery really is beautiful, and I do not believe even American can offer such beauty. This train-ride is 48 hours if you can believe it, and one of the chief concerns of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is altitude sickness. Oh, and minorities (non Hanzu) seem to be a majority on this train. I am seem Muslims, dark-skinned folk and people with different styles from the Han. Maybe the Han are in the sleepers? Ann and I paid for sleepers, but we are trading in-and-out with Kathy and Jason (the other 2 people we met at the hostel; they are British but their parents are Hong-Kong born). Kathy and Jason did not get as lucky...they had to suffer a long night in the the hard-seater section of the train. Poor Kathy has AMS and has already thrown up a few times. She and Jason just left to nap in our beds. Ann and I have a whole seating section to ourselves right now. We are filling out health cards saying we can adept to the 3000-meter altitude. I guess we can!
I am writing and trying to make my sentences go someplace exciting! This train moves slow, but at least the blue skies and green hills make up for it, and maybe it is the vastness that makes the train feel so slow-moving. In fact, there are faster trains than this one, I believe.
When I walked by a foreign man, he said, "Hello, very much!" Another man I walked past said, "Thank you!" when I asked to get by. Ann is studying Tibetean right now. What is the point? Nothing will ever be comunicated during this short trip besides things the listened already knows, Hello, Goodbye, Sorry, thank you.
I thougth I knew how to say, "Do you speak English" in Tibetean, but I already forgot. Oh well! I wrote a bunch of postcards - nearly the whole book, but I have no addresses. I have no way to get some of these addresses anyway, unless I have them written done in Suining someplace.
The train ride must be 5x longer than it should be. We are making a horse-shoe. Where is the logic?
The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is a wonder of the world with startling views, high altitudes, and crystal clear views to free your wandering mind. I see snow-covered mountain peeks, blue American-like skies, winding streams of blue, and open plains of green and white. How I detest the Han as we slowly approach Tibet.
It was snowing when I woke up. We are now embarking upon the highest point of the journey, over 5000 meters high! I feel swollen and sore. The outside beauty is so striking, and that is because the beauty lasts and lasts. A beautiful nature that lasts for 40 hours. Earlier we rode past the prettiest lake I have ever seen - the lake with the highest altitude in the entire world. The water was this crystal blue-green-turquoise.
"Dear Passengers..."
"Dear Passengers..."
"Dear Passengers, you will never forget your journey on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The opening of the railway on July 1, 2006 is a date we will remember forever."
"Dear Passengers..." Ann and I had to laugh at the stupid announcements that kept coming on, spoken by a Chinese man with a British accent.
I hope something incredible happens. Not an iPod explosion (apparently that has happened, and Ann's iPod does not work in these high altitudes. Mine is smaller though.) No, but something incredible like the lyrics of my John Lennon album that I play...I just took a picture of myself to see if my ears are really bronze, as Ann said they are. How strange...
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