I survived my 28 hour train ride. I was great actually. I am so happy I did it. I took and posted lots of pictures too. The train changes elevation often, but most of the journey is over 15,000 feet. It topped out at over 16,000 feet and Lhasa itself is around 12,000 feet. They pump in oxygen for the more expensive sleeper seats, but I did not see any for the cheaper hard seats. Oh, that would be a rough trip to make without someplace to lay down. I got a bit of a headache, but not too bad. The views were stunning. I rode across perma frost, soggy tundra, desert, and plains. I saw herds of yak and wild antelope and a giant bright blue lake. Some of the vistas were breath taking; or they would have been if I had had breath to spare. I got a bit of a headache, but it was totally worth it. The trip started in Lanzhou for me, but the official jumping off point is Xining. Take a look at the pictures, then think about this: some devout Buddists make a pilgrimage from Xining to Lhasa. They do it on foot and every three steps they prostrate themselves and put their foreheads to the ground. It takes them three years. Now, imagine you have just made this three year pilgrimage to the Jokhang temple, your most sacred place, and you saw Chinese police everywhere. As you prostrate yourself in front of the Potala palace the Chinese flag flies in the background. Look at the pictures from Lhasa day 1 with that in mind.
A couple weeks ago some Americans held ‘Free Tibet’ signs on Everest and wouldn’t come down when the Chinese asked them to. The Chinese had to go up and get them. That really pissed the Chinese off and they stopped issuing Tibetan permits for a week or so. First of all that was stupid. There is no way that China is leaving Tibet. No amount of sign waving by do gooder yankees is going to change that. Tibet is the source of China’s major rivers and much easier to defend than the western borders around Tibet (inside what we think of as China proper). Secondly, the Chinese (govt and people) have made every effort to make travellers feel welcome and secure. I can imagine that the police asked nicely the first time and would have just escorted them to the airport so they could leave Tibet without any further trouble. I can picture the police being furious, but trying very hard to be reasonable and polite. However, having been here I can understand why they did it. Tibet has such an air of spirituality and peacefulness around it that you cannot help feeling a little repulsed by all the modern development. You see people bowing towards the temple in earnest prayer and tourists behind them snapping pictures. Holy places and Budwieser ads in close juxtaposition. It is a wonderful place, but also a little sad.
