Day 4 - Tibet (Qingzhang Railway)

It was a tough night. Ah beng had to quarrel with the local guide when we boarded the train on the night before because he failed to get us a cabin with the 4 of us together. So the mood was really down. But we had to keep our cool cos we did not want to be affected by the altitude sickness and it is not cool to kena it. So basically, Lao Gong had to sleep on his own and he sure perspired when he had to lift his super big luggage to store above the upper deck in his cabin. As for the gals, I took the upper deck because I could kind of climb. The upper deck is a er-hem challenge to manage but I could rest well since I did not need to share my bed. Ah beng and Liying had to share 1 bed at the lower deck. The night went on and morning came.

Basically the scenic views will start appearing after Golmud station and I am going to give you a mountain overkill. Cos that was what we got. 24-hour train ride haha and 16 hours of various mountains and skies ...

Golmud Station

The UV rays are strong! and the specs turn dark again ... and here comes the mountains ...

I like the contrast. Clear skies, shadows formed by the clouds, majestic mountains ... Even the mountains have different kinds. But I'll visit Tibet again and I will take a road trip. No more rails ...

The black specks are the 美女. The Yak

So desert, right? The beauty of nature.

If not for the reflection, I actually like this pic for its emptiness ...

So nice ... and we took all these pics on the train, against the window! That's why I need to do a road trip to this holy land ... and I think I am ready anytime with all the experience I have gained ... bring it on!

A dried river which is equally beautiful too ... Sometimes, I thought that I must be on the moon ....the surface, the texture, blah blah

And this reminds me of Japan. We are just greeted with different kinds of scenes as the train travels. Even Lao Gong just can't stop snapping ... cos no shopping mah. The trolley only sells instant noodles, beverages, and instant porridge.

Cuo Na Lake ... mesmerising

The Qingzang railway, Qinghai–Xizang railway, or Qinghai–Tibet railway (simplified Chinese: 青藏铁路; traditional Chinese: 青藏鐵路; pinyin: Qīngzàng Tiělù), is a high-altitude railway that connects Xining, Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, in China.
The total length of Qingzang railway is 1956 km. Construction of the section between Xining and Golmud 815 km rail was completed by 1984. The section of the 1142 km railway between Golmud and Lhasa was inaugurated on 1 July 2006 by president Hu Jintao: the first two passenger trains were "Qing 1" (Q1) from Golmud to Lhasa, and "Zang 4" (J2) from Lhasa.[
The line includes the Tanggula Pass, at 5,072 m above sea level the world's highest rail track. The 1,338 m Fenghuoshan tunnel is the highest rail tunnel in the world, at 4,905 m above sea level. The 3,345-m Yangbajing tunnel is the longest tunnel on the line. It is 4,264 m above sea level, 80 kilometres north-west of Lhasa.
More than 960 km, or over 80% of the Golmud-Lhasa section, is at an altitude of more than 4,000 m. There are 675 bridges, totalling 159.88 km, and over half the length of the railway is laid on permafrost.

Check out the temperature and the altitude.

Our cabin shared with the Guangdong strangers.

The canteen was too packed and we had to take our breakfast in this very squeezy cabin.

I am so stuck up there.

The corridor which became our hangout place and where we took the many photos.

Ah beng and her Fuji camera ...

Lunch @ canteen. We are turning vegetarians. I miss meat.

I had a throbbing headache and realised that I needed oxygen! The Chinese just kept smoking even on the train. The smoking and tea-drinking culture is deeply ingrained! The sink was choked many times because they just threw the tea leaves into it. Survival tip: Try to hold your bladder and only visit clean toilets (normally the hotel one) or bring a mouth mask and put lotsa medicated ointment on it to mask the extremely unpleasant smell.

Gosh. I look ugly but realistic in all pics haha. Call me Betty ...

That sums up our 24-hour train ride and it's time to move on to temples and palaces ...