Nigel: The second big train journey which we had planned was the Qinghai-Tibet train line. The journey is famous for being the highest train journey in the world, reaching 5,072m (or 16,636 ft) in parts and, due to the extreme height, oxygen is pumped into the carriages for most of the journey. The train journey takes around 23 hrs and our final destination would be Lhasa,the capital city of Tibet. When we got onto the train, we were pleased to see that our run of having children in our compartment continued and the mother of the children was also pleasantly sleeping in our bed. Once we kicked her out, we started the journey thinking everything will be fine and we can start to relax....nope! The 2 Tibetan children, as cute as they appeared, were devil children. They climbed all over our stuff, jumped on our bed with their dirty trainers still on, sat on our bed with their bare bottoms (toddlers in Asia don't seem to wear nappies but instead have trousers with slits all the way up the back so they can just squat down and go to the toilet), and cried/screamed. To top it off, they started to squat and urinate on the floor and nothing was done about it. Despite these items, the journey was good.

One of the reasons we wanted to take the journey was due to a documentary we saw last time we went travelling. For many years there has been a road which goes to Lhasa but the journey is meant to be long and very painful so a train line was created. Although we had been on many trains in the past 6 weeks, this one was a little special due to the engineering and physical aspects which were encountered during the construction of it. 86% of the track is above 4,000m and half of it is built on permafrost which requires special cooling system to be built. We passed over the highest parts at night so didn't get to see the best scenery but could feel we were high up. Although oxygen was being pumped in, breathing and sleeping was difficult. Alison will discuss more about the train when she talks about the return trip.

Before you enter Tibet, you have to get a special Tibet Tourist Permit (plus other visas) and without them, you wont be able to board a flight or train to Tibet. During your time in Tibet you need to have a guide. In the capital Lhasa, you don't need the guide with you at all times but there are certain areas/buildings which they must be present. This means that if you want to stay just in Lhasa you have to employ a guide even if you don't use them. Outside of Lhasa is different and they must be present at all times. We booked our tour through a company called Tibet Discovery and we chose this company based on the reviews received on trip advisor. They were very good and quick to respond. We also chose them as they say they are 100% Tibetan owned company which means the money stays within the country. We booked the 8 day Everest Base Camp tour and it starts on the day that you arrive.

Day 1 - As Lhasa is 3,600m above sea level the itinerary begins with 3 days in Lhasa to give you a chance to acclimatise to the altitude. The first day consists of getting picked up from the train station and taken to your hotel. Our hotel was in the middle of the city and from the top of the roof, you have panoramic views of the city and a good view of Potala Palace (more later on that). With the exception of a quick look around the market and to get some local food (Yak burger) that was all for day 1.

Day 2 - Today we got picked up after breakfast and met up with the rest of the people that were going to be on our tour. They were mainly couples and their country of origins were, 1 English, 2 Singaporean, 2 German, 1 Chinese, 2 Columbian and 2 Americans. They were all very nice and it was not long before we set off for our first destination, Drepung Monastery. The Monastery is approximately 30 minute drive outside of the centre and very distinct due to its size. Built in 1416, the monastery became one of the biggest in the world and during its peak would house up to 10,000 monks. It was also the home of the Dalai Lama for a time. During the tour, our guide Tenzin (who was very good) told us that the buildings which were situated high up in the mountains, were used for Buddhist monks to practice meditation. He said that they would go up there for 3 years, 3 months, and 3 days and during that time, they were not allowed to come down into the city or speak to or see anyone. Their food would be carried up to them and left outside. We couldn't imagine how difficult it would be and not long after our stomachs started to rumble and it was time to have lunch.

The second part of the day consisted of a visit to another monastery which was situated 5km outside of the city. Sera monastery, in its hay day held up to 5,000 monks but in recent times, this has reduced down by 90%. The 2 main reasons to go, is to walk around the place and between 3-5pm, to view the monks debating. To view this, you go through into a small courtyard and within are several groups of monks (approx 3-4 monks per group). One of the monks will be standing up debating the topic of the day and the others will listen and give responses. It is funny to watch as when they have a question or response, the monk in the middle will raise both their hands in the air and thrust them in direction of the monk he is directing his question to and slap the back of his hand into the palm of the other. It was good to see but from what we saw, it looked as if it was more of a get together and a laugh than debating.

To finish off the day, we went to a "get to meet everyone meal" and watch traditional Tibetan dancing. The meal consisted of a buffet arrangement and drinks were also provided. The dancing took place during the meal and at the end you were invited to go on stage and dance with the dancers. Although Alison says I am the best dancer she has ever seen, I decided not to go up to save embarrassment of the others. If anything, the evening was a little rushed and it was not long after we had finished chewing our final mouthful, we were back on the bus on our way to the hotel.

Day 3 - Similar to the previous day, we got picked up after breakfast and the first part of the day consisted of a trip to Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Square. The square consists of a large courtyard area and a circular set of buildings which house Jokhang Temple. Pilgrims descend to this area to worship and walk around it in a clockwise direction. Before we did the walk around, we entered Jokhang Temple. Known as the holiest place in Tibet, hundreds and possibly thousands of people come here daily to worship. Before you enter, you have to pass the many worshipers who are praying at the entrance. The ritual consists of standing up straight and lifting their hands up in the air. This is followed by a downward swooping motion to the ground followed by their palm of their hand sliding across the floor. If it wasn't for the fact that most were wearing hand protectors there would be many sore hands. We did see a couple not wearing any though!!! It was also a good way to clean any chewing gum off the floor...dual purpose.

All foreigners have to enter on the righthand side and the locals on the left. When you enter the main section you are hit with smells of incense sticks and yak butter. All the locals who come into the Temple will make an offering to the Buddha. This offering may consist of several items including money, yak's butter, food and drink (incl half empty coke bottles), and electronics. The buildings were very dark and claustrophobic. We did also notice, and this was common throughout all the monastery's which we entered, that there was a lot of cash piled up everywhere. Most of it was small denominations but every so often there was larger amounts. It also came to our attention that you would see lots of monks sitting around counting bundles of cash.

To take pictures you had to pay and it was around $3-4 per section and there could be 6-7 sections. Due to the cost and darkness we didn't get to take any within buildings. You couldn't even take a sneaky one as the monks would be hot on your heels asking for money. It did make you feel as if it was a business as opposed to a place of religion. Following a quick trip up to the top of the building to see the views of the city and the people worshiping down below, we were on our way around the Barkhor Square. The walk takes about 15 minutes and every so often you will see someone drop to the floor and start worshiping. We heard that they have to do 10,000 worships in their lifetime.

We took lunch near by and everyone was hungry so we thought it would be a good idea to have a heavy Indian meal before tempting to climb the steps to Potala Palace.

The Palace was home of the 5th to 14th Dalai Lama and sits high above Lhasa city. Due to the political situation in the Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama is currently in exile in northern India, and has been since 1959, which means the building is not currently occupied. You see more tourisits then monks and it has a slighlty eerie feel as there is no activity within. The building measures 400 metres east-west and 350 metres north-south, with sloping stone walls averaging 3m thick, and 5m (more than 16 ft) thick at the base. Copper is poured into the foundations to help proof it against earthquakes. From 1653 to 1889, the Potala Palace was the world's tallest building and is the highest placed building in the world at 3,700 meters (12,000 feet) above sea level.

To get up to the entrance, you have to climb up a very steep set of stairs and with a heavy stomach full of indian food and the lack of oxygen, due to the altitude, the climb was vey hard. When you enter the Palace there are several things you shouldn't do and these include stepping on the door sill. Some of the sills are very wide so you have to be rather flexible. Our guide showed us around the Palace and explained many things regarding the items which were in there. We saw the room which the current Dalai Lama was educated in and there are also many tombs which are built to house the previous Dalai Lama's. One of them is made of solid gold and weighs 3.7 tonnes.

As you have time slots for when you can go into the Palace and there is a limited time you can stay in there, we went though in about 1 hour.

Day 4 - Today was a full days drive to a small town where we would stay for the night before we set off to Base camp. The scenery was nice along the way and in parts you could see some of the Himalayan mountain range. The journey is frustrating due to having to stop at several check points and the speed limit all the way long being 40km.


Alison: Day 5 - Today was the day we had been waiting for - the day we got to see Everest! We had a big journey ahead of us to get from Shigatse to Everest and so we set off bright and early at 7.30am. The drive took us the whole day and we went over 2 huge mountain passes. The first was 4530m high and the second was over 5000m. Everybody seems to respond to altitude differently but we found walking around at this height made us short of breath, dizzy and slightly unsteady. Although it's not all that comfortable to feel like that, we were still enjoying it because it was something we had never experienced before!

The final part of the journey was horrendous - 90kms of unsealed roads with large holes everywhere. It was extremely bumpy and also terrifying because some parts of the road were very high up and had sheer drops with minimal barriers to stop you from accidentally going over the edge. There were several huge snow capped mountains along the way and the anticipation was growing in our van. Everyone on the tour was asking the same thing, 'Is that Everest?' but our guide kept shaking his head. After 3 long hours we made it to Rongbuk Monastery which is the highest monastery in the world and is very close to Everest. Despite being so remote, there were several young monks there and there was also a very young monk to be who was chasing us all around and trying to pour his can of coke over us.....in ordinary circumstances we would probably refer to him as a little s*** but since he is a monk to be, I think a cheeky monkey would be more respectful :) After looking around here we were ready to set off again for our camp. We were a little confused because we had read that you can see Everest from the monastery but we couldn't really see anything that resembled the Everest photos and so we thought we must have got it wrong. Around 10 minutes later we arrived at our camp and that was when the guide dropped the clanger.....Everest was right in front of us but was completely covered in cloud and that we may not see it at all! We couldn't believe it. I had expected there may be some cloud but not to see it at all after such a long journey was hard to swallow. We stood in the freezing cold winds with the rest of our group staring in the direction of where it should be but there was only thick white cloud. We strolled around the camp which was not like an ordinary camp site but consisted of lots of big tent hotels. They were very basic but had fires inside and proper beds which was nice. There was even a restaurant tent and a post office tent. We couldn't resist sending a postcard from the highest post office in the world!

Eventually we admitted defeat and started to prepare for dinner in our tent when there were a few shouts outside. They were speaking in Chinese and I dismissed them as noisy Chinese men (he he he) but luckily a girl that was on our tour was Chinese and she said they were saying the cloud is clearing. We all jumped up and ran outside and there it was.......the tip of Everest! It was a really special moment because it was that time of day when it isn't daytime and it isn't nighttime. The sky was still blue but the moon was out and moonlight was reflecting off the snow at the tip of Everest so it appeared to glow. We all stood marvelling at it in silence and then the wind picked up and it was gone. We went to bed that night grateful that we had seen the top but hopeful for more when we went to base camp in the morning.

That night was one of the worst sleeps of our lives. I had read that it is fine to go up to 5000m but that until you are completely acclimatised, its best not to sleep at that level. We discovered how true that is when we attempted to go to sleep. Every time we started to drop off, we would stop breathing and suddenly gasp for breath and wake up. There were 8 people in our tent and everybody was doing it. As a nurse working with respiratory patients, I was horrified to listen to everyone's breathing. We all sounded like we were at deaths door with rapid breathing for a few breaths and then a complete stop and then a gasp before the cycle started again. One of the girls sleeping next to me was particularly bad. She had only arrived in Lhasa a couple of days before so was less acclimatised and was suffering. She had to go outside to be sick and then lay in bed gasping for air. Our guide had left us an oxygen tank but hadn't really said how to use it. Luckily I knew how to use it and I did my first night shift in a long time counting respiratory rates and adjusting the oxygen tank. We all said that we wouldn't repeat that night again but that we are glad we experienced it.

Day 6 - After an almost sleepless night for the whole group , we were all up and ready by 7.30am so we could go up to base camp. Unfortunately when we emerged from our tent we were disappointed to see that Everest was still covered by cloud. We were given the choice to walk for an hour to base camp or get the bus. After much deliberation (a couple of seconds) we decided as a group that we should take the easy option and go on the bus after such a horrendous night. It was a struggle to roll over in bed let alone walk to the base of Everest! As the bus wound up the bendy roads to base camp we kept our fingers crossed that the cloud would clear so we could see Everest in all its glory. On our way up we saw a Western man in running gear jogging quite quickly to base camp. He arrived not all that long after us and a girl in our group asked him what he was training for. He said that he wasn't training for anything but that he wanted to see what it felt like to run in extreme altitude.....nutter! He must have been superman because he was hardly even out of breath.

Everest Base Camp was nothing like what I thought it would be as there is nothing/nobody really there. The bus pulls up and there is a toilet block and a monument showing the height and then you walk up a small hill which is covered in prayer flags. You can climb Everest from either the Nepal side or the Tibet side. Climbing from the Tibet side is less popular as it much much steeper and more dangerous and there are a lot more permits required. We heard that base camp on the Nepal side is a lot busier as this is where the majority of people start from when they climb Everest.

We waited for 2 hours in the freezing temperatures and saw glimpses of the snowy Everest through gaps in the cloud but despite 3 pairs of socks and lots of jumping around, frostbite felt like it was setting in and we had to call it a day and start the very long journey back to Shigatse. We were sad not to have seen Everest in its entirety but we were just glad that we had seen the top. Another thing ticked off the bucket list :)

Day 7 - Today we drove back to Lhasa and had a few short stops along the way. The first stop was at Palkor Monastery which was pretty much the same as all the other monasteries! Next we went to see the Karola glacier which is 5560m above sea level and is the second highest glacier in Tibet (after Everest). The glacier was pretty spectacular and we were tempted to take a photo of ourselves in front of it and pretend it was Everest but decided we would only be cheating ourselves :) The last sight of the day was Yamdrok Lake which is known as the crystal holy lake. It was really beautiful and the sun made it shimmer with lots of different shades of blue and green. Definitely worth a visit. Arriving back in Lhasa we were relieved to drop back down to a mere 3650m. We celebrated that night by going out for a curry and a beer with our group!

Day 8 - The final day of the tour was pretty nondescript. We packed our things, stocked up on food for the journey and headed back to Xining on the train. On the journey to Tibet we passed over the Tibetan plateau whilst we were asleep so we didn't get to see it but on this train we would pass over it in the day time. We had a Chinese boy and his Mum in our carriage and the boy, who had decided on an English name of Tony (it's very common for Chinese people to have a Chinese and English name), was extremely chatty! He was doing a masters in tourism and what he didn't know about China wasn't worth knowing! After several hours of hearing about China and the history of his hometown, we decided we needed a little break from our lesson so when Tony wasn't looking, we slipped away to get some food in the restaurant car. We had absolutely no idea what was on the menu or how to order the food and were about to give up and eat our second pot noodle of the day when Tony turned up to continue imparting his knowledge! Although we were not initially thrilled to see him, good old Tony saved the day and ordered our food! It was really good timing to go for dinner because we passed over the plateau whilst we were eating and the views from the restaurant car were fabulous. The train line runs between lots of snowy mountains and you are really close to them. There were eagles flying around and there were even some houses. The highest part is 5072m so we weren't expecting to see houses or cars up there. After tea we went back to our cabin and cracked open some beers with Tony and his parents....rock and roll!















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