Towards the end of the second day, we passed through the city of Xining and on towards Golmud. Golmud marks the beginning point of the new railway across the Tibetan plateau.
We settled in the dining car for some grub. (And grub it was.) The vista at this point was vast – gently sloping hills, dry grasses. For the first time in China I could see for miles and miles and only spotted one or two houses. We saw our first yaks. They are very wooly and come in all kinds of colors – black, grey, brown. We also saw lots of sheep, goats and a few deer. In a hay-field I spotted a pair of wild pheasants. We were climbing above the tree line and I felt my ears popping. We went to sleep with only nature in all directions – no cities, no houses, no people.
I awoke on day three and was greeted by snow and ice. I jumped up to change out of my pajamas and instantly felt “weird.” I was a bit winded and a little dizzy. What was happening? They say that the effects of high altitude will make you feel tired, nauseated and your head will ache – like a hangover. Turns out we were at 4,666m (13,998ft). That is damn high, no wonder I felt strange. We were still climbing, so I just took it easy and relaxed in the dining car. I observed many frozen streams, lakes, snow-covered hills and lots of yaks. The icy landscape was stunning.
I can’t imagine how cold it was outside, but the train was cozy and warm. I felt comfortable in a tee-shirt and scarf. The sun was also shining brilliantly, at times it was merciless!
Around lunchtime we reached the high mountain pass of Tanggula – over 5000m! (15,000ft) Out the window, we thought we might have seen a small group of antelope. They are supposed to be endangered and some environmentalists believe that the train might disturb their movements. Other opponents of the train say it will bring in more Han Chinese migrants to further dilute the Tibetan population. It has just been revealed that there are valuable mineral deposits around the train line. Hmmm. Could that have been a reason for building the train? On some forums I have read posts from people wondering if it is ethical to take the train. I think would-be travelers should spend more time examining their own lives, in their own countries to ensure they are as ethical as possible before worrying about their presence of the train. One poster on Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree said it best – if you want to enter Tibet ethically – walk! And spend time with the Tibetan nomads.
On towards Lhasa, the snow faded away and was replaced by tundra with short, shrubby grass. There were yaks in all directions, along with sheep and goats. The mountain peaks in the distance were majestic and covered in clouds. We began to see small villages and shepherds. At Naqu, a small village, we slowly passed a train headed from Lhasa to Lanzhou. It was filled with Tibetans. They waved at us and we waved back.
At 1830, we rolled in to Lhasa.
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