rantlust

Posted by renéejo on August 21st 2007 in Engineering, Travel
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Tibet or Xizang as the Chinese call it, has been a dream destination for me and I finally made it out there a couple of weeks ago. And what a journey! I took the recently built Qinghai-Tibet train which is an engineering marvel as it goes through some spectacular scenery at very high altitudes. The journey on this train takes almost 48 hours from Beijing to Lhasa but is worth it just for the Golmud-Lhasa section. I booked a soft sleeper and the accommodations are quite luxurious. The train is pressurized to prevent altitude sickness. The Tanggula pass at 5072 metres through which the train passes makes this the highest rail track in the world. The dining car is decent and there is even a bar on the train. What’s amazing about this rail line is that a significant section of it is on permafrost.

I didn’t feel any effects of altitude during the train ride though I did often feel woozy once in Lhasa. This is a journey that every one who goes to China should take. You will not be disappointed.

Blogging is not easy from China as I found that from some Internet cafes I can’t even access rantlust. Weird. Now that I am finally out of China and am in Vietnam, I hope I’ll be able to blog more about my year off travelling the world.