Taking the Train to Lhasa
If you don't have a Chinese passport, traveling to Tibet isn't exactly a piece of cake. First, you've got to get to China or Nepal, both of which require visas (note: it's easier to travel to Tibet from China). Then you have to get a permit to go to Tibet. Then you have to get to Lhasa. And if you want to travel outside of the Lhasa area, you have to get even more permits.
Since we were already in Beijing, half of our work was done. That doesn't mean it wasn't a huge pain, though! Only a few places do the travel permits, and foreigners have to book train tickets through certain agents. (You can also fly, but it costs twice as much and you miss some amazing scenery.) We had Leo Hostel arrange the permits and the train tickets, and other than the fact that it took us an hour to get there from our apartment and we had to make three different trips, things went pretty smoothly. I can't imagine trying to make travel plans outside of China (or Nepal). I know some people do it, but it often costs more, and accurate information can be hard to come by. The easiest thing is to just go to Beijing (or Chengdu or Shanghai) first and make arrangements from there.
Passing by sheep and endless sky.
The train leaves Beijing at 9:30 p.m. and takes about 48 hours. At some points the train is traveling at 5,000 meters (16,400 feet)--about as high as Everest Base Camp--so the cars are pressurized and oxygen is pumped throughout. The berths are quite cramped, which is the only downside (other than being stuck on a train for 2 days, that is). The scenery on the first day was fairly boring , but we definitely thought the train was worth the extra time simply because of the views of the Tibetan plateau on the second day.
Room with a view.
A note about getting train tickets out of Lhasa--travel agencies in Lhasa can't book train tickets for you, so you've got to go to the train station yourself. It was hard to get a straight answer for anyone, but it seems there was a problem with unscrupulous agents buying up all the tickets and selling them at higher prices, so now they're not allowed to book tickets. Tickets go on sale 10 days in advance at the station and 6 days in advance at the booking office in the city. The station is a little ways out of town, but if you know in advance when you're going to leave, I think it's worth it to go out to the station before the tickets go on sale in town (for peace of mind if nothing else). And one last piece of advice--as I mentioned, the hard-sleeper berths are pretty cramped, so try to get a bottom bunk if at all possible so you'll have somewhere to sit during the day!
If you can, don't fly--take the train!
Since we were already in Beijing, half of our work was done. That doesn't mean it wasn't a huge pain, though! Only a few places do the travel permits, and foreigners have to book train tickets through certain agents. (You can also fly, but it costs twice as much and you miss some amazing scenery.) We had Leo Hostel arrange the permits and the train tickets, and other than the fact that it took us an hour to get there from our apartment and we had to make three different trips, things went pretty smoothly. I can't imagine trying to make travel plans outside of China (or Nepal). I know some people do it, but it often costs more, and accurate information can be hard to come by. The easiest thing is to just go to Beijing (or Chengdu or Shanghai) first and make arrangements from there.
Passing by sheep and endless sky.The train leaves Beijing at 9:30 p.m. and takes about 48 hours. At some points the train is traveling at 5,000 meters (16,400 feet)--about as high as Everest Base Camp--so the cars are pressurized and oxygen is pumped throughout. The berths are quite cramped, which is the only downside (other than being stuck on a train for 2 days, that is). The scenery on the first day was fairly boring , but we definitely thought the train was worth the extra time simply because of the views of the Tibetan plateau on the second day.
Room with a view.A note about getting train tickets out of Lhasa--travel agencies in Lhasa can't book train tickets for you, so you've got to go to the train station yourself. It was hard to get a straight answer for anyone, but it seems there was a problem with unscrupulous agents buying up all the tickets and selling them at higher prices, so now they're not allowed to book tickets. Tickets go on sale 10 days in advance at the station and 6 days in advance at the booking office in the city. The station is a little ways out of town, but if you know in advance when you're going to leave, I think it's worth it to go out to the station before the tickets go on sale in town (for peace of mind if nothing else). And one last piece of advice--as I mentioned, the hard-sleeper berths are pretty cramped, so try to get a bottom bunk if at all possible so you'll have somewhere to sit during the day!
If you can, don't fly--take the train!Labels: tibet
posted by AJ at 3:23 PM
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