I took a 24 hour train ride from Xining, China to Lhasa, Tibet (also in China, although it does not want to be.)  This is the highest railway in the world and I had been dying to ride it for a long time.  It reaches its highest peak at 5,072 meters above sea level, which is 16,640 feet.

There are several places you can board a train to Lhasa.  I made a mistake in thinking Xi’an was the best choice as it was only 24 hours on a train (compared to Beijing at 42 and Chengdu at 43) but I was wrong.  Trains from Xi’an only run on odd days in the month I am traveling and I need to leave on an even day.  So I had to do a route with a one night “layover” in Xining.

Leaving Xining, I was at the train station really early.  I was sitting at an outdoor table, typing on my laptop.  I got interrupted by some guy who told me he was learning to speak English and wanted to practice with me.  This was painful for me because during this trip, I have indeed experienced people who just wanted to talk to me just because I am Western.  But then I had people who feigned interest in simply talking to a Westerner just to try and sell me something.  I was not in Xining long enough to figure out which one he was.  So my guard instantly went up when he sat down. It turned out he was genuine and really just wanted to speak English with a Westerner.

Once he left, his seat was taken by a woman who wanted the same thing.  She asked me if I knew her foreign language teacher “Laura? from Minneapolis?”  Oh YEAH!  Laura from Minneapolis!  Of course I (don’t) know her.  This woman was quite interesting to talk to though.  She had a baby with her.  Her Chinese doctor had told her while she was pregnant, that she should have an abortion because her baby had no heart.   She was understandably freaked out.  Good ol’ Laura from Minneapolis hooked her up with an American doctor at the Red Cross.  It turns out her baby was absolutely fine and had a heart.  I saw evidence of this as he was alive in front of me.  That is very scary to think about, how health care is in other countries.  This woman was advised to abort her perfectly healthy baby on the mistake of a doctor.

Picking up my train ticket was a slight ordeal.  There is no English so you have to kind of guess where you are supposed to go.  Then you have to pass through security to enter the building, China standard everywhere, including their subway stations.  Then it’s the thing where you have to show all your paperwork proving you are allowed in Lhasa before getting your ticket.  Then you show that same paperwork to get into the train station (separate entrance from the ticket booth) and then again before boarding the train.

You cannot use laptops on this train because the altitude will fry them. So I typed this all out real time on my phone during the trip.  If you know me, you know the amount of time this took since typing on my phone is not my area of expertise.

I took 316 pictures total and will space them out in here, not in any chronological order.  Since I was on this train for 24 hours, I will post 24 photos.

That said, here we go!  LOOK!  SHEEP!

We are half an hour into our ride and I have cramps that I am sure is a sign of altitude sickness and I am going to die.

Sigh.

The train. Oh lord the train. The train itself is a maniac. People pushing and shoving in the tiny hallway. I am directed to the wrong bed and now have to go back against traffic.

I have a middle bed. Not happening. No one offers to help with my luggage. No one is obligated to.  But I cannot lift my bag that high up.  Not because it is too heavy, but because I am not tall enough. At this point, the luggage rack is full. It is also at the very top of the cabin so even if it was empty, I could not deal.  So I put my bag and my backpack and my messenger bag on my bed. Between that and the pillow and super thick, rolled up comforter, there is now no space on the bed for me.

I am not even sure why, but I attempt climbing in. Cannot do it. I don’t even know how to do this.  This sets off a huge chain of events.

The hallway is still a maniac. I am in the way of someone trying to enter my cabin. Someone, I am not even sure who, puts my luggage up top. Some woman starts barking through me. The next thing I know, there are now new people trying to barge into my cabin.  But they are all trying to convey something to me.  Holy crap, what do you want?!?

That barking woman, god bless her. She got someone to switch beds with me so I have a bottom bed in a different cabin. I love you.

I am now the star of train carriage number 15. Everyone jumps into action to move me and my stuff to my new bed. Lots of foreign language being yelled as everyone watches me intently.  I don’t even care what they were saying. I now have a bottom bed!

One younger guy escorts me in and explains something to the people in my new cabin (I never want to know what) and I shih shih the hell out of him. A few minutes later, barking woman stops by to check on me. Thank you, I love you!

This train so far is so much better than my last one. There is air conditioning. I think it may even get cold later!

There is also oxygen for the high altitude:

We have to fill out forms certifying we are cleared by a doctor to visit the high altitude (I am not but of course I lie and say I am.)  There was a whole list of conditions you are not allowed to have. One was Schizophrenia. Good thing I don’t have that.

Me: Are you sure? You do seem to talk to yourself a lot

Me: That doesn’t count because I am talking to me

Me: But Schizophrenia = voices in your head and I am a voice in your head

Me: But you are me

Me: But I am a voice

Me: You won’t be much longer if you keep this up

Me: Are you threatening me? Isn’t that something a Schizophrenic would do? Act out violently because of voices in your head?

Me: Do you want to get off this train and go back to the hostel that smells like elephant poop?

Me: No

Me: WELL THEN SHUT UP ALREADY

I am now 65 minutes into this trip and there is one guy who has been right outside my cabin, watching me the entire time. Its fine though. I have a bottom bed!

We are now two hours in; it is going faster than I thought it would. I have already taken a hundred photos.  A guy in my cabin alerted me when the scenery was outside the window on the other side. Thanks Guy!

The sun was burning through the window. When I got back to my bed, it was like a cool cave I love my bottom bed!

Three hours down! I killed the last one listening to my favorite song on repeat. It is three minutes long so I just counted to 20 and bam! Hour gone.

There are people in here eating awful smelling food and I am about to unleash an allergy attack on them. Side note: autocorrect tried to make me type “attack on Iran”. What a jerk.

Five hours down! My cabin is a revolving hang out. New people come in and sit down all the time. I caught one talking about me, she gestured towards me and I saw it. I shot her a death look and she looked humiliated. I don’t feel bad.

In one hour, I am going to pee and get ready for bed. This has been my plan since before I got on this train.

I hope any of my sheep and yak photos come out okay!

Six hours down! I got up to use the bathroom and came back to a cabin full of women; all of who I don’t think are sleeping here. There is just nowhere for anyone to go. I feel like every person on this train knows every other person except for me.

One more hour until lights out and my bed will be all mine again! Bottom bed! Yay!

Sixteen hours in. I got up at 3:00 am to use the bathroom and to try and figure out if I am dying from High Altitude Sickness or if I am just a hypochondriac.  That and the guy in the bed next to mine will never stop snoring

I got up a second time in the middle of the night just because it’s hot in a cabin with six people giving off body heat. Snorey McSnorenson started yelling in his sleep between snores. That sucked too.

I need to be in a private room with a western toilet and some milk tea.

I saw some woman who was really sick, being carried through the train. That was scary.

I am still trying to judge if I have any symptoms of altitude sickness. I think any minor thing bothering me can be explained by something else. Like this nausea could be from inhaling the bathroom. It is so gross.

Just a little over seven hours left!

Five hours left. I am not going to make it. I haven’t breathed fresh air in what feels like days.

I saw the nearly passed out woman again. She has a personal oxygen mask now.

My hips and knees are in pain. The only place to stand is by the foul bathrooms. If I just sit on my bed, then it becomes party central in here and I can’t breathe. If I lay down, it hurts.  I need to get off this train. I made a mistake. Please let me off.

Just under three hours left!  It has occurred to me that I have no idea who is meeting me in Lhasa. I hope there is a sign with my name on it.

Last half hour! The police came on at some point, not sure why. They checked random IDs, but not mine. I thought that was weird since I had to show paperwork three times just to board the train.

Made one last bathroom trip. One of the toilets (squat, naturally) was overflowing with poop water, all over the floor and out into the walkway.

All I want is bed. Oh and water. Trying to purchase it got me a pack of tomatoes. No joke.

And now I am in Lhasa!  I have never been more grateful to not be on a train any longer.  We arrived ten minutes early. I did not know where to go or who to meet.  I got pulled aside by the police so they could check my paperwork and verify I am allowed to enter Tibet.

I found my guide, who was with another chick who was also on my train and is part of my tour group.  She is from Canada but is living in Denmark.  This alone makes her more interesting than me.