We soon realized why the national Chinese residents did not use the dining car facilities. They either had brought their own food or purchased from the cart that went along the hallway. Elva and I went in for breakfast and sat for a least 15 minutes waiting for one of the attendants to come to our table. We asked a British couple if the serving was still in progress? They said they hoped so, but they had been waiting even long for service. Presently the lady got up from where she was seated at a table near the kitchen window and brought a menu to our table and “flopped” it on the table and walked away.
Though an attempt had been made to print the item names in English, their wording made it uncertain what one might get from ordering a specific items. We both ordered what we thought would be scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. We received a cold egg, a spoon full of rice and dry bread. We were more than glad that we had also brought some candy and snacks for the trip. With so many different nationalities using the train it would seem that a picture type menu like McDonalds uses through out China would be beneficial on the train. We had to return for some lunch and the results in the dining car were about the same. We just went without for dinner and picked up some more snacks near the hotel.
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We traveled to China with China Connection Tours in 2007 and it is really a lifetime experience as we took the new train to Tibet for our Tibet tours. So this evening I will recount our visit to Xining and the train to Lhasa.
The trip and arrival in Xining went exactly as planned and we were met by Nancy, an exceptional guide. When she discussed what there would be to do for the afternoon we would have after lunch, she was pleased that we knew that there was an extensive street market in town that was certainly well worth our time and visit.
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To me Tibet was that elusive destination I always wanted to go but never knew how to get there, or if it was at all possible. Rumors and truths spurt from various sources about the difficulties of getting there, the hardships of the Tibetan people, and the care one must take when travelling there as a tourist. I was put off but never deterred from plans to travel this forbidden land, and I will never regret the path I chose to travel this stunning, foreboding and surreal country.
Is it difficult to get there? No actually it is not. Most people think the best way to go about it, is to fly into Lhasa, and go from there. I found a better way was to go overland from Nepal, Kathmandu over the friendship bridge and through places such as Nyalam, Tingri, Skekar, Lhatse or Quxar, Shigatse, Gyantse, Nagartse to Lhasa, over a very small but breathtaking region of the Chinese labeled “Autonomous Region” of Tibet. Of course things change all the time, so make sure you fully update yourself on travel to Tibet, permits, travel ability and general stability of the country politically is never something one should presume. A good travel company should be up to date with the goings on, and also offer some alternative if things change on your planned journey.
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