Tibet

On Saturday, November 28th, the four of us finally enter the so-called “Tibet Express”. After lots of preparation, comparing prices, getting the permission to go and buying the train tickets, the longest train ride that I have ever been on begins. The train goes from Shanghai to Lhasa (about 4340 km) and it takes around 51 hours. There are a few stops on the way, but only every four or five hours.


We have got a “hard-sleeper” ticket. This means that there are 6 beds in one compartment and each ticket costs some 80 Euros. It feels good to have so much free time. During the day I read and play games with the other guys, eat instant noodles and talk to Chinese people who are very interested in the four German students. After about 30 hours we stop in Golmund (2890m above sea level) and the railway locomotive is being changed.


From here on, the landscape is breathtaking. Whenever I look out of the window, it amazes me and I take a few pictures.



No more trees at this altitude...


On the way, the train goes over a pass at an altitude of 5000m. I begin to get tired during the day, a headache is on its way and I start feeling sick. While the other guys are feeling fine, my body is not doing great. My stomach is not feeling well and it gets worse, but I think you don’t need to hear any details.
Once we have arrived in Lhasa, I feel a little better. There is a driver to pick us up and this is the first time for me that someone is waiting for me with my name written on a sign :) He takes us to our hostel where we are going to stay for the next two days. Unfortunately, the heating system doesn’t work very well and there is no hot water in the shower.
In the morning we meet our Tibetan guide. He is a very nice guy and knows a lot about Tibet, its culture, history and Buddhism. His English is also a lot better than expected and we all like him. We start our sightseeing at the Yokhang Temple and afterwards go to the Sera Monastery.


Although I am feeling sick again, I really like what I see and I am happy to be here.


People praying:

Here are a few more pictures which I took in Lhasa:


Prayer wheels next to a temple:


Busy life in the streets of Lhasa...


The Potala Palace:


We go on a short hike around a monastery which – although it is only a few kilometers long – is killing me. My body doesn’t feel normal, everything is exhausting and my headache is not going away. Something has to be wrong and I guess it is the acute mountain sickness. The symptoms match 100%. Here is what Wikipedia says: “Altitude sickness, also known as acute mountain sickness (AMS), altitude illness, hypobaropathy, or soroche, is a pathological effect of high altitude on humans, caused by acute exposure to low partial pressure of oxygen at high altitude. It commonly occurs above 2,400 metres (8,000 feet). (…)” If you have never experienced it yourself or never even heard of it, you should read about it. Maybe that will help you understand the next part.
Once we are back at the hostel, the other guys want to get some food, but I’m not hungry. I need to lie down and sleep. When they come back, I feel so bad that we all decide that I should go to the hospital and get some oxygen for one hour. It’s very cheap and it turns out help a lot. However, I am still worried about myself at that time. And of course, I do want to keep staying in Lhasa and then towards Mount Everest Basecamp as we had planned it. During the next night, I cannot sleep at all and in the morning we decide that it is best for me to go home. I am too weak to pack my bag and just getting dressed is almost too big of a task. I have to go to the hospital again in order to get more oxygen into my body. It will get dangerous very fast if I stay at this altitude much longer. That’s why my friends book the next flight to Shanghai for me while I enjoy my oxygen treatment.
They escort me to the airport, I take my last picture (see below) and am very disappointed that I have to return home early. Once I am in the airplane, I go to sleep and after changing flights and getting back to Shanghai, I feel a lot better. Still, it was the right decision and I don’t regret it.


A picture taken from the airplane:



The guys went almost all way to the Mount Everest Basecamp and brought back the left bottle. They had closed it at the high altitude and it is a great way to show the pressure difference between the bottom of Mount Everest (left) and Shanghai (right). Now I understand why my body was going crazy.


IN: Andi, Flo and Sven. Thank you so much for you help and for caring about me when I needed it!
OUT: AMS (acute mountain sickness)