We took the train from Xining to Lhasa starting yesterday and arrived today. All the pictures I took from the train were taken with my cell phone because I was too lazy to pull out my camera on the train 
So we let our travel agency book these tickets (the only transportation tickets we had them book) mainly so that they could get their part of the fee since we were booking everything else ourselves. The were very slow about getting us the tickets, we didn’t actually have the tickets until about two or three hours before our train was supposed to depart. When we told our travel agent to book them we looked online and there were still plenty available.
However, since they waited so long they booked us tickets where we were in separate beds at opposite ends of the train car. Also we had to swap beds at one of the stops because they had to buy separate tickets since through tickets were sold out. Luckily for us once we got on the train we were able to switch my bed for the top bed (beds are stacked three high) next to my wife’s bed.
Anyhow, there was a lot of pretty scenery from the train. We traveled through mountains and valleys, small villages and past large lakes. Aside from the beautiful scenery the trip was more or less uneventful. My passport and Tibet Travel Pass were checked a few times to make sure I was allowed to travel to Tibet (travel here is a bit restricted for foreigners).
So without further ado here are some pictures:
After we arrived at the Lhasa West Station we departed the train and headed out the door, where once again my passport and travel pass were inspected. I then had to go to the police station where they could take copies of my paperwork. After that we walked out and found our tour guide (actually a substitute tour guide as ours was on her way back from the border) and some of our travel companions.
We have to be with a tour group in Tibet since I am a foreigner (Ziqin could go around by herself if she really wanted, but she decided to stick with me in the group 😉 ). Our travel companions come from various countries including Germany, Belgium, France, Singapore, Canada, Australia, and America.
We went from the train station straight to our hotel and got checked in. After that our tour guide told us we were on our own until the following morning at 9:30 AM when our tour would begin. We went out for some dinner (we are at least able to walk around in Lhasa some, just can’t go to the tourist sites without our guide) at a Sichuan restaurant. Dinner was decent, the chicken tasted a bit funny, neither of us liked that, but the potatoes that were cooked with it and the cauliflower were all pretty good. The water also was a kind of “tea”, though really it was just water with baked wheat (or maybe it was fried) soaking in it. It actually tasted pretty good.
Well tomorrow our tour starts so I will have more to share then! Though I might wait a couple days until our Lhasa tour is over and we’re on the way to Shigatse, Tibet and just combine all of Lhasa into one post. Catch ya then!