Skytrain

From the city of Chengdu, there are two common ways to get to Lhasa.

The first option is flying. Several flights leave daily from the Chengdu airport, flying directly over the Tibetan plateau and into Lhasa in two hours. The cost of a plane ticket is 1650CNY or roughly $250.

The other option is aboard the recently completed "skytrain", a 45 hour train ride looping northward through Qinghai before traversing west toward Lhasa.


For comparison's sake, long distance trains in China offer three classes of tickets:

The bottom rung is the "hard seat" which consists only of a seat. As you can imagine, this could grow quite tiresome over the course of a 45 hour train ride. Furthermore, as this is typically the most cost effective means of travel in China, you will most likely be traveling among working class Chinese and whatever cultural mannerisms and personal hygiene standards that entails. The price of a hard seat to Lhasa goes for about 330CNY or $50.

The next class up is the "hard sleeper" which consists of a bunk bed in a 6 person cabin. The price of a hard sleeper to Lhasa is about 700CNY or $110.

And one step up from that is the "soft sleeper" which consists of a bunk bed in a 4 person cabin. These go for about 1100CNY or $170

Looking at it in these terms, most well-adjusted financially stable human beings would choose to fly.

But backpackers hate doing things the rational way. So naturally we chose the train, booking four soft sleeper seats.


The train ride was pleasant enough as far as train rides go. The beds were comfortable and the scenery was nice to look every now and then.

The problem is that you are stuck in a cramped room with three other people for 45 hours.

Back in LA, I have heard it said that after a four hour road trip to Vegas together, you either become the best of friends or you never want to speak to each other again. The same could be said of the 45 hour train ride to Lhasa, minus the becoming best of friends part.


For the most part, I spent the entire trip sleeping or standing out in the hallway reading books. I did manage to finish three books on Tibet, so for once I would not be completely clueless while touring a new destination. 7 Years in Tibet is an amazing book, by the way.

Arriving in Lhasa, I could not wait to get off that stupid skytrain.