LHASA

For the first time on our trip we join a small tour group to visit 

Drepung Monastery at the foot of Mount Gephel.

Prayer wheels

Covering an area of 250,000 square meters, it held 7,700 monks in total and 

possessed 141 fazendas and 540 pastures in its heyday.

The ground of the monastery is organized on the caves and temples for Jamyang Qoigyi, 

together with two magnificent white pagodas,

 along with many cultural relics and statues.

Next stop the Potala Palace, built in the 7th century and extended 

to it's present size by the 5th Dalai Lama.

It is in two parts, the White Palace and the Red Palace.

 It is thirteen stories high and includes living quarters, temples, 

tomb stupas and monk dormitories.

 Monks debating

Wonderful view from the top and a perfectly clear sky apart from these 3 little clouds!

The people are so photogenic

Rickshaw ride back to the hotel

 through the many attractive old buildings lining the main street,

There are also many interesting little cafes and bars.

Evening meal in a typical Tibetan restuarant with our small tour group.  

Great night out with folk from around the world; Singapore, Russia, Iran, America and Wales.

XI'AN TO LHASA

The Qinghai Tibet train from Xi'an to Lhasa is the world's highest railway, with the highest point, Tangulla Pass, reaching 16,640 ft (5,072m).

The train leaves on time at 10 a.m.  We commandeer the whole of the luggage space.

We are booked into a soft sleeper, in a compartment for 4 people as there are no 2 person ones on board,  so we are expecting to share.  

Our first companions are a youngish couple who appear to be very tired as they sleep for more or less the whole 9 1/2 hours they are with us, before getting off at Lanzhou, the first stop!

We then have the compartment to ourselves until we change at Xining to a special train with oxygen on board for the ascent over the Tibetan plain to Lhasa

This time we are sharing with a single male with a briefcase.  He looks pretty angry and has a couple of heated conversations on his mobile phone before settling down to sleep.

We are hopeful that he wouldn't be going too far and thankfully he gets off at the first stop, 6 hours later, much to our relief, and we then have the compartment to ourselves for the rest of the journey.

We are slightly unprepared for the 30 hour train journey.  On arrival at the station we see people arriving with carrier bags full of provisions; enormous pot noodles, fruit, veg and confectionery.  

We on the other hand have two bottles of water, a small tub of Pringles and 4 small Snicker bars!

Food is served in the buffet car on the train, which we try, 

(much to the amusement of the staff & other travellers), but it's not really to our taste.

They also come through the carriages with trolleys of fruit, 

so we live off bananas and apples for 2 days.

We sleep quite well, although 'soft sleeper' is something of a misnomer.  However, peeping out during the night reveals the starriest sky we've ever seen and as morning begins to dawn we witness mile after mile of stunning scenery and interesting landscape.

We settle down for the best duvet day ever.

As we arrive in Lhasa we are met by Chinese Police and whisked away to have our 

Tibet Travel Permit checked.

XIAN

Xi'an, one of of the oldest cities in China.

First stop, a visit to see the Terracotta Army.

These Army of Terracotta Warriors were supposed to safeguard 

Chinese first emperor Qin Shihuang in his afterlife.

He unified China in 221 BC for the first time in Chinese history.

There are three pits.  

Pit 1 is the most impressive and the highlight of the museum.

The Warriors were discovered in 1974 by a group of local farmers when they were digging a well

Xi'an city is surrounded by a well-preserved city wall 

which was reconstructed during the 14th century.

The South Gate (Yongning Gate).

One of the best ways to encircle the walls is to hire bikes and cycle around the 8.5 miles.

Denis decides to overcome his apprehension and give it a go.  

We complete the circuit in 1 hour 45 minutes, which is no mean feat as it's not exactly level!

We also take time out to photograph some of the many interesting sights along the way.

We will also remember Xi'an for the free upgrade at our hotel.  

The suite was the size of a small house!  Two bathrooms, an enormous bedroom and 

this lovely lounge to relax in after a busy day sightseeing.

We are now ready to embark on a trip on the worl'd highest railroad.

THE GREAT WALL

The first glimpse of the Great Wall is pretty impressive.

We use the very same car to the top that Bill Clinton, Former American President, 

used when he visited in 1998

The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is very attractvive and has many watchtowers on overlapping mountain ranges, with green pines and cypresses covering 90 per cent of the section. 

 We walk from Watchtower 14 to 6.

 It's much quieter than we expected,

and the weather is perfect.

 The fun part is taking the toboggon down.

 No photos unfortunately, too busy holding on!

After lunch we take time to relax at the nearby hot spring resort 

(again no photos for obvious reasons),

before heading back to the city to visit the Bell and

Drum Towers.

Then it's a leisurely stroll around Lake Qianhai

for deep fried ribs at Xiao Wang's waterside restuarant

and a quick drink in the Jazz Bar before bed.

Tomorrow it's bye bye Beijing.