by grapealope, Dec 27,2007

Here are a few photos we've posted, more to come... Beijing -> Lhasa -> Chengdu -> Lijiang -> ?

Greetings from China!

Evie and I have been here nearly 3 weeks now and are having an excellent time. China in the winter is not for the weak! We're muddling through, seeking out hostels with heat, or at least with electric blankets. And we got some stylish extra jackets in Beijing (size XL and XXXL -- we're huge here!). Despite the cold, it's been a lot of fun. We've met some great people and have a lot of stories and photos to share.

We started out in Beijing, where we spent our first week visiting Evie's friends from her semester abroad, visiting a neuroscience lab, trying to arrange for a permit and train ticket to Tibet, and wandering throughout all the destruction of the old and construction of the new Olympics-ready city. On Evie's birthday, we boarded the new Lhasa Express train to Tibet, and witnessed Chinese development and amazing scenery on our 48-hour ride.

Between adjusting to the altitude in Lhasa and getting sick (dehydration?), we didn't see as much there as we would have liked. It seems like it would be an amazing place to visit in the summer/spring/autumn. Nevertheless, we had a good visit and enjoyed spending more time with our new friends we'd met on the train. On the way back into non-Tibet-China, we scored spots in the soft-sleeper carriage of the Lhasa Express. Four beds to each compartment (rather than 6, as in the hard sleepers), closeable comparment doors, and individual LED reading lights and LCD video displays...way to travel in style. Most of the other soft sleeper compartments were taken up by members of the Chinese army and police force, who also filled the dining car at meal times. Both Evie and I were absorbed in our books, so the ride from Lhasa - Chengdu was pretty uneventful.

We've been in Chengdu four days, but passed a lot of that resting (hopefully we're done being sick!). It's quite a bit warmer here (meaning only one jacket during the day, and the river's not frozen), but foggy every day so far. We're hoping we can keep shedding layers all the way to Hong Kong, our final destination for this part of the trip (after which Evie goes on to India and I go back to school). Tomorrow morning (which is sadly less than four hours away), we're flying out to Lijiang, in Yunnan province. More updates to follow....

A few of our photos are online, at: http://larrythellama.com/albums/grape/954

Happy 90th birthday Bubbe!

Rachel

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