Tibet Train from Lhasa to Chongqing

 I took the new Tibet train from Lhasa to Chongqing. The train leaves on the afternoon of the first day and arrives in Chongqing on the morning of the 3rd day. The trains are not much different from a regular Chinese train other than they have oxygen added to the air conditioning system. First class and second class sleepers as well as "Sit Up" cars are offered. Above you see the first class sleepers with two uppers and two lower berths. Mixed sexes can be in each car. The second class sleepers have three berths on each side or six berths to a compartment. Only a young backpacker would really book these. The sit up cars allow smoking and my observation was that I could hardly see one end of the car from the other through the smoke. Scenery is good the one and a half day of daylight travel. The dining car was not bad but is typical Chinese train food. Be sure to take food with you as well as water. Western and Chinese toilets are available as well as a clean up area with three sinks available in alternate cars. Out of 23 cars in the train, I was the only Caucasian person on the train although it was off season in November when I went but a great time to visit Tibet which I will write more about later. No matter what anyone tells you, tickets are difficult to obtain during peak seasons and the cost is usually much higher as they must be bought through 3rd. parties even by the larger travel services. Tickets often go to the highest bidder so no travel service can really guarantee tickets in advance since they can only be bought 10 days before departure. Travel Services who say they have tickets often offer lame excuses when they can not deliver them. Contact me at interlak@eskimo.com for more information. Tours to China for the past 25 years is my business and our only business.