15.5

I'm currently writing in the restaurant on the train on my way to Lhasa. Been here since last night. We just passed a city called something I don't remember, but I do remember that it was at an altitude of 1500m. Soon the train will start to ascend and it should ascend as high as over 5000m when we cross over to the Tibetan plateau, this should be some time tomorrow morning.

The train itself is quite decent, it’s no older than maybe a couple years. I even have in my bed my very own oxygen mask thingy, just in case. But other than that my bunk is just awful, I have the upper most bed, the third bed that is, and its so cramped. With our entire luggage etc. up there as well, the bed is too short, I can't get my legs straight. We are switching beds with Annika the coming night. 

And the security checks for the train were significantly more strict than anything I've encountered in the PRC before, our passports and travel permits have probably been checked no less than five times since we arrived at the train station.

The following morning.

We were issued oxygen masks last night, these we could in case of emergency attach to the oxygen supply everyone has in their bed. Neither me nor Annika had to use them, nor did any of the people we've met on the train whom we've talked to today. I guess they are just in case the train looses pressure or something.

The views are just amazing, even better today than yesterday. Early yesterday the views were kind of similar to those at the yangzi river, all these high hills and in the valleys farms and small towns. But as we ascended higher and higher, the landscape became more and more rugged. The trees and rivers gave way to desserts and enormous lakes. Today morning when we woke up the landscape was something that could be best described as an harsh high-altitude dessert. There are some patches of snow, but mostly its just frozen sand and dirt. Oh, forgot to mention. I think we are at an altitude of close to 5000m. When we cross over to Tibet (which I think hasn't happened quite yet) we will be at an altitude of slightly over 5k, after which we will descend on Lhasa, which is at an altitude of 3600m.