Here is the plan. Fly from Beijing to Xining. The train is from Xining to Lhasa. Then, take another flight from Lhasa back to Beijing. There are only three trains to go to Lhasa daily. One is from Beijing, which takes 48 hours total. One is from Chendu/Chongqing. One is from Lazhou/Xining. The one starts from Xining takes 26 hours to get to Lhasa. We took the shortest one from Xining. That trains was leaving from Xining at 8 o'clock evening. When it arrived in Geermu, it was 7 o'clock at the morning. The most important trip of the Tibet railway is from Geermu to Lhasa. In another word, it is day time when it runs on that trip. We bought many tour books and prepared a lot of stuff. Some stuff was found not needed later.

Since we were threatened by the information we obtained regarding the altitude illness and the weather in Tibet. Here are some stuff we prepared for this trip particularly:

• Mountain Clothing
• Rhodiola Rosea Capsule. The chinese name is Hong Jing Tian. It is a Chinese herb that some people claim it can reduce the altitude illness but you have to take it by 5 to 10 days before you leave. However, my doctor told us it does not really work but for your mental feeling.
• Oxygen cans: This is a big mistake. You can find it easily in Tibet. The airport security may not let you take it on board.
• Picture Porter Elite from DigitalFOCI: This is a very nice picture porter gadget. It has 80GB hard disk capacity and a very powerful 2300 mAH battery. If you plan to take a lot of pictures, this will be your good choice.
  

This is Rhodiola Rosea!!!

If you forgot anything, Xining will be your last chance. Take my example, I packed a lot of stuff that I don't really need and forgot my digital camera charger. Make sure you bring the right stuff before you leave.

Most Tibetan does not know Chinese, not mention English. Here are the three words of Tibetan that you should learn.

How are you

Thank you

Good bye