20251013 Viking Gems of China and Japan Day 9 – Xi’an to Lhasa, Tibet

Viking Gems of China and Japan Day 9 – Xi’an to Lhasa, Tibet - Bumping our heads on the roof of the world

 

It was nice having a leisurely morning, going to breakfast at 8:00 and leaving the hotel at 10:30. No rushing. Of course, since we're leaving Xi'an today, the rains have stopped. But, it isn't clear. There is a low overcast hanging over the city. It is quite dark, and we're unclear whether it is just a low overcast or if it is smog.

We knew that Beijing had issues with smog and were surprised to not see any when we were there. Oliver had explained that all industry had been moved out of the city, due, at least in part, to their hosting the Olympics, and they didn't want the negative attention. We did see tall power plant smokestacks as we drove through the city, so perhaps what we're seeing is smog.

Yesterday, I started taking Acetazolamide tablets. That is the generic name for Diamox, a diuretic that can help treat symptoms of altitude sickness. I used this when we visited Peru, and I believe it helped me acclimate to the altitude. Lhasa sits at about 12,000 feet above sea level. The Tibetan Plateau averages nearly 15,000 feet. We won't be going that high, but 12,000 feet is high enough. The downside is that Diamox is a diuretic, meaning it helps your body shed excess water. Therefore, last night, I was up at 11:00, 1:30, 3:30, and 5:45.  I guess that it was good that it was working.

After at least three more restroom stops, we departed the hotel at 10:30 for the one-hour drive to the airport. It was pretty busy, and the security check line took quite a while to get through. We've gotten smarter about Chinese aviation requirements and had all electronics in an easy-to-remove bag. That sped up dumping and reassembling our bags.

We were once again given a boxed lunch, or more correctly bagged lunch in a reusable cooler bag. It was the typical sandwich and snacks lunch. We needed something to drink, so we popped into a store and picked up a couple of what appeared to be Diet Cokes. I used Google Translate to decode the label, and it turned out that this sugar-free Coke product was enhanced with 30% of the daily allowance of fiber. 

It's like Diet Coke and Metamucil had a love child

We flew Sichuan Airlines, the largest airline in western China. They are based on Chendu, our next stop after Tibet. If you ever wanted to know where aging aircraft go after other airlines are done with them, look no further. We were on an old Airbus A320. The legroom was nonexistent. It was one of the more uncomfortable flights I've been on lately.

On the plus side, the service was excellent with a crew of flight attendants serving drinks, then lunch, then drinks again. Then, they served this. I couldn't understand her because her accent was extremely thick.

It was a quarter of a freshly steamed potato - strangest thing ever

Passing over the Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains on Tibet's east side

We flew past what appeared to be a glacier - it was quite blue to the naked eye

You can see that we were flying at mountain-top level

More snowy peaks in the distance

An unusually green river

We are officially in Tibet, an autonomous region within mainland China

Everyone's luggage arrived, so that was an improvement. We made the long walk through the absolutely crazy, crowded airport parking lot at Lhasa Gonggar Airport.

As soon as we got on our bus, our local guide presented everyone with a welcome scarf in a long-standing tradition to welcome visitors.

It took about an hour to drive to the St. Regis Lhasa Hotel, yet another Marriott property like the Ritz-Carlton in Beijing and JW Marriott in Xi'an. On the way, we had to make a checkpoint stop where everyone had to get off the bus, walk through a building, and get back on the bus on the other side. They said it had something to do with a camera counting the number of people on the bus. Seemed weird, but OK.

We caught a glimpse of the Potala Palace, which we will visit in two days

 We got checked in and headed to the buffet dinner for a light dinner. We are currently at roughly 11,600 feet of altitude above sea level, and the air is thin. We can definitely feel it when walking, especially on upward inclines. The recommendations are to drink a lot of water, eat light meals, avoid alcohol, and take it easy for the first day or two to let your body acclimate. After dinner, we returned to the room so I could write this and we could get in bed at a reasonable time.

Tomorrow, we'll start at 9:30. We will be visiting Jokhang Temple, a Nunnery, Sera Monastery, and Barkhor Street, a popular street and destination in Lhasa.