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.

20251012 Viking Gems of China and Japan Day 8 – Xi’an Terracotta Warriors

Viking Gems of China and Japan Day 8 – Xi’an Terracotta Warriors - 8,000-strong and growing

The rain returned with a vengeance today, with unrelenting downpours. That meant yet another wet, cold, and gloomy day. The good news is that it is supposed to be lovely tomorrow, as we leave Xi'an.

Today's activity was a visit to the famous terracotta warriors. They were first discovered in 1974, and to date, none have been found fully intact. They have been meticulously restored.

There are several pits containing the warriors. They were constructed by Qin Shi Huang, King of Qin and first emperor and unifier of China, in 247 BC and continued until his death in 210 BC. They were designed to serve and protect the emperor in the afterlife. They are still assembling the army from fragments, and estimates are that there were more than 8,000, with new excavations discovering additional ones. Every warrior was unique with different facial expressions, hair, armor, etc.

We were greeted by a statue of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China

Hiding from the rain before proceeding to Pit #1

Our first view of the warriors

They were arranged in lines and positioned with different specialties, like archers and infantry

They are in various states of repair as more pieces are found

If you look closely, you can see that they all have different facial expressions

There are also horses, but their wooden chariots have long since rotted away

They are assembling more in what is described as the world's largest jigsaw puzzle

More ongoing repair and reconstruction

When pieces are glued together, they are wrapped with plastic wrap to allow the glue to cure

We left Pit #1 and visited the much-smaller Pit #3.

There were many more pieces still being excavated here

A highlight was four horses with drivers, but of course, no wooden chariots.

Leaving Pit #3

Heading to Pit #2

There was more active excavation in Pit #2, with climate-controlled excavation buildings in place over active areas

A well-preserved warrior - note the detail on the sole of his shoe

You can see the rear of a horse being excavated

Construction bricks over 2,000 years old

Higher-ranking officers have more elaborate headwear

We completed our time in the pits and headed to a temporary exhibition celebrating 50 years since the warriors were discovered.

The relation of the emperor's tomb and the warrior pits

The warriors were surprisingly tall, coming close to Arlona's height

Some of the very best examples of the warriors were on display

And some are still looking for pieces

A sampling of the various faces of the warriors

The warriors were painted, but when they were excavated, the paint oxidized

Weapons carried by the warriors

Other items buried included several birds

There were also entertainment figures like opera singers

I needed to pull my jacket down

With our visit complete, we boarded the bus and headed to our lunch venue. Like the jade factory the other day, this was paired with a silk embroidery, furniture, and jewelry facility. They also create replicas of the terracotta warriors using traditional methods. These range from a few inches tall to full-sized. Everything was, of course, available for sale and shipping.

We enjoyed a nice buffet lunch and some free time to peruse the shops. While browsing, a couple stopped us and said that they thought they had cruised with us before. Sure enough, they were on our Viking European Sojourn river cruise in August 2024. So now, we will be cruising with three other couples we've sailed with before.

Driving back to the hotel, we were struck by the endless rows of high-rise apartment buildings that we passed. It is a city of 10 million, and they have to live somewhere.

Tonight, an optional excursion with a cultural show and dinner was available, but we had not signed up for it. That meant dinner was on our own tonight. We wandered around the corner to a convenience store and picked up a few bottles of pop (soda for you non-Midwesterners) and some small bags of chips. We decided to have a calm afternoon and just hang out in the room and avoid more rain. It also let me get all the blogs from the last few days published using my new VPN software.

We have to have our checked luggage outside our room by 10:00 tonight. Tomorrow, we will leave the hotel at 10:30 in the morning and head back to the airport for our flight to Lhasa, Tibet.