From the Rooftop of the World

We're currently in Lhasa, Tibet in the roof of the world and it's amazing to be here.

We took the Trans Tibetan train from Beijing on the 2nd of June and arrived here on the evening of the 4th. Getting here was as much of an adventure as actually being here and I will treasure the memories from that trip forever.

We travelled hard sleeper class which was an education in itself, believe me. We were due to travel soft sleeper which is slightly more salubrious in that there are only 4 berths per room and they have the luxury of a western style toilet. However hard sleeper it was for us due to the railway company overbooking the train. So we quickly adapted to the 6 berth rooms, no doors for privacy and the joys of a squat toilet on a train. Like I said it was an educational experience. We had a ball on the train despite the initial inconvenience. There were over 100 middle school children returning to Tibet after being in school in China for the past four years who decided to adopt us for the journey. There were times I was glad of the oxygen being pumped into our room as there were so many people gathered around us asking questions or simply just smiling at us. It was amazing.

On reaching Lhasa, I'm afraid I succumbed to a fairly serious bout of altitude sickness but thanks to a Tibetan drug called Gao Yuan Ning Jiao Nang I have rallied successfully. I would recommend this drug to anyone if you come here and suffer from the hell that is Accute Mountain Sickness.

Lhasa is an incredible city. The Tibetan people have the most beautiful faces I have ever seen. When the smile they light up all around them. Their language sounds like music and when they work together they sing. It's an amazing sound and one that makes you want to join them in their joy. I feel so lucky to be here and my only wish is that I could stay longer here.