Train/Plane Trip Beijing-Xi'an-Chengdu-Tibet
Written: Jan 17 '00 (Updated Nov 03 '01)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: train travel is the best way to see China
Cons: buying tickets in Xi'an can be inconvenient
The Bottom Line: Definitely go.
|
|
|
| Quintessence's Full Review: Xi'an |
A friend recently asked me for advice in traveling by train from Beijing to Xi'an, Xi'an to Chengdu, and Chengdu to Tibet. Here's what I told him:
Taking the train is the absolute best way to travel in China, I really love it. You see so much scenery and people's lives being lived outside the window, and the people traveling with you have time to get to know you, and vice versa. There's a real sense of community.
1) How easy is it to get train tickets regarding time?
Well, usually you can only buy train tickets one-way, and only a few days before the train leaves. You should get them on the first day it's possible, to avoid finding out that the tickets are gone, or, sometimes even worse, buying a ticket with no bunk or seat attached and spending 15 hours in hell.
Either get a travel agency -- they are in hotels, hostels, listed in Lonely Planet, etc. -- and pay the service charge, or go to the train station in Beijing to get your ticket to Xi'an. The sellers at the train station will probably not speak English, even if you go to the Foreigner Ticket Office at the main Beijing Train Station. But unlike the regular sellers, the ones at the Foreigner Ticket Office will be accustomed to talking to foreigners and maybe even polite. Tickets at both the Foreigner office and the regular one cost the same.
When the seats and bunks on the train are all gone, they will keep selling tickets for standing room. So if you don't see a seat number on your ticket, YOU DON'T HAVE A SEAT. You should either 1) get them to take back your ticket and sell you one for the next day or 2) get to the train extra early, have something clean to sit on like some newspaper, and be prepared to fight your way on, because it's going to be a big struggle.
There are several classes on Chinese trains, and if the rest are sold out often there are still bunks in the highest class, "soft sleeper," available. I usually avoid soft sleeper because of the high cost, but it's still cheaper than flying. Unlike the rest of the bunks, soft sleepers have a door that closes and locks, and just four bunks a cabin. Hard sleepers have perfectly soft bunks, but there are six of them to a cabin and the cabins are open to the hallway.
On the day the train leaves, make sure you get there plenty early because people usually line up and make a mad rush for the train, even if you have an assigned seat. It's just crazy.
In Xi'an, buying a ticket will not be as easy -- they have some weird tourist rip-off system going there and I think the scalpers or hotels might buy up tickets in advance. When we were there, the foreigner ticket window was never open and the regular windows were very limited. If you're going to use a travel agency or hotel to buy your tickets anywhere, Xi'an is the place, but there will be a markup if you do that. Try to get your ticket on to Chengdu the minute you arrive in Xi'an.
Is there an official protocol for how to visit Tibet as a tourist?
Yep. In Chengdu, stay at the Traffic Hotel. It has like three travel agencies in it doing nothing but selling Tibet packages. Go to the office the minute you arrive in Chengdu (they're open late at night) and book a package tour to Tibet. These are not frilly tours, they basically include one-way airfare, the Tibet entry fee, and three nights in a dormitory-style hotel room with no bathroom. There are also some sightseeing trips in Lhasa included.
The package costs about $300. The "Tibet fee" is legit and you absolutely have to pay it.
A lot of people sign up for the tour and then stay at a different hotel and don't go on the sightseeing. But actually my husband and I stayed in the "dorm bed" option and ended up sharing a quaint quad room with one other tourist, which was fine with us. The hotel had public shower areas as well as (dirty) toilets and sinks down the hall. You can also trade in your prepaid dorm bed as a discount on a double or triple room at the same hotel.
Last I heard, flying is the only legitimate way to go to Tibet; buses are not allowed for foreigners. Some foreigners sneak through by bus or by hitchhiking.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Quintessence
|
|
Location: San Francisco, California
Reviews written: 35
Trusted by: 20 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.