Xian to Lasa by train

Our trip to the train station went smoothly, we collected a lovely young Australian couple who turn out to be our cabin mates too. Great - life is looking up - we will be able to converse ;)
They are as relived as we are as contrary to what you hear not many Chinese speak much English, not even the young ones. It also means we can negotiate space & privacy.

Anxious moments once we are left by guide as the waiting room starts to heave and nothing makes sense...... However 4 brains are better than 2, we figure it out & all get safely on & settled. The morning passes quickly sharing stories & snacks.
We are constantly climbing slowly & gently, passing through small towns with numerous cranes & high rises, small villages growing fruit & grapes for the burgeoning wine industry & numerous terraces carved from the hills growing corn, wheat & fruit trees .. Probably apples. The train is travelling alongside a sizeable very brown river valley between large hills.
As the afternoon continues we pass through & stop at huge industrialised areas, large grimy high rise cities appearing out of now where. Large abandoned factories are evident, probably from the communist era. At 2000 metres above sea level the countryside is becoming dryer & sandier.
Xining was the first major city where we stopped for 20 mins ... Raised more questions than answers ... There appears to be full scale bulldozing of some of the older more traditional parts of town ( we noticed people living in tents on some of this cleared land) and then by contrast acres & acres & acres of high rise apartments - a large number which were not completed, standing like ghosts.
Dinner was a surprise ..... we were prepared for 1 minute noodles but went to the dining car & as Ray had been making friends all afternoon the 'captain' had cold beer on ice & ordered us a delicious meal.

We had a relatively uneventful night & awoke to find ourselves climbing ( 4531 metres @ 9.30am.) The landscape has changed to barren permafrost covered with a thin sprinkle of snow. They have started to pump oxygen into the cabins (to prevent altitude sickness) . We have seen a few yaks & Tibetan antelope. Its hard to describe the sheer vastness - miles upon miles of power cables strung across gigantic poles, a highway stretching as far as the eye can see. There are beautiful patterns of rocks alongside the rail track. The train reaches its highest point of just over 5000 metres around midday.

SMOKING: I have to add a comment. There is a push to stop smoking in public & confined places ... And in cities like Shanghai it seems to be working a little but in other areas you constantly see people lighting up, often right under the non smoking signs!

As the day progresses we see hundreds upon hundreds of military trucks travelling in both directions on the road parallel to the railway line. We see isolated collections of a few huts & brightly coloured flags & ever so often a green army tent with an area around it carefully demarcated by rocks, a colourfully festooned motorbike & a mound of yak dung. We assume that theses are summer farmers tending their herds of yaks.
As we cross the final plateau we are surrounded by soaring snow capped mountains 7162 metres high. A final run into Lhasa where we are politely escorted by the police into the hands of our waiting tour guide, signed for & free to check into our hotel & find some dinner. Our guide is a delight, speaks great English & is very helpful. Our hotel is in the old quarter, a restored Tibetan palace with WOW rooms.