Mission Impossible: Obtain Chengdu-Lhasa Train Ticket

” To repeat, ad infinitum, though train tickets are a lot easier to land these days, don't expect next-day middle-berth hard sleeper miracles for the most popular routes. To wit: expect everyone and their dog to be trying to get on the Chengdu-Lhasa train.”? —- Lonely Planet China

I hailed a taxi to Sim's Cozy Guest House around 1pm and the adventure of arranging my travels into Tibet had begun. Successfully arriving at Sim's was my first victory. I entered the reception area, turned to my right, and saw the big travel desk. Things were looking good.

I asked about getting a train ticket to Lhasa, and the initial response I got (which I had expected based on a recent Thorntree message) was that they weren't available. Before I could be given an answer a to why they were so hard to come by, I was told a friend might be able to help. I agreed to explore that option, and confirmed my interest in a soft-sleeper (they are the most expensive option, which is probably why I was told they're easier to get) and preferred departure date (Tuesday, March 18). The train departs from Chengdu to Lhasa every other day.

A few minutes and a phone call or two later and I had confirmation that I could get a soft-sleeper berth on March 18! I asked if I was lucky to get such a ticket, and the guy nodded yes. My heart went pitter-patter as I had just moved a colossal step forward in my desire to enter Tibet via the world's highest railway. As a prop for the photo above, I pulled out a page I had torn out of National Geographic Adventure last year which listed the train trip into Tibet as one of the best new adventures for 2008.

Since the agency could confirm I was getting a ticket, they could also start to process my Tibet Permit as well. I put down a cash deposit, asked a host of questions, and was told I could pick up the train ticket after 3pm the following day. I would receive a photocopy of the Tibet Permit March 17, the day before my departure. I asked if there would be any reason I wouldn't get it before my train departure. The woman indicated it'd be fine as long as there weren't any government deemed problems in the region. I knocked on the wooden desk for good luck, feeling a tad concerned about the week's turnaround on the permit, though ecstatic about the train ticket.

Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.