Day 7 - SATURDAY
Straight after breakkie we headed to the Tashilhunpo Monastery, which boasts the largest sitting Maritreyu Buddha statue in the world (and what a claim to fame that is). The areas open to tourists were primarily tombs, but I wouldn't have known that had we not had our guide - every hall was very similar; a massive Buddha statue in the centre, surrounded by walls painted with thousands of Buddhas, or with thousands of tiny Buddha statues in glass cases on the walls. We didn't see anyone else, it was just us because the weather was terrible, and we were there at what seemed like the crack of dawn.
Some photos inside the monastery walls/outside the tombs
After the monastery, we visited the "Old Markets" in the town centre for a quick look , then began on the drive back to Lhasa. We ate lunch at the same restaurant along the way - this time we tried the most delicious yak and potato curry I think exists - I finished mine and wanted more. I then slept most of the way back to Lhasa, in preparation for the massive shop-up we were planning when we arrived home. Which we did - I bought lots of stuff, mostly presents for people back home (and if you're lucky, you might score one). Due to the excitement I was experiencing from shopping, I didn't pay attention to how much money I had in my wallet, so soon I was down to 5 kuai. Not a problem, I thought, so I tried to find an ATM. I found them alright, but they wouldn't accept my card. I eventually gave up after walking for hours, and had supermarket noodles for dinner, and started fretting about having no food or water for the train trip home. Then we had a call from the travel agent saying there was a problem with our return train tickets - the problem being we didn't have any. I went to bed to leave the girls to fight and complain about it.
Day 8 - SUNDAY
We woke up bright and early to head off to the train station. We weren't overly worried because the travel agent had assured the other girls we had tickets, but when we were sitting in the station at 8am, knowing the train left at 8.30am, we were less than hopeful. A screaming match ensued between the girls and the poor travel agent, who finally got us tickets spread out over the train. Everyone was being such a hassle and demanding we be put in the same cabin, but honestly that thought less than pleased me, so I bit the bullet and said I wouldn't mind being by myself. And low and behold, I was rewarded by karma with a soft sleeper ticket to Beijing (this will make sense in a second)! I went to my cabin, and was asked to swap with a teenage boy into the next cabin, as they were a family of 6 and wanted to be together - no problems - we swapped tickets and I moved next door. I had the nicest Malaysian couple with me, so we chatted in English and Chinese as the train departed - turns out their son lives in Sydney studying at uni. The lovely Malaysians even fed me - they asked me if I would like to join them for dinner, but I lied and said I wasn't hungry, when in reality I had no money. When they returned, they had bought me pringles and fruit! Bless them. I managed to sleep a lot, while soaking up the comforts of soft sleeper - including a door, enough room to sit up, personal reading lamps, nicer bedding, and a TV for every bed!
Day 9 - SUNDAY
I woke up to a surprise. The girls had noticed that their tickets were only until Xi'an, not Beijing. I had no idea where my ticket was to, because I had firstly swapped with the Danish kid next door, and the attendant had collected our tickets at the start of the trip. While I secretly worried about being kicked off the train 12 hours away from home, I slept some more, and was fed an apple for breakfast by the Malaysians (the first time I had ever eaten an entire apple - peel and all). The lovely Malaysians then left me at Xining to continue on their holiday, and I was joined by 3 Chinese men with bad table manners. They spent most of their time outside somewhere - in the corridor or in the food carriage, so I had the cabin to myself, so I slept and read. I was also told how to cure my asthma by a mathematician. I won't go into details, but it involves deep-fried fresh squirrel soup. Ehh, I think I'd rather have asthma, thank you very much. We arrived in Xi'an late at night, and luckily the attendant didn't come by to warn me, so I was in the clear. The girls weren't so lucky though - all their tickets (in hard sleeper and seater) were only through to Xi'an, not to Beijing. They had to pay extra to be allowed the pleasure of seating in the corridor for the rest of the trip.
Day 10 - MONDAY
I woke up just before the train arrived into Beijing West train station - at 7.30am. Having no money to my name, I searched high and low for an ATM in the station, to no avail. So I took a chance and caught a taxi, hoping I'd be able to withdraw money from the ATM at my uni. Luckily I could, so I made it home at about 10am thanks to the peak hour traffic. I then had a most refreshing shower, and ate some well-needed food.
A couple of pictures I took from the train window on the way home:
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