I had some time to kill in Xining after my late check-out and huge breafast (I had real toast! And bacon!). I thought I would change some travellers cheques - $200 - for use at border crossings and other situations where US dollars are looked well upon. Little did I know that it would take over two hours - surpassing the beaurocracy of the previous time. Five queues and a taxi ride between two banks is what it took! They couldn't apologise enough!
I then headed off to see the Grand Mosque and markets nearby. There is a large and very well integrated Muslim population in Xining. The market was a good source of food to take for my train journey tonight. After strangely hearing "No Limit" and "Jingle Bells" and a brief interlude with a motorcyclist, I headed to Xining Xi train station - to go to Lhasa in Tibet!
It took three security checks, severe scrutinsation of my permit, lots of patience and some smiles before I got on the train. And quite a nice train it was, compared to most I have used on this long sabbatical! It was interesting to see how similar to Mongolians some of the people waiting for the train looked. So it was off to sleep to get rested for another 2000- 3000m gain of altitude. The "Sky Train" is the highest railway in the world, and the cabins have emergency oxygen outlets should you need them (and a disclaimer form to sign!).
