KEY POINTS:
Catching a train to Tibet is sometimes no easy task. First, the flight connecting us to the train that will take us to Lhasa is delayed by four hours, and second, we have not factored in the sheer numbers of Chinese who have the same idea.
Luckily, we have prebooked our tickets, which ensures us our sleeper cabin, but we also need to take into account the accuracy of Chinese train schedules. The train in question is Qinghai-Tibet Railways' N917, and it pulls away from the Xining platform right on time at 10.30pm.
At 3000m, the atmosphere is already rare, allowing a new moon to light up the barren landscape like a late afternoon sun.
The temperature outside is already dropping below zero degrees as we begin our climb to the roof of the world.
As the ground temperature keeps plunging, inside our modern carriages with their own oxygen supply and heating, we are well protected from the harsh outside.
For the next 26 hours, our world will be restricted to Car 15 and the dining car six carriages away, towards the front of the train.
To reach Lhasa, we must travel 1972km, pass 45 stations, and climb to 5100m to the world's highest station at Tanggula Pass.
Joining us on the journey are around 800 other passengers - native Tibetans, colourful nomads of indeterminable origins, Chinese soldiers and a few adventurous Westerners.
As dawn breaks across the Tibetan Plateau, the monotonous countryside outside slowly yields to lush grasslands, grazing yaks and nomadic herdsmen.
Arriving in Lhasa is like arriving in no other destination in the world. The massive new Lhasa station is bathed in an eerie glow that bleeds off into the clear night sky, dotted with bright stars that seem a whole lot closer.
For most non-Tibetans, the altitude of 3600m makes even the smallest exertion seem insurmountable. It makes good sense for us to find our hotel and take a day or two to acclimatise before we set out on our mission of discovering Tibet.
Timing its opening with that of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the Brahmaputra Grand Hotel is Lhasa's first five-star tourist establishment, and like so much in the new China, it is one with a big statement to make.
More than just a hotel, the Brahmaputra Grand is also a museum, being home to one of the largest repositories of Tibetan artefacts in the world.
The all-consuming passion of former army officer turned supermarket entrepreneur Zhang Xiaohong, the lavish 18-room hotel contains more than 10,000 Tibetan antiques, costumes, masks, weapons, craft utensils and paintings.
Many are regarded as masterpieces or collectors' items.
"The hotels in other places had hot springs or some historical backgrounds, but in Tibet, we have a culture that is attracting the eyes of people from all over the world,' Zhang says.
Lhasa is a city of great contrasts and many discoveries. It is also Tibet's heart and soul. Set in the Lhasa Valley, this small city of 250,000 inhabitants is ringed by snow-capped mountains rising to heights of 5500m and is home to a great diversity of cultures.
Here you will find the latest Chinese fashions competing with traditional Tibetan hawkers selling embroidered yak skin boots, and Tibetan teahouses jostling next to American-style hot dog palaces.
But mostly, this 1300-year-old city is a place held sacred by Tibetan Buddhists; Lhasa literally means "place of the gods'.
For them, it is a must to visit Lhasa and its holy shrines - in particular Lhasa's most famous attraction, the Potala Palace - at least once in their lifetime.
Once, all of Tibet was ruled from the imposing Potala Palace.
One of the great architectural wonders of the world, for centuries this 13-storey, 1000-room structure was both home to the Tibetan Government, and in winter, the Dalai Lama.
Clinging to a rocky outcrop that is the highest point around Lhasa, the 117m-high building includes the eastern White Palace, once the Dalai Lama's living quarters, and the central Red Palace that contains the lamas' assembly hall and over 10,000 shrines.
After being frisked of matches and lighters, to gain access, tourists must take a different path than pilgrims.
What appears to be a difficult climb turns out to be a gentle walk up a series of stone pathways that lead into the White Palace and the richly decorated apartments of past Dalai Lamas.
Moving higher inside the structure, the narrow stairs and walkways finally open out to the courtyard that marks the entrance to the Red Palace.
Once inside this awesome building, you are struck with the golden glow from yak butter lamps and the fragrant scent of incense. The Palace itself is a warren of dimly lit tight corridors and small rooms, with the exception of the 750sq m Great West Hall with its beautiful murals dedicated to the fifth Dalai Lama.
Another highlight is the stupa containing his remains. Stupendous in scale, this 15m- high feature is covered in more than 3000kg of gold and richly decorated with rare pearls, gems, agates and corals.
Emerging from the Potala, you cannot but feel overwhelmed by the richness that Tibetan culture holds. While the Potala is a high point for tourists and pilgrims alike, Lhasa has much more to offer.
There is still Tibet's holiest shrine, the 1300-year-old Jokhang Temple, the Barkhor with its circumnavigating pilgrims and hundreds of shops and stalls, Norbulingka, once the summer residence for Dalai Lamas, and Sera Monastery and its debating monks, plus a wealth of bars, restaurants and places where you can meet Tibet's most important asset, its people.
For most travellers, Lhasa is an easy place to visit. Classified as a highland temperate semi-arid monsoon climate, for much of the year it offers clear blue skies and comfortable daytime temperatures that may drop suddenly at night.
From March to October, the climate is mild and humid, and this is often considered the best time to travel. The spring and winters in Lhasa tend to be dry and windy, while many regular visitors swear that the snow-covered winter season is best time of all.
Many travellers to Tibet may want their trip to coincide with a major event such as the Shoton Festival held at the Deprung Monastery just outside Lhasa annually from June 30 to July 6.
This large-scale event culminates with the unveiling of the monastery's giant thangka of Buddha. From January 1 to 10, Tibetan New Year brings a lot of local and foreign tourists into Lhasa. Every spring, the Saka Dawa festival is held around April 15 and is an opportunity to see Lhasa bathed in a cloud of incense smoke.
* The writer was a guest of China Southern Airlines, Guilin Tourism and Yuzi Paradise Hotel.
- AAP
