Pre-trip: Train and Flight Ticket Booking

Train Ticket

In China, you could only book the train 20 days prior to your departure date. We wanted to take the train on 9 Sep, so we had to book our train tickets first and foremost before it was sold out.

On 22 Aug, we booked our train tickets for Xining - Lhasa with the help from Jeff's friend from this website (in Chinese).

Train No. T165
Type: Hard-sleeper (middle bed)
Price: 497 RMB
Route: Xining - Lhasa
Departure: 9 Sep @ 8:15 PM
Arrival: 10 Sep @ 8:15 PM

You will get a reservation code in SMS (ex: E123456789). To get the train ticket, you will need to go to the ticket service booth at the post office (or could be any train ticket agency center). Tell them the reservation code and pay the fee (usually 5-10 RMB). Don't forget to bring your passport. You could also go to the ticket booth at the train station. I guess you won't need to pay the fee in that case (not sure).

The couple booked the ticket with the travel agency. Their train T22 would leave Chengdu at 8:55 PM and arrive in Lhasa on 10 Sep at 4:40 PM. They got soft-sleeper for 1,300 RMB per person.

The guide and driver would be picking us up from the train station and take us to the hotel (which we didn't book yet).


Flight Ticket

Jeff and I were planning to arrive in Xining on Friday evening (6 Sep), but I couldn't find any reasonable flight ticket. In fact I found one from Shanghai to Xining, but I didn't book it soon enough. It was around 700 RMB and arrived on Friday evening like we planned. But only a few days later, the flight was all sold out T__T. I was really mad (at myself). In the end I had to book the flight from Hangzhou instead from Qunar website.

Flight No. 3U8821
Airline: Sichuan Airlines
Price: 1,049 RMB
Date: 6-Sep-2013
Route: Hangzhou - Xining (via Chongqing)
Departure: Xiaoshan Airport  8:20 AM
Arrival: Caojiabao Airport 1:35 PM

I decided to leave Hangzhou in the morning and arrive in Xining in the afternoon coz it would probably take me 2 hours getting the luggage, taking the bus to downtown Xining and heading to the hotel. I didn't want to arrive so late in the evening as I wanted to start slowly on the first day and get enough rest on the first night so that we could start early on the following morning (fresh start for the journey oh yeah!).

Jeff's flight would arrive in Xining around 9 PM. By the time he arrived at the hotel, it would be quite late already, but he said he was fine with lack of sleep, no problem.

For flight out from Lhasa on 24 Sep, we would decide again after we arrive in Lhasa. There seemed to be plenty of flights and the prices weren't much different.

We didn't book our return flight yet. Jeff was worried about the permit whether or not we would get it. He wanted to make sure that we got the permit first before booking the return ticket. We wanted to overland to Sichuan and probably fly from Chengdu (would be my third time going there). We would fly back on 6 Oct, so we had to hurry with the booking, otherwise the price would be more and more expensive.

Useful Links

Thanks to these amazing people who shared their stories and photos online (which inspired me to start writing this blog.. I know it's not easy). 

Personal Favorites:
Land of Snows: Amnye Machen, Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan 
[Losang @LonelyPlanet. Enough said.]
Adventures of Jonas: Hitchhiking in Qinghai and Gansu
[Everything you need to know about Qinghai (Tibetan and Chinese place names included).]
China Nomads: Amnye Machen, Kanbula, Xining, and many more
[Awesome photos. Detailed trip information (Tibetan and Chinese place names included).]
Spinn Cafe: Tibet permit information and FAQs about Tibet tour
Jaunty Tom: Qinghai, Amnye Machen
[I was inspired to hitchhike in Qinghai after reading his blog.]
The Road Less Travelled By: Chengdu overland to Xining 
[Detailed guesthouse and bus information with photo albums.]

Trekking Thai Forum (in Thai):
Rook
Bandadan
Cybock
Cobain >> I followed him to Yading, Yubeng, Jiuzhaigou, Meili Xueshan, Yihun Lhatso. 

Pix Pros (in Thai): >> Amazing Mount Kailash photos
http://www.pixpros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=69204
http://www.pixpros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=68563

Other Resourceful Blogs:
Drogann1te: Xining, Tongren, Xiahe
Ciku-cikudoeschina: Xining, Qinghai Lake
Bruno and Iohi's Journey Diary: Amnye Machen
Rusty's Travel Blog: Mount Kailash
A Soul Journey to the Qinghai: Chaka Salt Lake, Qinghai Lake
To Go Back: Kanbula
Dan and Ami: Kanbula
Johnjemi: Kanbula
STEPHANIE AND MIKE'S SUMMER ADVENTURE: Kanbula
The Hegira of Jess & Luke: Train experience
GAP YAHHHHH TRAVELS: Chengdu overland to Xining
Around China: Kekexili on motorcycle!
Kekexili (in Chinese)

Mafengwo (in Chinese):
http://www.mafengwo.cn/i/1356060.html
http://www.mafengwo.cn/i/643918.html
http://www.mafengwo.cn/i/819453.html
http://www.mafengwo.cn/group/info.php?iid=825046&page=1
Note: I cannot read Chinese so I use Google Translate.

Lonely Planet Forum:
What is the longest time one can stay around Mt. Kailash?
Kanbula Forest Park - Place to stay
Qinghai province advice
Yushu (Jyekundo) - Qinghai province
Chengdu to Xining

Travel Agency:
Tibet Highland Tours >> We booked Tibet tour with TBT. Our guide and driver were incredibly awesome!
Snow Lion Tours: Tibet Tour (Tibetan-owned agency)
Snow Jewel: Tibet Tour (experienced Swiss guide in Nepal) 

Useful Links:
Wikitravel >> My main source for trip research. I'm not a big fan of paid guidebooks.
Yowangdu: Tibetan Culture and information about traveling in Tibet
Travel China Guide: Train schedule and ticket service
Elong: China flight ticket service in English
Qunar: China flight ticket service in Chinese (cheap)
ForeignerCN: Traveling in Qinghai
Bus Station in Qinghai