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| Map of Qinghai, China |
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| Xining > Yushu, Qinghai (790km) |
Sleeper bus: Xining>Yushu - Y206
Food: Y53
Taxi: Xining bus station- Y5; Yushu bus station - Y20 + Y30
Total cost incurred: Y414
1) Xining (2,275m), Qinghai
Xining is the capital of Qinghai. My last visit to Xining was in Sept 2011. Fortunately my health was able to adapt to this high altitude city and this augured well for my subsequent visits to Golmud, Yushu, Garze & Kangding.
As the Tibetan authorities have not relaxed in issuing of entry permit to any free and easy traveler except for a group of 5 from a single country, I opted to visit Golmud by trains and a sleeper bus from Xining to Yushu (Qinghai), Garze and Kangding (Si Chuan) to satisfy my curiosity in seeing parts of the Tibetan plateau around this region.
Xining city center, Qinghai - taking it easy to catch a glimpse of this high altitude city, a city in Qingahi next to the proivinces of Xinjiang & Tibet & far from Beijing & Shanghai !
1) Xining (2,275m), Qinghai
Xining is the capital of Qinghai. My last visit to Xining was in Sept 2011. Fortunately my health was able to adapt to this high altitude city and this augured well for my subsequent visits to Golmud, Yushu, Garze & Kangding.
As the Tibetan authorities have not relaxed in issuing of entry permit to any free and easy traveler except for a group of 5 from a single country, I opted to visit Golmud by trains and a sleeper bus from Xining to Yushu (Qinghai), Garze and Kangding (Si Chuan) to satisfy my curiosity in seeing parts of the Tibetan plateau around this region.
I may have to sign up a group package tour (probably in the near future) from my home country, Malaysia in order to fulfill my dream in visiting Tibet.
Xining city center, Qinghai - taking it easy to catch a glimpse of this high altitude city, a city in Qingahi next to the proivinces of Xinjiang & Tibet & far from Beijing & Shanghai !
Xining West Train Station, Qinghai - train to Golmud & Llhasa, Tibet
Xining > Yushu, Qinghai by sleeper bus (Y206 - a 23hr overnight bus ride from Xining to Yushu - the start of an arduous journey to the wild wild south-west of Qinghai-Tibetan border !)
Xining > Yushu - stunning scenery, snow capped mountains, Tibetan herdsman on bike tending their lambs, yaks grazing on open grasslands .... no zebra crossings for sheep & yaks on the main trunk roads and our bus driver had to give way and exercise a high degree of patience to these tame & mild mannered animals !
A herd of of sheep grazing on pastures in a Tibetan Plateau plain, Qinghai - am I in the South Island of New Zealand ?
A herd of yaks grazing on pastures in snow-capped mountain & mountain slopes in Tibetan Plateau, Qinghai, a rare animal in this part of the world !
2) Yushu (4,000m), Qinghai
Yushu town - now undergoing rebuilding after a 6.9 earthquake which destroyed the town on 14 April 2010. Official death toll was 2,698 but close to 20,000 was reported killed. New apartments and commercial buildings are now being built while some affected families are still housed in government aid tents outside of the town. Most temples and monasteries in Yushu had been damaged and destroyed. The town center was very dusty and traffic was very chaotic. I stayed in an old hotel near a construction site and a bus station but was evicted when an anti-drug and SWAT team sealed the entire premises in the late afternoon. I quickly packed up my luggage and left for Garze paying Y150 for a seat in a mini van packed with 8 people inclusive of a young driver. There were many potholes on the roads so the ride was pretty rough, bumpy and adventurous. I arrived safely in Garze at around 08.30 after a tough 14 hr overnight journey ! A new highway linking Xining & Yushu is now under construction and this will shorten travelling time between the two cities in the near future.
Yushu town - now undergoing rebuilding after a 6.9 earthquake which destroyed the town on 14 April 2010. Official death toll was 2,698 but close to 20,000 was reported killed. New apartments and commercial buildings are now being built while some affected families are still housed in government aid tents outside of the town. Most temples and monasteries in Yushu had been damaged and destroyed. The town center was very dusty and traffic was very chaotic. I stayed in an old hotel near a construction site and a bus station but was evicted when an anti-drug and SWAT team sealed the entire premises in the late afternoon. I quickly packed up my luggage and left for Garze paying Y150 for a seat in a mini van packed with 8 people inclusive of a young driver. There were many potholes on the roads so the ride was pretty rough, bumpy and adventurous. I arrived safely in Garze at around 08.30 after a tough 14 hr overnight journey ! A new highway linking Xining & Yushu is now under construction and this will shorten travelling time between the two cities in the near future.
Be aware of the existing toilet culture & the hassle of travelling in remote areas of Qinghai & Sichuan near the Tibetan border. Proper & clean toilets are difficult to come by. Quite often during the day or night, our bus driver has to make several stopovers by the side of freeway and allowed their passengers to ease themselves in an open area ! So it is a free for all to perform your natural duty in the open air ! McDonald style wash room is virtually non-existent in these areas.
" A service fee of Y$1 is to be paid for using a toilet owned by a private operator in a small country town in Qinghai. You may have to hold your breath & make a quick exit as soon as you have done your business inside the toilet ! Beggars (tourists) have no choice ! A fine of Y$100 for pissing freely "
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