Oct. 26- Arrival in Lhasa

On Sunday I woke up at 7:00 and saw that Selina was still out like a light so I pulled the window back slightly and was greeted by a winter wonderland. Our country landscape had turned into miles and miles of snow covered mountains overnight. Having grown up around snow, and not seeing it all too often in Texas, I got really excited. There's something to be said about watching China's landscape change outside your window. I thought how incredibly beautiful it was and then I thought "Why didn't I bring tennis shoes?!?" When Selina woke up I opened the blinds and turned my ipod on for some music and the first song that came on was "Snow" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Selina and I looked at each other and started cracking up in our beds, it was a little too coincidental for 8:00 in the morning! We ate the same breakfast as the day before and then I read some of my book. And then I read some more, and then I read some more. I stopped to buy watermelon from the snack cart... and then I read some more. I know, I know, it's a little too much excitement :) In between reading and snacking I took many pictures of the changing landscape outside. I even got a few pictures of yaks!

After several more hours of reading, snacking, taking pictures, and sometimes napping we arrived in Lhasa at 9 PM. We were ready to get off the train but were also a little sad to be leaving our home for the past 49 hours. That feeling didn't last long as we stepped off the train and saw the Lhasa sign and felt the cold weather around us. To say we were excited is a huge understatement. Outside the station we followed the crowd of people down to the area where passengers are picked up. We were told to look for a sign with one of our names on it and Selina finally saw a man waving a sign that said "WALLACE-CODY ROSE." We waved to him and he beckoned us over. He told us that his name was Joe and that he would be our guide during our stay. After introductions were made he looked worriedly at my shorts and flip flops and asked if I had warmer clothing. I told him I had warmer clothing but that I forgot my tennis shoes back in Shanghai. He laughed and said we could go to a store tomorrow and buy some shoes. We walked over the van that we would use for our travels and met our driver, Mr. Huang. He also got a good laugh at my flip flops :) Joe took us to our hotel and told us to meet him the following morning at 9. Our hotel was a 2 star hotel which means it had hot water but it didn't have a heater. The temperatures at night got down in the 20s in Lhasa. We were absolutely FREEZING!!!!! The only time I was warm in our room was when I took a shower and as soon as I turned the water off I was freezing all over again. I slept in the fetal position in socks, sweatpants, and my hoodie every night.

A few fun facts: Lhasa is about 3,650 meters above sea level and while on the train we went over the highest railway spot in the world at about 5000 meters. Selina and I were both thankful we didn't get altitude sickness!