We soon realized why the national Chinese residents did not use the dining car facilities. They either had brought their own food or purchased from the cart that went along the hallway. Elva and I went in for breakfast and sat for a least 15 minutes waiting for one of the attendants to come to our table. We asked a British couple if the serving was still in progress? They said they hoped so, but they had been waiting even long for service. Presently the lady got up from where she was seated at a table near the kitchen window and brought a menu to our table and “flopped” it on the table and walked away.
Though an attempt had been made to print the item names in English, their wording made it uncertain what one might get from ordering a specific items. We both ordered what we thought would be scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. We received a cold egg, a spoon full of rice and dry bread. We were more than glad that we had also brought some candy and snacks for the trip. With so many different nationalities using the train it would seem that a picture type menu like McDonalds uses through out China would be beneficial on the train. We had to return for some lunch and the results in the dining car were about the same. We just went without for dinner and picked up some more snacks near the hotel.
Every one of the personnel on the train we felt certainly could have used some training time in one of the large city hotels where a smile, a “good morning” and a helpful manner is abundant. It would be a total shame to have these trains become so notorious for indifferent and bad service that they are not appealing to foreign tourists.
Of further note — for dinner in Lhasa we sat at a large table with a couple from Australia, a couple from Britain and two young ladies from the U.S. who had all wanted to ride the train. One couple had been told it was impossible to obtain train tickets. Another waited for two days in Beijing to try and obtain tickets and the ladies from the U.S. were told by there agent that tickets could not be obtained. Something is totally wrong with this picture. You and I know that the number of trains a day operating to Lhasa are not all full. The train we were on was vacant compartments and seats in the chair cars available. The four trains we viewed going north towards Glommed during the day, none of the cars appeared to be full. Mostly they appeared to be totally empty. There is obviously a total lack of marketing for the seats on the trains leaving Lhasa and none of the people at the table we spoke with about the trains knew that there were train to Lhasa from other cities beside Beijing and none knew about boarding the train in Xining. To a person, they were totally surprised that we had arrived in Lhasa by train. All we could say was that we had a superior travel person looking after our requests. We told them they should have used CCT for their China tours.
The last deficient item I believe you should know about concerns the oxygen on the train. The web site, the initial advertisements stress the fact that oxygen supply nose tubes were available for all passengers. On our trip we did not see a single such oxygen supply devise of any type. The cabin attendant came in an opened the outlet door on the wall and turned on a valve and pointed to the oxygen outlet. We kept the compartment door closed and there seemed to be sufficient oxygen for us. WE live at a higher altitude than most here in Colorado and are not generally bothered by altitudes. However, I am positive there are many older persons and those with poor lung functions that should have had the nose tubes for the two hours or so the oxygen was in use. This lack of proper oxygen supply could be very critical to many persons.
Yes, we would recommend to any one interested, that the Tibet tours by train is well worth the trials, inefficiencies and problems, but a trip that should not be missed. We can only hope that someone will take an interest to improving the problems with these train trips next years give the experience a total black eye to this aspect of China tourism.
We highly recommend China Connection Tours to all people who are also interested in travel to Tibet by train. With their expertise, you will enjoy a lifetime Tibet tour for sure. For more of my China tours & Tibet tours experience, please contact 5046181@qq.comÂ
You can also send your inquiry directly to: http://www.chinatibettours.com  which provides discount China tours and China Vacations.
