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We came to Tibet from the west, via a small town called Golmud. Golmud has about two attractions - small cheap and delicious meat buns and a Tibetan office to get visas. Other than that, I couldn't really recommend it. We boarded the new super duper train at Golmud at around 3 in the morning. It was like boarding an airplane. I was told I wasn't allowed to take my can of deodorant due to the pressure. Looks like the next couple of weeks were going to be stinky! We got on the train, found our beds and fell asleep.

When I woke up, it still felt like an airplane - everywhere was white with snow and it was like being in thick clouds. Every now and again we would spot yaks plodding along and the occasional eagle or something flying high. How anyone or anything could live here was beyond me but you have to admire the sheer strength of character that it must take to exist in this land.

The beds all came supplied with little oxygen tubes but I didn't feel the need. The bloke next to us had it on all the time. I'm not sure he had grasped the concept. He pulled out the tube and switched it on so that it blew air around him. I kind of thought you were supposed to suck it up. Who knows? I could be wrong. There were a few stops along the way for us to get out and get some fresh air. The air was so fresh it almost hurt to breath. The cold bit hard and I quickly scampered back inside.

After a day or so we arrived in Tibet. Again, it felt like being on a plane. The train station was miles out of Lhasa and we had to take minibuses to get into the city. Bumping along a dirt track, avoiding laughing kids and yaks, I spotted my first sight of the Potola. It's hard not to delve into clichs so I'm not even going to bother. It was just beautiful, simple as that. Huge and impressive, but essentially beautiful. The sun was going down and it all seemed too perfect.

We got into the city and everyone piled out. The lack of oxygen that I'd read so much about started to make us all light-headed and a little bit giddy. We picked up our bags (oh so slowly) and followed the general flow of people. I'd already ear-marked a couple of hotel choices (nice and cheap but with hot water) and finally booked into a nice hostel. We all took turns using up the hot water and wandered out for a beer and a bite to eat. Luckily we didn't have to go far. I say luckily as it felt like I had the world's biggest hangover. Drinking beer probably wasn't a good idea at this time, but hair of the dog and all that. We

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