Train to Tibet

Our cabin-mate, Tom, has a laptop with him, and I desperately want to ask him if it has internet access, and if so, if I could borrow it for just a few minutes. Such tawdry rudeness is the extent of my internet addiction :-(

Read more of Julie & Julia, which is really turning out to be quite delightful and wise in the way of The Zygote Chronicles, which I had read years ago. The train ride itself is going well, albeit the bathrooms are rapidly deteriorating just as expected. Apparently, this morning some girl decided to upchuck her freshly-eaten ramen noodles all over the communal bathroom counter, so now one sink (of 3) is decidedly out of commission. Yuck.

The landscape we are currently passing over is a mixture of plains and low plateaus. There is little foliage, and I can see terraces painstakingly carved into mountains to combat the natural aridness of the land. Sadly, not much yield (yet) for the effort. Occasionally, we enter into a tunnel dug into a long mountain, and our ears pop. The passengers coming onto the train looking increasingly like ethnic minorities, many in their traditional garb, which makes me happy as I imagine how much closer we are getting to our destination. We pass the time by playing cards, drinking, reading, and listening to music. There isn't much space to walk around. We take our acetazolamide like good little med students.

We're on our way to Tibet!!