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There were 3 ways to get to Tibet. The first was the high-speed train into Lhasa. This wouldn’t work in my case because it left from Beijing, did not run through Chengdu and doesn’t stop in Nangchen. Nonetheless, if you ever have a chance to take the train, I highly recommend it. I once took the high-speed train from Hangzhou to Shanghai. It blazed like lightning on a pillow as the Chinese countryside whipped by, a colourful blur, and films of Charlie Chaplin played at the front of the cabin. Definitely worth it.

The second option was the bus. The bus also wasn’t practical. It took too long and there was an awkward connection in the town of Dartsedo. If I had had more time, this connection might have been interesting as Dartsedo, positioned halfway up the ascent to the Tibetan plateau had been the main hub for Tibet-China trade prior to Chengdu.

The third and best option was to fly. Flying was fast, affordable, and flights left frequently for Lhasa with a brief stop in Yushu. The flight to Yushu, a mid-sized town in Eastern Tibet, was a mere two hours. With my ticket purchased and bag packed, I took an early morning flight on a comfortable mid-sized China Eastern Airbus filled with a mix of Tibetans and Chinese tourists. We soon found ourselves aloft, rising above Chengdu and the wide valley it sits in. Gradually, the airbus climbed the ascent up the Tibetan plateau. The mountain ranges of the Himalayas appeared, stretching out in deep, long lines, at times obscured by white clouds. Imposing and immense, they were profoundly moving, the grand royalty of mountains. As we glided above them, I drifted off into sleep and as I dozed, I had a lovely dream of a beautiful white goddess with long black hair wearing jewelry. When I awoke, the plane was beginning its descent into Yushu.

Yushu’s airstrip runs along a narrow valley flanked by small mountains. The airbus touched down in the dim light of the breaking dawn. I had been nervous about the change in altitude, and as I disembarked from the plane, I felt it immediately. It was like stepping into a dream. This was partly the effect of the thinner atmosphere and partly the dark presences of the mountains surrounding us. I stopped for a moment on the runway to drink in the ambience. After such a long wait, I had finally arrived.