It took us about an hour or so to get from the city centre to Lhasa Gonggar Airport by coach. The airport looks new and is quite big, though comparatively much tinier than giants like Changi or Suvarnabhumi. Checking in had been crazy as we learned that two of our tour group members were not allowed for check-in due to the temperature in Lhasa. At a certain temperature (it was a fairly warm day) at high altitudes, planes are to restrict the number of passengers and baggage. I am not exactly sure the details of this but it is one that concerns safety. We learned this later at Shanghai-Pudong airport that our bags were left back at Lhasa airport. It was a tiring night after 2 flights from Lhasa to Xian (famous for its terracotta soldiers!) and then to Shanghai. We were stuck at the Shanghai Pudong airport for several hours to get our baggage sorted and the staff were not very pleasant or helpful. Little did I realise that this later on has appeared to be a divine intervention for me when I had my travel insurance claim processed. I was so broke and had needed the money to purchase new tyres since the old ones have been used for two years and the treads were completely gone! Alleluia!
At the hotel, we were too exhausted to worry about not having fresh change of clothes. We hurriedly showered and went to bed right after. The time then was three in the morning.
View of the mountains from glass walls of Lhasa airport
A tribal painting at the Lhasa airport
Mountains above the clouds
Big fields from the plane as it was about to land in Shanghai
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