Even without permission we managed to buy tickets for the train to Lhasa, Tibet. 35 hours and the train went over 5000 meters high. The scenery was stunning. We arrived late in the night, nobody checked if we had a permission. Tibet took our heart and we stayed much longer than planned. The situation of the Tibetan people is comparable to the surpressning of the East Germans during the time of the DDR. Talking openly about the Dalai Lama or criticizing the Chinese dictatorship over Tibet can be life-threatening.

We finally left Tibet after ten days, promising to come back and at least to think about possibilities to help the Tibetans.