I am an American living in Hong Kong for the month of June and I plan to trael aroun Tibet for the month of July. I'm trying to buy train tickets (and permits too of course) for the Beijing-Lhasa train. However all the travel agents in Hong Kong say they are unable to book the trains.
How can I book the train tickets and get a permit from Hong Kong?? Can you reccommend a good travel agent who could do this in Hong Kong? Or can you reccomend a travel agent to call who can arrange this?
Help!
Thank you!
-Lisbeth
shiwenli
1
khema
not possible, must go to Beijing.
the only way to get a TTB permit in Hong Kong is to joing an organised tour.
you can try to board the train from Guangzhou to Lhasa, if you manage to buy the ticket it seemed possible for some travellers to board the train and reach Lhasa without permit.
3
shiwenli
Ok so I need to go to Beijing.
Can you reccommend a good travel agent in Beijing who can book the ticket and the ttp without a tour?
Also, can you tell me how many days in advance I need to buy the tickets before they sell out? I hope to take the train on June 26th or 27th.
Thank you!
4
ellyse
They don't go on sale any more than 10/11 days before departure date anyway.
Leo Hostel used to be excellent for your purposes but they've recently had some problems, I think.
Cheers!
5
pazu
Actually there's an office in Hong Kong where you can buy the Tibet Railway ticket (Guangzhou to Lhasa).
The location is China Railway Office, Hung Hom KCR Station (near a snack shop), Kowloon.
I think you can book your ticket at least 1 month in advance (yes, one month), pay an extra HK$100 for the processing fee.
I'm not quite sure if they will sell you one because you're foreigner, but it is okay to take the train from Guangzhou to Lhasa without any permit, nobody checked, I took this line twice.
I will call them tomorrow to see if my information is correct or not.
6
pazu
You can buy the Guangzhou-Lhasa ticket in Hong Kong at the China Railway Office.
Address: Shop G-14, Main Hall, Hung Hom KCR Station, Kowloon.
Working hour: 0800-1830
Tel: 22641314
soft sleeper HK$1530
hard sleeper HK$923
Pay an extra handling fee of HK$100, you can book the ticket at least one month in advance.
I believe this is the only place where you can buy the GZ-Lhasa ticket in Hong Kong, you can't get one at the CTS.
8
pazu
The lady isn't quite sure, it sounds to me it's okay for you to buy the ticket without a permit. You'd better call to confirm: 22641314, they can speak English.
9
khema
Just called this number (22641314) and they asked me if I have foreign passport (yes I do even though I am HK resident). In this case they said they cannot sell me the ticket and I am told to go to China to buy it (Guangzhou I presume). I could not get a reason from them, they were instructed by the company (China Railways?) that no foreigner can buy a ticket here in Hong Kong for the Lhasa train.
pazu, please stop encouraging everyone on this forum to travel without permit, if you look Chinese this is NOT the same as if you look a Westerner
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Lonely Planet
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