Buying Lhasa Train Tickets in Hong Kong

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

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.

You need an agent in Beijing to book the train, not Hong Kong.
Cheers!

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!

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!

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.

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.

great news pazu, did you ask about buying without the permit?

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.

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

Khema, sorry if I have posted some wrong information here, but I'm not encouraging people to travel to Tibet without TTB permit. What I told here are the stories told by other travellers (yes, western look) I met here in Lhasa who don't have permits and never got any problem, even after the EBC protest! Now usually if I meet any western travellers, one of the first things I asked them is permit, if you ask around, you'll know many people who actually don't have a permit and never have any problem.

I just have the impression that it's okay to travel without the entry permit. ALSO, it's okay for those without a TTB entry permit to join a tour from Lhasa, this is confirmed also after the EBC protest. (I met some who go to EBC without an TTB entry permit, but they have to join a tour and get an ATP permit from Lhasa.)

I guess the permit system isn't perfect, many people don't see the piece of paper at all, many people got no problem without a TTB permit.

(An ATP permit seems to be necessary however in some sensitive area. )

And about the train ticket, since the tickets aren't registered with any names, I don't see any reasons why you can't ask other Hong Kongers to buy one for you. I'll call to confirm again.

I just called the lady at the China Railway Office, Hung Hom, Hong Kong. She said they cannot sell tickets to foreigners because they will take responsibility if the passenger cannot take the train. But all tickets aren't registered by names or ID card or passport number.

to #11 pazu

I made that comment because in your earlier post here you said "but it is okay to take the train from Guangzhou to Lhasa without any permit, nobody checked, I took this line twice"

my point is that if you look Chinese (and not everyone here knows that) you may be have lower risk of being asked a permit while boarding the train

if many Westerners that you meet in Lhasa won't asked for permit on the train that's great, but there were probably some who were, and also there were some who could not go on tour outside Lhasa without the TTB permit. I'd like to make it clear to those who are thinking of visiting TAR that chances of getting caught are 50/50, and everyone understands the risk before they decide to forgo obtaining the permit.

Hi Khema,

Okay, I understand your point. I will ask more westerners about this information, if I meet another 30 or so westerners taking a train without a permit and never got caught, I will tell you guys not to buy ther permit for the train again.

there is a company (Chomolungma or maybe the tibetan spelling)
I got the number from the agency which is situated inside the Visa Office, wan Chai , china ressource building 7th floor,
They can give you a number or i can post it later (have to look it up again)
The agency also deliever the permits to Hong Kong.
maybe that helps with the ticket.
It cost a fee and needs 10 days.

This company, located at Jaffe Road, is 5 minutes away from my home. I went and asked them about the permit seven years ago and what I remembered was that they had some really expensive (ridiculously expensive!) tour. I'll give them a call tomorrow to see if they can do anything new to help other foreign travellers.

You'll see from my other posting that the Jaffe Road agency (I presume we're talking about the same place) told me on Friday that they will only give permits to people on guided tours and that they cannot get me a permit that will allow me to travel individually from Guangzhou. Things have tightened up after the recent EBC protest.

actually, i called them last year (before the things got tighter) and they told me the same, that the only option is to book a tour through them

Khema, indeed I also called the agent 7 years ago (when Hong Kongers still needed a permit to travel to Tibet), they told me exactly the same, no permit, only tour, very expensive tour. I don't think they can help.