It's highly likely that our journey to Tibet started more than a year ago really. At that time it was just myself on another train journey, en route between Beijing and Moscow. I had met these intrepid American retirees who were proclaiming to me that their next trip would be on the highest train journey in the world, the recently opened line to Lhasa.

I knew as soon as I heard them say that, that I was affected, - no really, I was infected. I tried to reassure myself that in my late 40s these adventure seeking oddyses were really just part of my past youth. I had enjoyed them but now I had a family and my life was elsewhere.

But really, highest in the world eh?, How high exactly would that be?

I didn't really let myself ask them the questions. I really didn't want to know, like a reformed smoker or drinker who really doesn't need to know where the best or cheapest are now on sale. But over the course of the year this nagging feeling wouldn't go away.

As the year drew to a close I found myself hunting for the answers to all those questions.
how long? how high? how much? and the answers came flooding in far too easy. As is with these psuedo adventures its too easy to do. Its all there for the taking you only need time and money.

None of which I really had, .... or did I? Could I wangle this? Unbeknowns to me, my sub-conscience had already booked the flight, done the trip and wrote this memoir... All I needed to do was catch up.

The only time off I had was Christmas. Everything is always more expensive at Christmas, except train travel in China that is... I eventually booked two tickets to Guangzhou.

Yes, two.

Louise is working all January and Sebastian, our ten year son had the summer holiday to fill. It was a perfect fit.

Sebastian and I would travel to Tibet.

Marco Polo traveled with his Dad, and Walter Raleigh travelled with his son, so it must be good...

He will love it, or it could be a complete disaster....

Actually Louise and I had discussed this idea since he was a small baby. There seemed something sound about taking a child, say about ten years of age out of his typical day to day environment and placing him in the middle of a culture quite radically different to his own.

Travel broadens the mind. This works well for adults. I heard it worked well with kids too. Now we had a chance to find out. There are numerous stories of kids travelling with their parents in out of the way locations. I've even come across a few families traveling together in odd places around the world. A young Australian family in Uganda struck me as so positive, so right on. I thought then that maybe one day...

The idea is that it would open the child's eyes to what might be important to children of their age from another country/another culture, or at least have a cracking good time trying...

Anyway we had flight tickets and visas now it was just a bunch of train tickets and hotels and we would be set.

As we were only in China for two weeks at the most all this would need to be booked in advance so I placed a couple of requests out to a number of Chinese travel agencies. Things became a little uncertain now as this wondrous train ticket to Lhasa started to become a little elusive. One agency said it was not possible because the railway was government owned and all tickets were reserved for the government. Another, with a similar story said availability of Tibetan tickets were subject to an extra payment "to certain people" to confirm them. Yet another agency said "maybe", but they could arrange a flight for me instead. I said "no thanks" to them too.

It wasn't looking good. At the time Louise and Sebastian had no idea that I had no idea of how we were getting to Lhasa. Then I came across an agency called tibettravel.org who said they could do it and confirm it before I paid my deposit. So I accepted their offer. I wondered how they could do this as the tickets had not yet been released by the government, but Tony, from Tibet Travel was very assured and anyway other consideration were in my favour, it was in the middle of winter, the low season - and there were no festivals, no new year holiday or otherwise at the time. I sent my money via paypal hoping with all the gods I was doing the right thing.

We depart Tuesday 5th January...