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Anhui
Leaving Dawukou for a bit! 2007-2-24
A Journey of a Thousand Kilometers, Miles, Inches or centimeters…
I know exactly what you are thinking at this moment. “R. you reminded me, quite frequently, of how soon you were going to Shanghai. Then you go on vacation leaving me in suspense.” Okay, I understand. I’m sorry and I will try to make it up to you somehow. Well, it is now late February, only four days left for me in this short month.
Now I will tell you about my journey of thousand miles, I think. However, as this journey took many days, don’t expect me to fit it all in one newsletter. My journey began when my Adopted di-di (little brother) arriving at my apartment. Back in November he had asked if I would come with him to visit his hometown which was in the vicinity of Nanjing。His hometown,Chuzhou was about 5 hours away from Shanghai and so I said yes。
Well, on January 20
th we began the day by going for lunch on Chaoyang Yiejie (Main Street). Before this date, however, we went to a place called “Sweetie” (Yes, it has an English name). We would get hot chocolate and talk about this trip. I was excited to go with my adopted di di to visit his hometown. After lunch we went grocery shopping because the train ride would be 27 hours long. Also, the food on Chinese trains was expensive.
Once we were fed and packed making our way to Yinchuan was the next step. Even though we packed light going to Yinchuan via fast bus was the safer method of traveling. My fellow teachers wished us well as we officially began our trip. I was also under orders to enjoy this trip, which at the time was no problem.
Yinchuan is about an hour south of Dawukou by fast bus. Yes, I know what you are now thinking. It should be the tune, “We’ll get their fast and then take it slow” from one of the many classics of the Beach Boys. Welcome back, now let us continue.
My adopted di di had not been to his hometown in over a year. I completely understood what he was feeling. It has been three years since I’ve been to my hometown, which is on the other end of this landmass I am currently on. I was excited too; this would be my opportunity to get out of Ningxia province for the second time. The first time was to Inner Mongolia back in October.
In Yinchuan we had dinner at Dicos. It is an American restaurant that has somehow made it here to China and is thriving. The food at Dicos is not the best, but it’ll keep one from starving. After dinner I introduced my di di to the game of Uno. This way we could do something besides stare out the window for 27 hours.
The day was surreal to me. This was because I dreamed of going to Shanghai for the longest time. I saw it in pictures and on the internet; those pictures were not enough for me. I wanted to remove the mask of the internet and see Shanghai with my own eyes. 1. The trip to Chuzhou was simply icing on the cake. Now I’ll stop using cheesy phrases.
In Dawukou it is not terribly hard to get a taxi, unless it is raining. Well, Yinchuan, on Saturday evening, is alive. Catching a taxi is not easy, however, we were able to get one; without using brute force. This journey of a thousand something was beyond my wildest imagination at this point. It was exciting going through Yinchuan, as we made our way to the train station.
At this point I am grateful that we were able to get hard sleepers. The opportunity to stretch out our legs every once in a while would be a blessing. The alternative would be hard seat, which as you’ll learn latter, is not pleasant. The train station in Yinchuan is not terribly large, but at this point in this journey, that was not a problem.
As 8 PM crept closer and closer, the excitement continued to build up, for the both of us. In China, land of 1.3 billion people, one has to fight, tooth and nail, to get on the train. There are no straight lines, but it is still the goal of every one to get to the front of it. My adopted di di said we had nothing to worry about because we had sleepers, our place was guaranteed. No brute force would be necessary. He was right as we got on the train and officially began our trip. Well, I’m off to sleep now.
Zaijian!
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