Train Ride to Xian

After getting a good taste for what Shanghai had to offer... It was off to Xian. Getting to Xian entailed a 20 hour train ride. This would be a first for me! I booked the ticket through the hostel in Shanghai and they picked up the ticket for me. From the moment I got into the cab to the train station I could sense that this was going to be an adventure. The moment the cab stopped at the train station my bag was whisked away onto a trolley by three chinese men. I had to pay the 20 Yuan to the cab driver and did so as fast as I could and then went running after my backpack. The chinese men who have vests label "shanghai community assistance" or something like that, then tried to tell me that the train I was supposed to be on was leaving and I must go "Fast, Fast" with them. I was there a solid hour before depature, ticket prepurchased, so I know that they were pulling a fast one, especially when they put a piece of paper in front of me wanting 80 Yuan (4 Times a 20 minute cab fare) to carry my bag into the station for me. I quickly regained possession of my bag and put it on my back bag as they all laughed at me, thinking it was so FUNNY that a girl can carry that weight. Just to spite them, and for a little workout of course, I deliberately took the stairs in front of them, instead of the esclator, to show them just how little I needed their "community assistance".
After hitting up the metal detectors and way too much putting on and taking off of my backpack I arrived in the pre-boarding area. I was hot, sweaty, tired.... greatly looking forward to the 20 hour train ride ahead.. ya, right! People were very amused, once again, that a girl was carrying such a large pack an they proceeded to stare obviously. When we started to board the train I took my ticket and began to show it to the agent at each train I passed, and each guided me further and further down the line of cars. Finally I showed my ticket to an agent and she let me into the train car. I knew I had a hard sleeper ticket and upon noticing that all the beds were the same, grabbed the closest lower bunk and put me and my bag on it. Within ten minutes of lounging on my bunk, I noticed a crowd growing around my bed. I thought, here we go again, staring at the white girl. They were all speaking Chinese and I had no idea what these other passengers were mumbling about. Then a girl who spoke broken english told me that I was in someone elses bunk! and that the tickets had assigned bunks... Ooopps! All of a sudden the ticket began to make sense.. Car 17 bunk 21.... but the words 'car' and 'bunk' were of course not written in english. Finding my bunk I readjusted, settling in for a long night in my little cubby hole.
Two hours in... I gotta pee. And this is where I had my first encounter with "The Asian Toilet". Essentially it's a 8 inch hole on the floor. There is no railing within reach to hold onto. I am not a prissy girl... I've done dirty bathrooms, outhouses, even going to the bathroom in the woods, but this was a whole new scene. This required a little more than guts... this required skill, aim, accuracy! I realized that the only way to successfully 'go' into the whole was to get low.. real low! As I began to crunch down my knees let out some nice popping noises, as I began to wonder what ever happened to the rule of bending one's knees greater than a 90 degree angle is seriously dangerous. I won't get too detailed with the outcome, lets say I got a D+. A+ for effort of course, but D for being merely in the remote vacinity of the hole itself. Now I know why these people are so obsessed wth taking their shoes off everywhere (if they are anything like me, or went to the bathroom after anyone like me, they're shoes are...I think you get the picture).
I slept crouched in a small ball, as my bag consumed half the bunk (and these are small bunks, surely not designed for anyone approaching 6 feet). I didnt want to put my bag anywhere else in fear of it being stolen or misplaced. I woke a few times in the night to the loud, very loud snoring echoes of men through out the train.
I woke early in the morning to see that a significant amount of people had exitted the train. I felt safe knowing that my destination was the last stop, no chance of missing it. I spent the majority of the morning gazing out the window, admiring the beautiful scenery pass by. Rice paddies, rolling hills, jagged cliffs and livestock. Agriculture here is very manual and makes for gorgeous scenic views. With about an hour to go on the trip, and the train pretty empty, my next cubby hole over neighbours poked their head over with the typical question "Where you from?". Seeing as I had no where to be and was kind of bored we talked for a bit. They took my picture and even video as I tried to pronounce some Chinese vocabulary. (Let me tell you, 20 hours on a train is when my looks are at their prime!!) They told me of some friend of a friend of a friend who once went to Jianada (Canada in Chinese). I was good for a couple laughs!
Arriving at the Train Station in Xian, I had arrived for a train station pickup from the hostel. This was kind of exciting because it was my first experience of arriving somewhere where I was to be greeted by someone holding a sign with my name. I felt just a little famous! Exiting the train station I got my first glimpse of Xian. Xian is known for the fact that the city centre is enclosed by a 40 foot tall,13 km around square wall. You can only enter downtown Xian through one of the gates that were cut out into this massive brick structure. As the cab entered the downtown core I got a glimpse of the Bell Tower, a large tower that stands in the city centre. Within 5 minutes, I arrived at the hostel (very nice) and decided to quickly find some food, then pack it in for the night and try and get some quality sleep. I needed to be well rested for tomorrow's adventure..The Terracotta Warriors.

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