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Published: November 29th 2010
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ahh my 1st train ride in China =) it is not as bad as i thought it would be; in fact the train i took from Kunming to Chengdu was pretty decent. I took a lower bunk bed in the hard sleeper. a lady in her mid twenties took the bed directly opposite mine while 2 older gents took the ones above us. i was shy. i was the stranger who looked like a local but spoke no local dialect and was reading a English novel. i pretended to read sometimes but was secretly eavesdropping on their conversation. It wasn't easy doing so; they were speaking in a dialect that i could not even remotely understand. I was paranoid too after hearing horror stories from my cousin about how snatch thieves come and grab your bag and run away. So.... my huge yellow backpack was placed at the foot of my bed and my lil pink backpack near my pillow. Every smoke break i took, i lugged my pink backpack with me. It seems silly now but it was essential to me at that point.
There are no strangers on the train; while they may not know each other prior
to this train ride, many of them chatted with ease. Questions like 'where are you from?', 'where are you going', 'what do you do' were exchanged... well, yes, not with me but i heard them speaking amongst themselves. The ride was really a lesson for me. Lesson 1: open up and speak to fellow travelers. Lesson 2: Buy instant noodles for the ride. Why do i need instant noodles? Well, i did not think i would need it assuming that just like the train ride to Nong Khai, there will be a conductor person going around taking orders for food. I was wrong, wrong, wrong! The conductor came, exchanged my ticket for a lil token and went to her lil work cabin. The next time i saw her, she was selling magazines. Another conductor did come by selling fruits but i was not in a fruity mood then. My stomach was rambling slightly when someone came by selling instant noodles, nuts and drinks. I watched him go by a few times while trying to sum up my courage to ask for a bowl of instant noodles [it was in a flavor i did not like but i don't have a choice]. When i finally did gather my courage to do so, i could not catch sight of him at all. I smoked again, trying to distract my hunger with the nicotine intake.
I was staring blankly at my novel when i heard a voice announce, 'Dinner is now being served in the dinning car. Passengers who wish to have their dinner may proceed there now.' My eyes lit up and i hurriedly packed my book in my lil pink backpack and headed off to the dinning car. The menu was in Mandarin with no English translation. I stared at it for a while struggling to make sense of it with my mediocre language ability. I settled for something that sounded safe; all i could make out was it is a chicken dish. 'something something 鸡丁'. It turned out to be cucumber, tomatoes and diced chicken and it was actually pretty yummy!
I did not sleep well on the overnight train again. I was on a lower bunk bed and the ride was not all that shaky. Why couldn't i fall asleep then? well because the train is due to arrive in Chengdu at 6 in the morning and i was afraid that i might over sleep and miss my stop. I realised that this paranoia was uncalled for; because 1hr before the train is due to arrive in Chengdu, the conductor came by and swapped the token, which she had given me when i boarded the train, back to my ticket. In the blurry darkness of the early morning, i stumbled out of the Chengdu train station. I have arranged for someone to pick me up from the hostel and there he was holding a piece of paper with my name on it. The ride to the hostel was filled with silence. As usual my senses were heighten by the unfamiliar surroundings and the dark sky did not help either. What was actually a 15minute ride felt like the longest hour ever.
The 'hostel' once again was actually a separate, older wing of a hotel. I had booked a private room for Chengdu just in case the dormitory style was not for me. It was not too bad for the price i paid. I turned on the telly and watched some old re-runs before falling asleep. I woke up around noonish, went over to the reception area of the 'hostel, booked myself a spot for th Panda Tour the next day and headed off strolling in the general direction of where town is. 20-30minutes later, i saw a familiar green logo.
Starbucks! I smiled to myself and started walking over to it briskly. Unfortunately, as much joy as i had in seeing that green logo, it was also the start of an endless string of disappointments from them. Let me rant a little here: It's winter and according to the barista, they do not serve iced brewed coffee in winter . I'm fine with that, i went for a Iced Americano instead. Not believing the Chengdu barista, i asked for iced brewed coffee in every single Starbucks i visited in China after this. The responses i got was either a) no we don't have it and i'll get an iced americano and they'll frown at me or b) ok 1 iced brewed coffee coming up and they sneak me an iced americano. Let me fast forward to the time where i had my most horrifying experience, in the capital of China, in the freaking airport. It is a version of scenario b; but worst. I asked for a iced brewed coffee , i got a puzzled look from the barista at the cashier and he called out to the barista at the bar for an iced americano... in mandarin [obviously assuming i didn't understand since i placed my order in English. I was charged for an Iced Brewed Coffee was is 5Y cheaper. I stood around waiting for my beverage when the barista at the bar asked me what i was waiting for. I smiled and said 'Iced Brewed Coffee'. She checked her marked cups and went 'You mean the Iced Americano?' I smiled even brighter and replied 'No, i ordered an Iced Brewed Coffee. Do you have it?' So muttering went on between the 2 baristas and she finally told me to take a seat and she'll bring it out to me in a moment. So i went and planted my ass on a chair nearby, all the while staring at them. Moments later, my beverage was ready. I took a sip and looked up at the barista at the bar, 'You gave me an Iced Americano, didn't you?' She smiled like a kid caught with her pants down and apologized. Unacceptable...
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