Xiamen

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After a pleasant few days in Hong Kong we made our way back to the mainland. When we reached the train station in Guangzhou we had about two hours to secure tickets to get to Xiamen that evening. Arriving in the ticket hall, our hearts dropped at the sight of the queues. In addition to the obvious wait that was ahead of us, we weren't even sure where to queue because absolutely none of the signs had an English translation or even Pinyan text that we could look up. We picked a short queue and when we got to the front we got yelled at by the salesperson, just before she pulled the blind down in front of her. When we eventually got to the front of another queue, we established that there were no more tickets to Xiamen that night, but luckily we managed to get two hard sleeper tickets for the next day.

Frustrated at the language barrier and with the people spitting while we were queuing, we were frazzled and glad to get out of the ticket hall, but we still had to find somewhere to rest for the night. There was a special offer on a room in the hotel in the train station so we took it and enjoyed the relative luxury of a business hotel room for one night. Our train wasn't until the evening time the next day, so in the morning we took the metro to explore a bit of Guangzhou. We went as far as a large park in the centre of town, and after twenty minutes sitting in the sweltering humidity, we couldn't handle it anymore. Guangzhou is a very modern town, but the climate at this time of the year is near tropical. Leo, from our Tibet trip, had told us that he found a dog meat stall in the market here, so, albeit nervous about what we might find, we set off to find that.

After walking down several back streets we eventually found the street we were looking for. We found some dogs, but thankfully they weren't the breed that are bred specifically to eat. We think they were being sold as pets. How they can sell dogs as pets on the one hand, and as food on the other is beyond me, but it doesn't appear to cause the locals any dilemmas. As the market was closing up for the day, we gave up our quest, half relieved that we hadn't seen what we came to find.

We grabbed the bags from the hotel and found our train to Xiamen. Once on board we realised that our tickets were for beds in different sections of the carriage. As the trip mostly involved sleeping, it wasn't a huge problem. While we were sitting in one section early in the evening a Chinese guy called William began talking to us. He was working in Xiamen in IT and was keen to know where we were from. He was harmless enough, so we chatted for a while and then separated to go to sleep. Sadly the loud men in the section next to us had different ideas and kept most of the carriage awake for most of the night with their talking and smoking. I was reminded that the idea of privacy and human rights don't exist in China. In Chinese, there is no word for privacy. Therefore, no one is familiar with the concept. It is the main reason why I don't think I would ever enjoy living here in the long term.

This train trip went quicker than any of the others, as it was night time for most of it and then we arrived in the early afternoon. Once in Xiamen I left Philippe with the bags in McDonalds and braved the queues to try and get tickets to Shanghai for three days away. The lady behind the counter didn't speak much English, but unfortunately did know how to say 'No'. With the Expo on in Shanghai we knew there was a chance it would be difficult to secure tickets, but once I switched my request to soft sleeper, there was no problem. I emerged from the station carrying two tickets and a smile on my face.

I picked up Philippe and we hailed a taxi to take us to our hostel. The hostel turned out to be a nice colonial house set back from the road. We found our bunk bed and took it easy for the rest of the day. Xiamen has a European feel to it. It had played host to various nationalities in the past, most notably the Portuguese, Dutch and English. As we walked through the city the next day we remarked on the wealth that was evident. We had hit a stumbling block as regards accommodation on our last day here. We had hoped to book somewhere on Gulang Yu island, but everywhere seemed to be booked out for a conference for the weekend. It was a good excuse to pull on our walking boots and see a bit of the city, but after several rejections and some outright laughing in our face, we had yet to find a reception that had an available room.

Eventually we took a taxi to the train station and had a few more rejections there, before stumbling across a grotty looking building that had a hotel reception. The manager told us he had a room and he halved the going rate that was printed on the wall. We took a room, unseen, and found a bus to take us back to the hostel for our last evening there. As we were crossing the street to get the bus we bumped into a familiar face. William, from the train, stopped us to say hello. He was delighted to see his western friends again, and asked to swap email addresses, which we duly did. It truly is a small world - in a city of one million people, we found the one person we knew. Well, either that, or he was stalking us...

The next day, safe in the knowledge that we had somewhere to sleep that night, we left our bags at reception in the hostel and went off to fully explore the harbour area of Xiamen. As we walked by the sea we could see Gulang Yu island across from us and hear various locals having a go at the outdoor Karaoke in the local park. What some people think passes as singing is hilarious, but what was even better was how enthusiastic the crowd was for the desperate singing! Walking through town we were accosted by several locals. The first lot were some students from the local school who were on a scavenger hunt and needed the signature of and a photograph with three foreigners. The second was a group of keen local teenagers, who were doing publicity for Expo and asked Philippe to say a piece into the camera along the lines of “Goooo Expo!” Needless to say he obliged over-enthusiastically. God knows where that will end up, probably on the main stage of Expo some day.

That evening we took the bus back to the train station and finally saw the room that we had booked. It really wasn't that bad. Our thirty euro had bought us a double room on the 23rd floor with a view of most of the town. We ate downstairs in a chain restaurant that had picture menus, and laughed as flumuxed staff struggled to ask us whether we wanted sauce or not. I think we pretty much eat what ever is put in front of us these days, so when my fish arrived with its eyes popped out staring up at me, I didn't even think twice about it. (Although I still didn't actually eat the head.)

On our final morning we left our bags at reception with Julian the friendly manager, and caught the bus back over to the harbour area, where we boarded a packed ferry across to Gulang yu Island. It was Sunday and the place was mobbed. We saw at least five wedding couples having their photos taken, but how they could get a clear shot was beyond me. Chinese people have no concept of being polite and stepping out of the way. I think it is just because there are so many of them, you'd spend your whole day waiting if you had a conscience about it.

We wandered the walkways around the island for about five hours, stopping for an extremely expensive drink in a posh restaurant in the middle of the park, and then for a very tasty Italian meal at the beach front. We were something of an attraction for the passers-by as we sat admiring the view, but no one was intrusive about it, so we were happy enough to smile back.

At the end of our trip around the island we crushed in with the best of them on the ferry back to the mainland and then caught our favourite #21 bus back to the train station. Everything we have done in Xiamen by public transport, we have done on this one bus route, but it has saved us a fortune! We grabbed the bags from the hotel, bid farewell to Julian and wandered up to the train station to wait for our train to Shanghai.

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Photos

Pet dogs
Not for eating

Our new friend William
Or is he a stalker?