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Published: October 4th 2008
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A Train
OK! OK! this is not china. This picture is from the russian and mongolian border. I admit it i havent taken a picture of a hardseat train journey in china yet. Ill also admit that its because i havent worked up thecourage to whip out the camera as the only foriegner aboard and take a picture out of my amusement of loads of chinese straight out of the fields who earn about 4 USD a day. Seat Number: 63hao, car 14
Price of ticket: 281 RMB (40USD)
Money saved by no sleepers being available: 200 RMB
Hours on Train: 42
Noodle Pots eaten: 1
Pages of Book read: 210
Games of Du Di Zhu: 25
Guazi eaten: 263
Provinces crossed: 6
Friends made: 132.7
Being the coolest guy on the train: PRICELESS
Over a year ago (I love saying that) towards the beginning of my travels, I had the extreme pleasure of inebrirating myself along with millions of Germans at the world largest beer festival, Oktoberfest, in Munich. Because of this, almost exactly one year on, I was determined to make it to the the largest beer festival in the eastern world, the Qingdao international beer festival, if it was at all possible. fortunately, the price of flying was far too dear. Also unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of the country in Chengdu. In any case, I got the train. The distance is roughly equivalent to getting the train to Munich from Edinburgh, and its the slow track through mountian and valleys so despite the train being direct, it takes 42 hours. Meiyou chuang, was not the words i wanted to hear (no beds).
Don't get me wrong, I am a harden veteran for long rough journeys over land (and sea). I've done the dolmuses in eastern turkey, I've gotten a bus through the baltics, I've roadtripped in to to the Dam from england, I've hitchhiked, been on the trans siberian and trans mongolian, Ive done loads of longhaul fights stuck between the fat guywith a cold and the crying baby, i've hiked in the highlands etc etc etc... Nothing quite prepared me for this train journey.
Let me give you a snapshot of this trip. Picture me squeezed in between about 20 chinese (they worked on a rota I am sure) playing cards and eating guazi having extremely broken conversations in Chinese/English Aound us ae another 20 chinese leaning forward to hear the Lawai attempting to speak their mother tongue, this includes everyone. It includes the young chinese girls giggling about the handsome foreigner, its includes the frindely chinese guy who wants you to have a beer with him, it includes the old lady pushing her 9 year old daughter forward to practice her three lines in English, it includes the most recent batch of "standing" class who are sprawled out on the floor underneath the seats, it includes one poodles with ears died a bright neon orange, and includes all of their friends, cousins, and chickens (ok ok, there were no chickens). I'm play du di zhu, or trying to but the guy to my right has essentially taken over my game despite the fact that i am still hlding the cards. The girl to my left can't stop laughing and everyother sentence is "ta ting bu dong" (he doesnt understand) the woman across fromher is inning the card game and really enjoying practicing her limited englsih with me, and the guy next to her is doing a running translation of my chinese for the guy to his left who only speaks the SIchuan dialect. The guys sitting on the floor got the noodles going and looked like the just got off work from a month down in a coal mine, and leaning over the back of our chairs is the peanut gallery. OH! and the little girl sleeping on her mothers lap is stroking my leg hair.
I am Mr. Popular.
Needless to say I am the only foreigner. Obviously the only one in CHina who wouldn't dish out for the plane ticket. That a lot of attention for 42 hours. YOu might be thinking that this would be a lot of fun. Itll help pass the time, you make lots of friends, you practice your chinese. Essentially, you are participating in China, a country where your experience is almost always that of a spectator... All that is true, and I am all for that... for maybe 8 hours, or even 12!. FOOOOORRRRTRTTTTYYY TTWWWWO hours... Thats almost two full days, that two nights in a chinese-sized chair sharing a chinese sized table with 3 others trying to sleep on it as well. After a point you want a little space. You want to listen to your music, read your book, write in your journal, sit quietly and contemplate, you know... ruminate? Not an option. Even going to take a whizz requires climbing over about 30 people and dodging about twenty conversations and and additional 10 random "HELLO!"s.
Did I mention the staring? China is home of the honest open and intense staring. They will happily plop down next to you or lean forward in their seats and fix you with a strong, unblinking STTTARRRE, they got a slight smile on their face and they make no attempt to talk to you but they just happilly sit there and stare away... I could right a whole blog on the straing alone....
In any case I survived, 3 days later my ass still is sore, I'm enjoying the beer festival, and i've got my ticket to get back to Chengdu...
Its a 42 hour hardseat... go figure.
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