After a long day of flying and running around Beijing, I had past out into a deep sleep. I slept late which was nice but had to check out of the hotel by 12pm. I ate lunch in the lobby restaurant and had the most delicious spicy beef ever. The Chinese food is just so delicious it's indescribable! I waited around the outside of the train terminal where it finally hit me that I was the only Caucasian/foreigner in immediate view; it felt good to be a stranger in a strange land, completely isolated by a language barrier. I headed up to my train terminal, after going through security, where I would proceed to wait for the next several hours, reading and studying to pass the time.
On my way up I had to look at the departure board to figure out which terminal was mine. I asked a nice gentleman who luckily spoke decent English and he walked me to the staging area for his was right next to mine. Then it hit me how nice the people here are. In the subway I had three different FEMALES offer to carry my fifty pound bag for me even if only for a short while (yes they were sincere and not just looking to latch onto a foreigner). Then I met the lady at the train station who literally walked me right up to the counter of the hotel. Now this guy was willing to walk me to my staging area and show me exactly where I needed to be and through which door my train would board. I was very thankful to have had such help to get me this far.
While waiting I read nearly half the book I had brought, studied enough Chinese to drive one crazy, and watched this repetitive video that included old scenes of Charlie Chaplin that never got old. It was actually a great time just observing the people and culture. I love how most males will rest their legs by simply squatting, and staying there for lengths at a time. I fortunately had a seat and didn't have to pull the old Chinese squat. It just looks so funny!
Finally the sun had set and my train was ready to board; you would have thought they were giving away free iPhones on the other side the way people were crowding the gates. It was a free-for-all to which I used my bags and size to straight-up clobber people out of the way to get through. One fellow showed me which car I was on and I successfully found my seat. I quickly threw my bags above before space was gone and settled in the middle seat between to hombres. I was glad I boarded towards the front for a shoving match had actually broken out between one of the train attendees and a passenger as to whether or not his bag was going to be stowed above or on his lap. It was quite the scene!
I soon realized that when they say 'hard seat' they mean 'HARD SEAT'. My butt was sore before we even left! I was so happy though once we finally did leave that I knew it was going to be hard to sleep. It was night-time so I couldn't see a thing but it was fun being on this train (at least at first). I felt like I was back on the PLNU bus headed for Fresno for a track meet; everybody just piled in, laughing having a good time. Then when it came time to sleep, everybody struggled. People were literally sleeping standing up, sitting down, on the floor, on each other! It was ridiculous. I just put my backpack in my lap and laid my head forward onto it and was actually able to get spurts of sleep. One hour here, 45 minutes there... I made due.
I survived the first night and was so excited to see China by day and without smog! But then as the sun rose I realized that the smog was still very present despite being some 7-8 hours outside of Beijing. I was depressed :(! My whole intent for taking the train was to see the countryside and all I could see was smog for days.
I had fun though trying to communicate with my seat mates and learning Chinese. They were all very nice people (go see my Facebook pictures!). Back in Beijing I was told that the train would take 30 hours. Another person told me 48 and another 27. So I was positive and thought 30 hours, I can do this! All told the train trip took 46 hours 19 minutes as we traversed the countryside. Finally about 23 hours into it we started to see some beautiful rolling hills covered in lush green foliage. Although still smoggy it was quite a sight. It was interesting seeing all of the little villages along the way. Unfortunately, I came to the conclusion that the Chinese either don't believe in perfection, or simply can't afford it. Everywhere I saw garbage cluttered about; construction sites that were abandoned leaving tons of scrap metal and garbage everywhere; unpaved roads and less than desirable living conditions. We in the US have the luxury of perfection where things get done and get done right. We have manicured lawns, perfect designer kitchens, and excellent infrastructure. These are just a few of the many observations I had along the way.
The last 5 hours of our trip was just breathtaking as we neared Kunming. The countryside was gorgeous and reminded me of the Yampa Valley in NW Colorado. Flowing waves of grain and beautiful little cottages were everywhere. The air was clean and clear and the colors were full in the fall season. I was relieved to know I was going to be living in such a beautiful place. For the past 46 hours and 19 minutes, I had subjected myself to complete isolation (mentally), complete discomfort, and complete anxiety. Yet as tired as I was, I am so grateful to have had this experience. Mark Twain once said that "A man who carries a cat by its tail learns something he can learn in no other way." That's sort of how I feel about this trip. The train ride was complete and I had arrive in Kunming! The girl who sat in our section had given me a little souvenir of the Great Wall before we departed. We had all become as close as strangers can within 48 hours and I really enjoyed laughing with these people. Once again I was floored at the generosity and kindness. With the trip over, it was time to find my apartment and meet my new roommates!
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