Train to Guilin

Tuesday Morning, when I left LotusLand Hostel in Nanning, I walked with my bag to the train station. Brent, a university student, had already showed me where to enter and how it would work. Also, I met a Canadian man at the hostel, older than me, who had been to China 40 times, and he had lots of advice and tips about the train, much of which would prove to be faulty. This man loved China yet couldn't speak any Chinese and we almost go into a verbal argument over Korean island problem.



At the train station, they make you show your ticket before entering. Once inside, there was supposed to be signs with the train numbers. I did see one sign, read through all the train numbers, and to my dismay, my train was not listed. I looked around for another sign. Nothing! So, before panicking, I look for a local friendly face to help me. This local tried to find my train but couldn't either, then we both discovered there was a back stairs and another upper floor. So, I proceeded upstairs, but only found one dark large room. Inside plenty of people waiting in the dark. I decided I had to verify this before staying. I found another man entering, asked him about my ticket; he shows me his which is the same train number. So now I in the right "waiting room"



A few minutes before 8 AM, they unlock the gates to the platform for boarding the train. Like lemming, everyone tries to crowd through a single turnstile and get a final checking of the ticket. I decide I have to do the same, not knowing for sure if I have enough time if I wait. Inside, I look for my car. I have car No. 1, and of course, it is really the last car now, so the greatest distance to walk.



Inside the car, I easily find my seat. The seats are in groups of 6, three seats facing 3 other seats. I have the middle seat. If I had thought, maybe I could have chosen a window seat. On one side of me, there is a middle aged business man who texted the whole 5 hours. His battery went dead so he switched to his backup battery. On the other side of me is one young lady, who later tells me she is doing post graduate work in Guilin and only comes to Nanning to visit her boyfriend. She slept most of the way. The other three in my group made no attempt to visit or even smile.



The train was full. The train only stopped one place in 5 hours. The train route seem to be through either deserted areas(homes) or just rolling hills and prairie. Never really saw any people or farming along the way. A few lumber areas, and some sugar cane, but not much rice or any animals. I couldn't tell how fast the train was traveling but maybe faster than it felt. They did sell some food but most people carried their own. In fact, it looked like many had gone shopping in Nanning.



After 5 hours, I arrived safely in Guilin. Brent had contacted a friend who agreed to meet me at the train station. Again, so thoughtful and made it easy for me. So for a few brief seconds I stood outside the station before Cai and Du came up and introduced themselves to me. I told them where I thought my hostel was and we could walk. Even though I have only have one bag, it does get heavy after about 15 minutes. After 20 plus minutes, I wasn't sure we were going to find it. But then someone spotted the sign. And after carefully crossing the street, I checked in feeling successful after my first train ride in China.


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