My Second Train Ride

I left my wonderful hostel in Guilin about 4 PM to catch the train to Kunming. I am coming here a few days early because it is hard to get a sleeper berth on a specific day and the weather has been pretty awful, especially today. It was raining and so I was going to get a taxi even though it is a fairly short distance. But as luck would have it, when I needed one, there was none to be found!! Drats! So, I decided to hike it. It ended up being further than I thought though I walked at fast as I could. And I got more than damp, which was another slight pain. Mostly it was cold, about 38 Degrees, so all these things made me miserable. But then I entered the station, ready to enjoy a dry and sheltered place.




I show my ticket to the first guy, he immediately motioned me upstairs. Of course, I notice my train number on another marquee on this floor, but oh well, upstairs I go. The stations all have waiting rooms for each scheduled train. Again, I find another train official to check my ticket; he says NO. 1. Ok, I guess I know where that is.. I forge my way through some seated passengers and into a vacant seat. One young man tried to talk to me but he has limited English. I learn that he is a student and that they are a group of 14 traveling together. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves and they had the same ticket I did, so I could relax. When boarding was announced, they sheltered me through the line like the elderly guy that I am. ha! But then we parted because they were in a different car than me.




I found my car, and again squeezed to the front-if you don't do that you might never get in. Next I found my berth. I had bought a lower berth, just to make sure I couldn't have to crawl up into one of those upper cots. Smart! Except, when I got there, another woman was already there. After showing her my ticket, she agreed to move.




I, of course, was the only foreign tourist in the car. I was now a part of a group of 20 Chinese tourists that have been traveling for 10 days. They were farmers and paid about 350 USD to go several places in China by plane, ship, and not train. They were older, most, and very friendly but didnt' speak Any English. The only reason I found this out was that their tour guide did speak English. So they asked me lots of questions and she translated.




They brought food with them, so they were always offering me some food. I could safely eat most of the packaged food, so this was good as I didn't bring any food for this 19 hour sleep train ride. The older guy across the berth from me, opened a bottle of colored water, poured about a third of a glass full and offered it to me. I smelled it and knew it was alcohol. Maybe home brew. I declined as politely as I could. He asked me about 3 times but then accepted my answer. I wanted to but I knew this was not the place to be sick or not have all your wits about you. Another one of his friends took it, and after one swig, he was complaining that is was very strong!!

About my bedtime, and I had a blanket and even a pillow. This was a hard sleeper berth, but it felt fine with a thin mattress. About this time, some guys decided to play cards at the end of my bed. One sat on the end of my bed but did ask me first. Everyone else was mostly sacked out while these guys slammed the cards down on a small table with lots of comments to boot. In the train, you can only smoke in between the cars, where the rest rooms are. And there are some serious Chinese smokers. A few couldn't contain themselves so they would walk through the car with their lit cigarettes. I feel very sorry for the women who have to use these squat toilets. They are not the cleanest to start with and with the train moving it is easy to lose your balance, which could be disastrous. Guys have it easy for the most part. Ha!

At 10 PM, all lights went out except for a few aisle lights. The card playing came to an abrupt end. Now, six of us in the carriage, two above me and three opposite me. I slept some but I think the others slept better. In the morning about 7 AM, people began to stir. At about 10 AM, I could tell we were nearing Kunming. We arrived at 10:45 AM, which I think was earlier than scheduled, which was good.




After disembarking, I said goodbye to my Chinese tour group, and wonder if the person from the Hostel I had booked would be there to pick me up. I had phone the hostel the day before, and they plan to send someone and we would take the local bus back to the hostel. And there she was!! So we walked a bit, then got on the bus, rode five stops, and got off. I was in Kunming..





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