Its 7:50 and I have just departed on the K23 to Ulan Bator. This brings my 4 week stay in China to a close and once again, I am greeted with an unexpected surprise this morning. My train compartment has a power outlet which affords me plenty of opportunity to catch up on the writing that I haven't done since I first arrived in China.
My time in China has been chiefly punctuated by the devastating Sichuan Earthquake on May 12, at 2:28am. This needs a special mention and I have dealt with my experiences and thoughts surrounding this natural catastrophe in this post.
I have spent most of my time in China in Beijing, Shanghai, Urumqi and Kashgar and, by the time I arrive at the border town of Elian at 12:00 tonight, I will have clocked a total of 7000+ kilometers by train. Train travel in China has been delightfully comfortable and easy and I highly recommend it. It gives you the opportunity to see so much of the countryside and plently of time to meet locals. Overnight trains save on the cost of accommodation, and in many respects I find it a lot easier than air travel. Lastly, for the green travelers amongst you, it offers a more environmentally conscious way to travel.
My first train trip was a 87 RMB 12 hour soft sleeper trip from Suifenhe to Harbin in which I gripped by fever at the end of what was my worst day of the year (This is the best day of my year!). My time in Harbin was clouded by illness and a dampened spirit. I regret not making it to Sun Island.
From Harbin I travelled on the Z16 to Beijing (at a cost of RMB 466) where I once again shared a 4 birth soft sleeper compartment with 3 locals. This train, like the k23 I am now on, had individual TV screens with remote controls. Whoever would have thought!
I later traveled the short 2 hour journey from Beijing to Jixian county to watch friends partake in the Great Wall Marathon and there had my first experience at travelling by hard seat with the People! Although I had reserved a seat, it was taken by the time I boarded. I was left standing in an aisle for about 15 minutes until a conductor arrived and shouted at the offending sqautor, presumably for making me stand. It was otherwise an uneventful trip.
My trip to Shanghai and back was made on the 14 hour Z1/Z2 which I presumed, given the low number of the train, would be my most luxurious. I was mistaken. No individual TV screens in my compartment here. We did however have roses in our compartment. It is worth noting that the first train station you stop at on the morning of your arrival in Shanghai is not actually Shanghai train station. I was tempted to disembark as I was the only person that remained in my carriage, but my instincts were correct and Shanghai proper was still a further hour away. I have subsequently learnt that it makes sense to study your timetable so that you know exactly when to get off because some carriage attendants are rather inattentive at keeping you informed.
On a whim, I decided to travel by train to Urumqi from Beijing. The change over from the Winter to Summer timetable of the K23 meant that no train ran to Ulan Bator for more than a week and I was left stranded in Beijing. As much as I have enjoyed Beijing, I had grown bored of it and the idea of camping out waiting to leave did not appeal to me. The idea of traveling cross country by train was suggested to me by a friend in Urumqi and after she told me that she would be jealous that I would see the breadth of China during this 45 hour, 3768 km journey out west to the Xinjiang, the New Frontier, I was completely captivated by the idea. I found this article relating to this journey in the opposite direction and I decided I had to go. This rather expensive soft sleeper cost me RMB 966, which made this no less expensive than an air ticket on the same day, but I would make this journey again and again if I had the time.
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