After talking to the guy at reception he suggested that I leave at 4am for my 6am train, even though it is only up the road in a taxi, suppose better to be sage than sorry. 4am comes round pretty fast and I am not pleased to see it, for it signifies the beginning of my 16 hour train day. Brilliant. So I get down and check out, I had asked about a taxi but I was told that I would not need one at that time of the morning. I dander over to the square outside the parliament building, I like walking around this city in the early hours. It is not long before my backpacker demeanour has hooked me transport. A moped! He pulls up beside me asking me if I need a lift, I tell him it's ok don't worry and he pats the back of the bike and says, come on. I laugh and tell him again it's ok. Can you imagine, me on the back of a moped with some crazy Chinese man trying to kill me. Don't think so. Shortly after I get a real taxi, I have the train station written down in Chinese, so it is no problem. I also check that he has the meter on, don't want to be getting ripped off again! It takes about 5mins to get to the train station. It is much quieter than I have seen it previously, still busy by our standards. I get through security and move to the waiting area, not too many people here, and I am here so early, absolutely no need!
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The usual hustle and bustle on to the train, the panic, the pushing, the chaos. I get on and most of the people on the train are awake, this is good because I can get my bag and everything sorted. Middle bunk again, I'll take that. I actually end up being able to doze on and off for 9 hours which I think is pretty good, really cuts down the time I am awake and bored. When I'm awake I take the opportunity to catch up on the past few days on the blog. While I am doing this I get a txt from the Swedes letting me know that they are heading up Emei Shan tomorrow. It is a good job that I have been getting my sleep on this train then eh! So with that pencilled in for tomorrow I can look forward to that.
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The scenery on the train is pretty good. Travelling through the mountains, following the river. One thing I have noticed about China since I have been here is just how good the infrastructure is. There are highways built everywhere. Big ones. 3 lanes each side and anytime you are on one of these highways they are always full of vehicles. Then I suppose when the county is this big it is probably vital that you have a good transport network. As I am travelling through the mountains my view is often obscured by going in to tunnels, so I only get snapshots of the views. I enjoy a lovely noodle pot for dinner, and some bananas while on the journey. Mmmmmmm.
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I get off the train and move quickly to the metro, I had a copy of the directions, so this time it should be no problem. I manage to get down and get the last metro of the evening as my train gets me in at 10.30. After a couple of stops and I am there, I deliberately picked this place because it was just across the road from the metro station. Not really in the mood to be walking the streets again. It's pretty late, and I am only staying for one night so I look in to what I will be doing after Emei Shan, and where I will be staying, I also book the Teddy Bear Hostel for tomorrow night near Emei Shan town. More importantly with National Day on the 01/10/12 I need to get something sorted. Basically all of China is off for this week, so we have 1 billion people moving about the country for holiday. So the trains are all booked, it is nearly impossible to find a room and all tourist spots are swamped with Chinese. I may have to lie low for the week. Time for bed, busy day tomorrow.