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Arrived In Guangzhou – the train actually took 27 hours and with the added delays of missing the first train, it was a long journey indeed. Even so, I think it is my favorite way to travel. The beauty of hopping on a moving vessel that comes equipped with a comfortable bed and a picture window that allowed for me to see so much of a country as vast as China. The Kunming – Guangzhou line cuts across the whole of southern China and the landscape varied with each hour. Kunming, in Yunnan province, has been suffering a year long drought and was brown and dry and desert like with massive stone forests. The Chinese landscape is ancient and the stone forests, made from volcanic eruptions, are old and worn and very spectacular. As we headed east the brown quickly turned to green – lush lush evergreen forests and healthy terraced rice and wheat and corn fields. Mile after mile of crops with the occasional farmer and his Yak, weeding his land with old ancient tools. Never once did I see a mechanized tool. The towns were quite dismal – cinder block walks up apartments – no color and no character. The countryside is in stark contrast from the new glittering cities. I saw many nuclear power plants and many more under construction to deliver the much needed voltage to power the neon of the new China.
As the hours passed into the night the rain started and we entered the two provinces that have been suffering from unprecedented rainfall and subsequent flooding. That is the luxury of long long train journeys – covering such distances, incredible scenery, no problem trying to decipher bus or plane schedules and, when it is raining monsoons; you are still warm and comfy in your little pod. My cabin mate and I tried to converse but to no avail, so we just shared our time together, very nicely. He was headed to a city a few hours past Guangzhou and would be taking a bus.
As we got closer to Guangzhou the density and frequency of the cities started to increase and I had a bit of a foreboding concern as to how I was to find one room in one apartment in a City of multi millions. I really started to worry about leaving the safety and security of my cocoon. For the first time in my travels, I had a real 'bad feeling'. It was a very unusual feeling for me. I had booked online a serviced apartment. They are basically apartments that are rented sometimes by the day or the month – always in huge cities and often in places where there are fewer hotels. The availability of lodging in Guangzhou was limited and I found a good deal on a place that had good ratings. Expensive for me, around $28 night, I usually pay around $12, but this one was reputed to be near the Metro, and I do Metro’s very well – in any language, and had full apartment concessions, including laundry and kitchen. As always, I didn’t know much about Guangzhou, other than it was a shopping paradise. About four hours out, the huge cities started, and because I thought the train ride was 24 hours long – I was trying to ask anyone why we were not stopping and where was I to get off. Not one of the train staff could speak any English and my cabin mate still could not understand my Pictionary drawings….I was really starting to freak out as it was starting to get dark and the last thing I wanted to be was in a Chinese train station, in the densest are of China, in the rain, with no ability to communicate. I pulled out the phone number for the apartment – tried to call – just got Chinese operator – finally my cabin mate figured out the phone number and I got through. I handed him the phone and he wrote out instructions, in Mandarin, to give to a Taxi. This was good. But he then realized I was not being met by anyone and was alone……we had just spent 26 hours together……and he started taking control. He drew me a clock – told me when we were getting off, we got ready, now it was around 8 pm. The train pulled into the first station – thank God he was there holding me back because I would have just gotten out and we were still 90 minutes away from the center of the city. These cities are huge and we have never even heard of them before.
Factory after factory went by – I could see thousands and thousands of people toiling away in the dim buildings. One area – had about a full mile. Along the tracks, of Engine chasis piled up about 20 feet high. Imagine how many engine blocks that is? I saw Honda parts factories and clothing factories and metal works and every possible widget factory. Made In China???? Made in this province.
The train pulled into Central station and he grabbed me and we plunged out of the concourse into a wall of people – thousands and thousands all making a run for one tiny exit where two guys were taking your ticket in order to exit. It was wild – pushing and stomping and yelling. I don’t know how many trains were unloading but there were throngs of Chinese without any personal space boundaries. I should also add that I have described my experience on the train – that is at the highest end of the comfort scale. Believe it or not, hundreds and hundreds were in the hard seat section – wooden church pews and just as many would have stood for the entire 27 hour journey. Cattle cars. I met a couple of German girls who told me their boyfriends thought it wouldn’t be bad to do the standing thing and bought the cheap tickets. They had envisioned slumping down on the ground, playing cards and then just catching a nap. They figured they would give up the view for the costs saved. What they actually got was a mosh pit sized crowd, too crowded to slump or squat or even move – no air con and no ability to have a pee without giving up your hard earned slice of area in the cattle car. No food, no real ability to even turn around……they only did it once!!!! So, when the trains hit the stations, everybody wants to be somewhere else in a hurry.
My cabin mate had a plan. He dragged me and he carried my bags through the narrow ticket-taker passage and straight into the Taxi touts. The touts come up and stand right in front of you – nose to nose, belly to belly and you have to just keep walking and they keep walking – backwards. Funny to watch, not funny to usually have done to you. I am used to it and also used to most taxis not wanting my fare – just easier to get someone who knows where they are going and can converse in mandarin.
Buddy pulled me completely through the train station and out onto the street before he started to ask the taxi guys if they would take me…nope, nope nope. We continued down a few blocks and he found one guy, told him my story and gave him the written instructions and then gave the guy a lot of money. I was shocked. He pushed the money into the guy’s hands and told him sternly to deliver me to this address. He then turned away into the crowd and disappeared. Another Guardian Angel!!!! I was pretty intimidated by the size of everything – and remember, I had already been in China for three weeks….this place was New York, Chicago, Boston, LA – all combined …..yikes.
The driver kept looking at me and I realized the meter was not on so I sternly told him to put the meter on and not even think about jacking me around….I had already forgotten that Buddy had paid – a lot. The driver happily put the meter on and I just didn’t care – maybe I might find a place out of the hot, wet and sticky chaos by midnight. Still, my gut felt different this time – it felt like something really bad was going to happen tonight. Half hour later after winding through little lanes and searching searching for a needle in a haystack, the cab pulled up in front of a beautiful apartment building with a 24 hour McDonalds next door. All good! Ahhhhh……my bad thoughts started to dissipate.
The front desk staff were eagerly waiting for me – worried I might be lost and very relieved that their instructions had done the trick. They upgraded me from a studio apartment to a one bedroom, so sweet. The apartment was very spacious, sparkling clean and a just a relief. I felt so much better and now know that my instincts are not always right. I don’t know where the feeling came from that day but I was thankful my gut was wrong.
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