Shanghai - Trip Home

Saturday Dec 29

Okay, This is really the train trip from Friday evening to Saturday evening.

As we wait to board the train, I reflect on what we did not see. The “Confucian Temple”, the “Jing‘AN Temple”, and the “Sex Museum”. We found the Sex Museum, but Linda would not go in. She said she would wait outside, but seeing a Sex Museum is like having sex ... much more fun if you are with someone else.

We board the train, and I am eager to experience economy train travel in China. The trains are modern, and all run on electric. In our car, there are about 110 seats, hard with high backs. The seats have thin padding, and a cloth head rest. Seats are six seats facing each other on one side of the aisle and four on the other. A small table is attached to the wall. Overhead racks store luggage. We sit in out seats, We have the two aisle seats of a set of three. No one sits with us, so we move to the window and middle seat.

We brought some food remaining from the Hotel, some water and a few beer. Other people have brought a large supply of food and drinks. Noodle cartons, round packages of individual servings, seem to be the favourite. Hot water is available. Across from us are two girls. They look like they could be sisters, although I never ask, and a young boy who is 30 months old. The boy, like most children is cute. The third, aisle seat, has a student reading a technical document on gene research. Clearly a post-graduate level document.

The trains pulls out of the station, and we are on our way hone. At the first of 22 stops, we get our missing person. She is young and a real B*T*H. She is with her boyfriend / husband. She has the ticket for the window seat. Linda asks if she can stay where she is, but the lady insists Linda move back to her own seat. As soon as she sits down, she asks the student to give up his seat for her boyfriend. I move to the Aisle seat, across from the boyfriend, and Linda sit in the middle

At the next stop, we take on more passengers. Now, there are more people than seats. About 10 people are standing in the aisles. Being a little annoyed at the lady, I offer a beer to a nice looking older man standing next to the boyfriend, and then give him, the two girls, the little boy and a lady sitting across from me, a Canadian Flag pin. I hope I made my point.

As the night goes on, Linda and I try to sleep. We make a pillow out of her bag, and she falls asleep on my lap. The seats are hard and vertical, making it hard on my back, and difficult to sleep.

Through the night, the two “lovers” openly display their attraction for each other as often as possible. Whenever she gets up, they hug and caress each other. Linda offers her seat to him. I am not pleased, but since I do not know how much English they know, I say nothing to Linda. He is now sitting next to me, and Linda across from me.

There are many stops, about one per hour, as we travel the 1300 Km trip home. The man standing eventually gets seat as more people leave the train then embark through the night. A lady goes up and down the aisle with a cart selling hot food. A man has another cart with drinks, noodle cups and other packaged goods. I discover the next day there is a dinning car, where they prepare food for the cart, or people can sit and eat.

We continue to play with the boy. The boy likes to play, but the lady keeps interfering Whatever we do to amuse him, she tries, but does not have the touch. She feeds him crackers, without asking the mother. Then he gets sick and throws up all over the mother. Everyone seems happy, but if I were the parent I would be angry.

Linda puts her feet up on me. The lovers keep taking up more room and eventually have me sitting half way off my seat. When the Wagon lady bumps me, I have had enough. Next time they get up, I locate the edge of my seat and move over. I do not want to say anything. Besides, they may not even understand me. I get very little sleep, but Linda is comfortable and gets some sleep. By the morning, the lovers are not happy with me, and he moves to an empty seat a few rows away.

Morning brings a vista of mountains, rivers and villages. The mountains are only 200 - 400 metres but are very steep and close together - less than a kilometre between some peaks. They are mostly tree covered, and many show the scars of land slides. The train winds around the mountains, very seldom travelling in a straight line. Below us are small rivers with villages dotted along the banks. Every few minutes, we travel through a short tunnel.

About once each hour or so, we pull into a train station, loading and unloading people. When we left Shanghai, after three stops, people were standing. Through the middle of the trip, there were empty seats. Now, as we near Xiamen, the terminus of the trip, we are back to people standing again.

We pull into Xiamen Station. Grab our luggage, and head to the street looking for a taxi. It is 5:30, shift change time. No taxis want to take a fare to Jimei. I tell Linda she is dong it wrong. Get in the cab, then tell him where we are going. Don’t ask them first. We go to the bus stop and are waiting for a bus when I finally get a taxi to take us home.

The train was an interesting trip. I am glad I took the hard seat trip ... ONCE. Next time, I will fly, or get a soft sleeper, which is like a room with four beds. The difference in price, from Shanghai to Xiamen is 154 ¥ for the hard seats (about 20 dollars) and 429 ¥ for the sleeper (56 dollars), for a 1300 Km trip. Compare that to VIA rail.

The trip was wonderful Except for a rude lady at the Oriental Pearl Tower, the problem with VEN ICE and the B*T*H on the train, it was a very pleasant, educational and rewarding trip. Even the train was a worthwhile experience.