Standing tickets are proving to be an experience indeed. Except for warnings against tourists buying them, and the potential of violence (apparently), we had no idea what to expect.
Coming into Beijing West was like entering an airport. We headed for platform 13, which was actually waiting room 13, which was like a departure lounge. Down to platform 8 for the train, passing soft sleeper and hard sleeper carriages, we got to our carriage, no. 8. It seemed like the majority of passengers were trying to cram in to our carriage. Once we got in, we realised why.
Picture your typical Galway-Dublin train, with maybe 100 seats. Then sell another 70 tickets. Luckily there are not many people with massive rucksacks like ours, but the aisle is still jammed. 20 minutes before the train pulls off, it is already chaotic. Everyone is standing around, so I take the initiative and shove the majority of my bag under a seat, and plonk myself down on the protruding tip. A man beside me copies my example, but we are hip-to-hip across the aisle, and it is not really wide enough. Our pelvises are wedged together. I gesture for him to shuffle forward a few inches on his small stool, and we can both sit comfortably, though we are still uncomfortably close! This is a feature of the standing ticket that one must quickly get used to.
We are the only Westerners in the carriage, a fact quickly spotted by the English-speaking passengers. Within minutes, I am chatting to a girl called Emerald, Dom is asking if people have heard of Craig David, and Kelly is conversing in French. I soon have a list of recommendations for Chengdu, and an offer to try find better/cheaper accommodation, and a guide.
If this were Beijing, I'd be running away, but I've noticed and stated it several times - Chinese people are amazingly friendly. I'm perched on the corner of Emerald's seat at present, she insists on at least one of us using it. The only real downside so far is the complete inability to actually sleep at all, or even doze.
The natives lie with their heads on the tables, or else folded over in half, faces on their knees, their hair lying on the knees of the person opposite. They prop themselves up, three n a two seater bench, four on a three seater. Constantly cosy.
One incidence of over-cosiness - a fight broke out between two women at the end of the carriage, apparently someone touched off someone else while sleeping. One then started biting the other's head! Took a while to calm down. That was about 1am, it's 3am now, will try get some shuteye again.
[After everyone boarded and put their luggage in the overhead rack, a couple of attendants whisked through the carriage, and tidied up the rack so that there was maximum efficiency in the use of space. Great service!]
8.30am After a delay of an hour, we've just been told there's another hour to go. I *really* want to get off this train.
http://domcheeseman.blogspot.ie/2011/10/day-120-beijing-then-train-to-xian.html
Coming into Beijing West was like entering an airport. We headed for platform 13, which was actually waiting room 13, which was like a departure lounge. Down to platform 8 for the train, passing soft sleeper and hard sleeper carriages, we got to our carriage, no. 8. It seemed like the majority of passengers were trying to cram in to our carriage. Once we got in, we realised why.
Picture your typical Galway-Dublin train, with maybe 100 seats. Then sell another 70 tickets. Luckily there are not many people with massive rucksacks like ours, but the aisle is still jammed. 20 minutes before the train pulls off, it is already chaotic. Everyone is standing around, so I take the initiative and shove the majority of my bag under a seat, and plonk myself down on the protruding tip. A man beside me copies my example, but we are hip-to-hip across the aisle, and it is not really wide enough. Our pelvises are wedged together. I gesture for him to shuffle forward a few inches on his small stool, and we can both sit comfortably, though we are still uncomfortably close! This is a feature of the standing ticket that one must quickly get used to.
We are the only Westerners in the carriage, a fact quickly spotted by the English-speaking passengers. Within minutes, I am chatting to a girl called Emerald, Dom is asking if people have heard of Craig David, and Kelly is conversing in French. I soon have a list of recommendations for Chengdu, and an offer to try find better/cheaper accommodation, and a guide.
If this were Beijing, I'd be running away, but I've noticed and stated it several times - Chinese people are amazingly friendly. I'm perched on the corner of Emerald's seat at present, she insists on at least one of us using it. The only real downside so far is the complete inability to actually sleep at all, or even doze.
The natives lie with their heads on the tables, or else folded over in half, faces on their knees, their hair lying on the knees of the person opposite. They prop themselves up, three n a two seater bench, four on a three seater. Constantly cosy.
One incidence of over-cosiness - a fight broke out between two women at the end of the carriage, apparently someone touched off someone else while sleeping. One then started biting the other's head! Took a while to calm down. That was about 1am, it's 3am now, will try get some shuteye again.
[After everyone boarded and put their luggage in the overhead rack, a couple of attendants whisked through the carriage, and tidied up the rack so that there was maximum efficiency in the use of space. Great service!]
 |
| At the start of the journey. It's hard to give an impression of how many people were there, because of all the people in the way. |
 |
| Dom, much later into the journey. The digital clock was stuck at 01:10. |
***
8.30am After a delay of an hour, we've just been told there's another hour to go. I *really* want to get off this train.
***
http://domcheeseman.blogspot.ie/2011/10/day-120-beijing-then-train-to-xian.html
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