So a "hard seat," not a sleeper and therefore, no sleep. Just me, one other American guy and about 100 Chinese people for 15 hours. The other American guy abandoned me to check out the dining car- he heard that if you slip the attendant a few bills they will let you stay there overnight. By the time I got uncomfortable enough to join him, the dining car was locked and any chance I had was gone. So I contorted myself into a somewhat comfortable position just like all my hard seat companions. On the bright-side, I did have a seat- when we left Beijing there were people standing and sitting in the aisles, although it seemed that most of these people had somewhere to sit by morning. This train continued on for another 18 hours to Chengdu and I just can't imagine another night like that. While the Chinese trains are certainly cheaper, I appreciate the Russian trains- I don't even think it is possible to just have a seat (no bed) on trips longer than 12 hours.
If there are no sleeper compartments available for my next section (24 hours to Guilin) I think I might just fly . . .
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3 comments:
I have heard numerous horror stories about trains in China. Good luck with your future air travel.
Awesome awesome!! Keep the adventure going-- when will you arrive in the Philippines? Enjoy the rest of your trip and don't forget to book ahead! ;) xocourt
Sad for me I ended up with hard seat again on the way to Guilin- but I was saved by a great Dutch girl who let me sleep in her bed all day. I looked at the plane tickets, but it was going to cost at least 10 times as much to fly as to have one more bad night on the train . . . but it was my last long train ride for a while- it's all air (and boats) from now on!
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