Well, my fellow travellers would be Kevin, Natalie, Jess and Chris. Annoyingly our trip fell during a national holiday known as 'Golden Week' and as such the trains were fully booked just about - in China, you can't book a train journey earlier than 10 days in advance. We ended up booking the only tickets we could, an option known as 'hardseats'. However, with the return trip being a few days later we had a bit more choice and paid a little extra for the option referred to as a 'hard sleeper'.
For those, not familiar with China. Beijing is located in the north and Hong Kong is just South of the mainland. Now you don't need to be Geography professor to know that China is a pretty big country and with that in mind it probably won't surprise you to learn that the train journey would take 28 hours to complete. Now, the prospect of something described as being a 'hard seat' becomes particularly unappealing!
And so it was that just before midnight on Monday 1st October, we boarded the train. It was so hot on there and overcrowded, it took a little bit of patience, climbing and balance to find my way to the seat that would be home to my bottom for next 28 hours. In addition to being able to buy a train ticket, you are also able to buy the cheaper alternative, a standing ticket. And wow, lots of people had taken advantage of this thrifty option, there was no room to move and I had baggage and the occasional person propped up against my legs for the duration of the journey. At one point, I braved the human assault course to go to the toilet and on my return, a bloke was asleep in my seat leaning on Kevin, who could only laugh as I had to ask for my seat back.
Falling asleep in the 'hard seat' was not easy, but with a little table in front of us the option to lean your head on something was available. I reckon I fell asleep at about 3am, as the air conditioning finally kicked in and reduced the temperature of the carriage. I managed about 4 hours before being woken up by a cleaner who decided that he needed to get under the table at 7am and to do so he should wake up everyone at the table, 'who cares if they are probably gonna struggle to get back to sleep? I need to clean under that table and I need to clean under that table now! 9 or 10am would be far too late' - I imagine this to be how he justified his plan to wake me up. I still have nightmares of his persistent tapping on my shoulder.
The journey wasn't too bad and in truth the hard seat wasn't that bad either, it was like a seat you would expect on most UK trains. They are comfy enough though after 28 hours, your bum does eventually become numb. I think the term 'hard seat' comes from its predecessor which I am led to believe was a wooden bench. I don't think I would have been able to last 28 hours on the old hard seat.
We found ways to entertain ourselves, ipods, books and a couple of beers. At one point, Kevin and I joined a few Chinese guys and girls in a game of cards. Luckily for us, one of them could speak English so he was able to explain what it was that we were playing.
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| Thumbs up for the crowded train to Hong Kong |
We eventually arrived in Hong Kong, a little lethargic but we mustered enough enthusiasm to have a comedy photo taken during our subway journey to the hostel:
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| Just one of the many humorously named Subway stations |
To be continued...
