Fuddland

The journey to Mǎnzhōulǐ ended up being a twenty-hour train ride from Shěnyāng, and initially it looked as though we were going to be standing all the way there. As we squeezed our way onto one of the carriages, the reality of holiday travel in China hit us: there was literally only a square foot or so for us each to stand in, with our conspicuously large rucksacks drawing all kinds of dagger-stares from the other passengers.

There was no chance of getting anywhere near comfortable, for — even if you could find a suitable position in which to stand — you were forever being forced to shift out of the way to let somebody pass. Smokers lit up all around; people snacked then dropped their litter where they stood; a toddler relieved himself on the floor.

I wasn’t keen on snapping away with my camera with so many clearly highly-strung people in close proximity, but I did manage to shoot a very short movie which just about shows the conditions in our carriage.

After enduring this for two hours, we decided to use our secret weapon: a note from a friend of a friend of a friend … of a friend of our headmaster. He had some sort of connection to the train manager, and the message said something along the lines of:

These two fine British chaps are friends of mine. Please do your best to find them a couple of beds in the sleeper carriage, or failing that, at least some seats for their journey.

Thanks to a Hercluean effort on the part of Alan, who battled through four carriages to get to the train manager’s office, we were amazed to find that the note was immediately effective. At the next stop — another hour or so — I somehow managed to carry our two bags off the train, was met by Alan [who had pegged it down from where he’d gotten stuck on his way back to me] and we dashed up to the sleeper carriages, where we were soon shown to our luxurious [by comparison to the first part of the journey] bunks for a welcome night’s sleep and some relaxed viewing of the countryside the next day, until we arrived early that evening.

The following is an entry which follows on from the above:

1. National Day [Fuddland]. Excerpt: Tomorrow [October 1st] is China's National Day--a day to remember that China is a nationally a nation, that its borders spread nationally all the way around the nation and, notionally, beyond. It is celebrated by giving most of the country...

#1

Anglofille | 2006 / 05 / 08 – 22:44

Hmm, I’m wondering what the lavatories were like on that train. The most important travel criteria for me is plumbing.

#2

David | 2006 / 05 / 09 – 01:51

Re #1: Once we’d gotten to the sleeper carriage, they were just like any other Chinese toilet — i.e. a hole in the ground that you stand or squat over. I’d imagine the other carriages had exactly the same facilities, but just much harder to reach. ;)

#3

Anglofille | 2006 / 05 / 09 – 20:00

Okay, that is gross. I won’t complain about British trains anymore.

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