I have arrived in Hengyang and I am knackered. The train journey was long, especially as it did not go over 30 miles an hour. No wonder the high speed train can knock hours off of a journey.
And SOFT SLEEPERS there are no such things. 6 bunks in a cubical no bigger than my wardrobe. a thin solid mattress with a half inch of foam or something similar on top. God help those who went for hard seats. Very young child in our cubicle probably broke her arm trying to climb the ladders and she cried for about 4 hours and ours was the first stop where she could be taken off the train. But the worst part was Guangzhou railway station. Was in a slow moving queue for 40 minutes before even getting into the station. Glad we got out tickets the other day as the ticket office queues were like 100 yards long at each window.
And when I say the waiting rooms were heaving they were. Fortunately we were at the end of a queue in teh waiting room for the train. When suddenly a load hailer came round and directed every one to turn around and go through the entrance behind us. That put us to teh front of the queue. No need to walk at all, 2000 fellow travellers turned and lifted us straight through the barriers. If this is three weeks before the new year holidays then God helpany of you travelling in China during that time.
Going to bed now and hope the rest of my stay is much more enjoyable..
Willy
