All About China > Share your love story
Our Story
Willy The Londoner:
--- Quote from: Smaug on January 13, 2014, 11:34:16 pm ---
In two weeks, I will be on a plane to China. She got us sleeper seats on a train to her hometown. She recruited the help of four other people to do so. Apparently, it can be a really dicey business to get train tickets. Air tickets are very expensive, so she didn't even consider that. Her son will go there next week, with her cousin, ahead of us.
--- End quote ---
A sleeper train! You are in for a very different journey. More commonly called a soft seat here as there is very little chance of sleeping!
If you have never traveled that way before then it is a slow train. Each carriage in the sleeper section has a dozen or more compartments open at one end so people can walk through. Each 'compartment' has three beds above one another on each side. The bottom ones usually fills up with all sorts of people sitting down playing cards, eating talking (loudly of course). The middle one is better but when people stand in the centre section they are looking straight at the middle bunks . Of course all the smoke from dozens of smokers go up to the top bunks together with the smell from dozens of pot noodles that can be bought on board plus it can be quite a climb to get up to the top bunk.
There is a continual throng of people walking through the train trying to sell everything you could imagine anyone may need or not need on a journey. The carriage conductor is continually coming through the carriage to check on tickets and removing anyone that does not have a ticket for that carriage. This often results in a noisy confrontation.
The on board toilets will be in an unusealable state in less than 30 minutes after departure so before you board try to eat and drink as little as possible. This is because many will have been queuing for several hours just to get into the railway stations then waiting hours more once inside.
Of course on the approach to Chinese New Year then every carriage will be packed not only with people but with just about anything that will fit through the train entry door. This is the time when they take home all manner of presents to the family. So getting down to the train will be a scramble in the first place.
When you finish the journey it will be interesting to hear your story.
Having made that journey I can certainly see why the high speed trains are a much better proposition.
Willy
maxx:
I kind of like the sleeper trains. I get to do my favorite thing people watch. I have never had a trouble sleeping. Or anybody bothering me. It doe's get a little tough to do it with kids. But otherwise it has always been ok.The kids want to run up and down the carriage isles. Or go exploreing.
Pineau:
I have done the sleeper car about three different times. A couple of times I booked the entire compartment so I would not have to deal with a bunch of strangers. Then offer one of the bunks to some husky looking old woman standing in the isle (make sure she is alone) . She will protect your stuff when you must go to the rest room. Another advantage is that you have room for your stuff. If you are sharing the compartment with others then all the storage space will be taken by the time you get there. I remember the one time I booked just a single bunk on a train to Dalian. I slept with my 5 pieces of luggage in the bunk with me and never went to the toilets for fear that my stuff would be gone when I got back.
There is no chance of booking an entire compartment at new years now. You need to book it well in advance. But still try. If you cant get the entire compartment then try for all the bunks on one side. I booked a trip at that time from Beijing to Shenyang and ended up standing with my baggage for 5 hours. I have had a lot of miserable trips in China but now they are just funny memories.
fivetrout:
I got the dinning car on one train because there were no seats available. The dining car had no seats either, just a few tables. You can sit on your luggage but make sure you won't break anything inside.
Smaug:
We just had a nice little fight.
I'll stick my neck out here, and risk Willy's wrath. ;)
I'm a very open person. Some would say "too open." I share my days with Ivy, down to the detail. She likes it. Yet, I always have to pry the same information out of her. We both like it, because it makes us feel close, despite the distance.
Once or twice, I asked her about it.
"You like it when I share my life with you, right?" > "Right."
"So why don't you share yours with me, unless I ask?" > "I don't know. It seems nothing interesting happened."
Then I told her about The Golden Rule. She agreed.
Fast forward several months. No change. I decided I would not just tell her about my day any more, unless she asked. Saturday, I asked her about her day, as usual. She told me. Then silence. She felt uncomfortable, but didn't tell me so, and didn't know why.
Then, yesterday, she realized why, and asked me about my weekend. I was happy for that, as it showed she cares. I told her I didn't tell her originally, because she didn't ask, and I was waiting for her reaction.
Wooo, she hit the roof. Said I don't trust her and I'm doing tricky things. Now, she won't know if something is really wrong, or if I'm just being tricky. She asked why I didn't just tell her. I reminded her that we did talk about it, at least twice before, with no change.
She said I should love her without trying to change her, and that if I don't like something, I should just tell her, rather than do tricky things. She asked whether I want to have a soul mate that I don't trust. Wow.
I told her I was not trying to trick her, just learn about her in a different way.
Finally two days later, we made up. (just minutes ago)
I asked her please don't blow up little silly things into huge issues. We have to let go of those little things if we're to succeed, long-term. She said she didn't consider it little, but OK, she will try.
I agreed to try not to experiment on her.
Then, her boss swooped by and picked her up for lunch. Apparently, she cannot say no. I can't understand that.
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