The train to Beijing West Station

The train ride here was amazingly comfortable. The following is an entry from my Moleskin travel log last Friday.

Yesterday, spent the first two or so hours starring out the window in front of my cabin. When I first stepped on the train, I had trouble opening the door. I thought I may have been doing something wrong. I struggled for more than five minutes until I jerked it opened. I sat down and made myself comfortable with the pillows. Soon afterwards, an old Chinese man entered. He must have been in his 60's. Damn, there goes the idea that I'd have a room all to myself, though, he turned out to be very gentlemanly. We waited until the train departed before we proceded to ask if we could change our rooms for the rest of the coach was empty.

I went out to ask one of the train attendants, "Duibuqi, women ke bu keyi huan fangzi."
She looked at me coldly and in Chinese she said, "You can't just jump around to where ever you please!" and walked off.
I went back to my room disappointed. My cabin mate got up and said, "Wait here, I'll talk to her."
He came back a few minutes later. "Go ahead, you wanna change your room?"
This, I came to realize later, is how most things are accomplished in China. It really depends on who does the talking.

So anyway, I got my stuff together and headed for the room next door. The first few hours of the trip was spent looking out the window in front of my room. I was so completely fixated to the scenery change from urban highrise apartments to undeveloped country side. I finally retreated to my room and lay down. We pulled into a train station and suddenly everything went dark. I tried the lights, all four of them. None worked. I thought I should see what was up so I went for the door. It wouldn't budge. "What the hell! How do you open this thing?!" I could hear people passing by. Chinese announcements were going on outside. I pulled on that lever with everything I had but to no avail. I clinked with every part of the door, even resorted to pulling a credit card out to try to break my way out of my own room, all the while getting more and more terrified by the minute. It was dark, cold, quiet, and the f$%#n door wouldn't open. There was no way to open the window. I was trapped. Thoughts started running through my head. "What if we have to change trains? They won't find me because I've changed rooms. I can't call for help because my cell phone doesn't work in this country. What am I going to do? I'm going to end up in Inner Mongolia before someone gets to me." I started furiously racking on the door and the wall that I shared with my former roommate. I was just about to lose it when an attendant came by and opened the door in a quick click. I must have looked like a mad woman when he found me. I explained that couldn't get out so he showed me. I simply had to push this nail like button while pulling on the handle. Oooooh. Why do they not have directions on these things? A few minutes later, the lights went on and the train started to move.

The food was edible but really expensive and salty as ocean water. All I ate were lunch boxes and bananas the whole trip.

The train attendants smoked. I realized this as I was reading on my bed and noticed that my sinuses were beginning to get congested. I thought I detected a faint scent of smoke so I went out to check if it was the old guy next door. I headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and as I walk by the attendant's cabin I saw a woman and a man taking a drag. I went back to my cabin, picked up the "No Smoking" sign from my table and showed it to them. They were very apologetic but as I also later found out, China, especially Beijing, is one big ashtray.