The train... to make new indian friends

One night on the train is... the unexpected . I found my bunk in a compartment that has technically eigh . There are two superposed against a wall, which follow the width of the compartment. Then, there is a hallway. Perpendicular, there are three bunks on each side of the compartment. Mine is... in the middle.

Rapidly three young Indians are approaching. "Where are you from?"asks the first. Immediately, the second asks if I'm on Facebook, handing me his phone so I type my name. And he adds me eight away.

They ask lots of questions, Indians, so they practice their English. One of them, a cricketer, explains the rules of his sport... with a video game created by EA Sports. We have NHL 2014. They have Cricket 2014... At least I understand the principle.

"Tomato soup", shouts one of the vendors that walks accross the train all the way round. My new friend Arzoo hails, takes two and hands me one. The advice not to consume anything in the train just went to hell. At the very least, I knew that nothing had been added in the small container of soup. I worry especially for cleanliness . But these young Indians are filled with good intentions.

Managing time

Can't say I flooded you with news lately. It's because the internet wasn't working in the last three days... Was on the road.

I made the ambitious choice  to spend one day in Huangshan, 6,5 hours away from Shanghai, before going back to the metropolis to take a train for Xi'an. Why Huangshan? Because it seems its mountains are a must-see.

So I flipped things around to make it fit my schedule and make sure I could get there.

Step 1 : Night train between Shanghai and Tunxi. On a hard sleeper. Nothing too bad, but light sleep only.

Step 2 : Get directions. I got in Tunxi at around 9 in the morning. Just enough time to leave my luggage in the hostel and tell the guy who works there that I wanted to get to the mountain. He said I wouldn't have time. Well, I must have, because it's the only day I got.

Step 3 : Get to the bottom of the mountain. While searching for a bus to the mountain, a woman grabbed me and told me to get in a van... After looking at how people behaved around there, I got in, not knowing if that mode of transportation was "legit". They dropped me one hour later at a bus stop where I needed to buy another ticket. There again, I was told I wouldn't have time to see the mountain. What they didn't know is managing time is my job. Let me do what I want to do.

After three hours on the mountain (look at that, I succeeded... even if it was short), I got down and had to go through two hours on the bus again. The next day : going back to Shanghai. Again, a van was used as a shuttle. They dropped me on the corner of a street where I boarded a bus that was almost full. Something tells me some people get some money out of something they souldn't, taking it out of tourists not bright enough to go directly to the bus station...

The same night, after 6 hours on a bus, I took another night train, that time on a soft sleeper that is soft only in its name. Same as hard sleeper if you want my opinion.

There I am, in Xi'an for one more day, before I get on two more night trains in two nights, heading to Pingyao and Beijing. In all the noise of the train station and the difficulty to get train tickets, I decided not to go to Luoyang and Datong, which were on my original list. On the other hand, I'll spend eight long days in Beijing. Enough to settle down and explore. At least I hope so. After all, managing time is my job...

A ride on board of the Tranzalpine Scenic Train

My videos are never too complicated, but they are worth what they are worth. Here is the panorama the Tranzalpine Scenic Train has to offer. I know, it's moving and noisy. But you were warned.