If there is anything I love, it is an efficient transit system. Beijing has this in spades. It is clean (remarkably so), safe and not near as crowded as you would think. Signs are in English and Chinese and the maps are clearly displayed with obvious YOU ARE GOING THIS DIRECTION marks on them. On the actual trains, the stops light up on maps above the doors so you know what the next stop is. There are many hand straps to hold on to (you're probably not getting a seat unless you're old or pregnant).
We are lead to a Peking duck restaurant. I've never had any kind of duck so I don't know what to expect.
Inside the restaurant, we're lead further and further back, through at least three hallways and up a set of stairs. Initially I think they're putting us in the back because we're a large group but all of the rooms we pass seem more than capable of holding large groups. It dawns on me that we're being put in the far back because we are a large group of white people. Interesting.
In case you're wondering, yes that is the head of the duck on a plate in front of me. Brains, beak and all. Can you guess what I did not eat?
The meal was an excellent birthday meal. I may or may not have duck again.
The Temple of Heaven is very crowded.
In China, the mandatory retirement age is 60 (55 for women). That's still very young and people are left with nothing to do while they receive their pension. You can't go back to work, or do any kind of work (go to the family farm, for instance). Old people are left to gather wherever they can in order to pass the time.
Tonight we get on an aptly named night train.
I had done my research ahead of time to understand what "hard sleeper" meant. Me not getting a good night's sleep affects everyone. I purchased a Sea to Summit UltraLight Mat and I am glad I did. It blows up and deflates quickly, is very comfortable and is basically an inflatable spring cell mattress. It rolls up to the size of a water bottle and weighs almost nothing. (I'm not being paid by them, I just really love the product).
On the train we are divided in to compartments. Howard divides us up into teams and does his best to keep people travelling together, together.
Sonia, Renee, Jackie and I are put in one car and are called Team Canada.
Ash from Team Australia remarks that we can talk about bacon and maple syrup all night. I reply that Team Australia can throw another shrimp on the barbie.
Team Canada does not talk about bacon and maple syrup.
After we stack our snacks on the table in the compartments (there are six bunks in a compartment with three bunks. The top bunks are occupied by Chinese travellers who basically ignore us. I don't know how this is possible because we are rather loud! Everything is funny.
The trains have an aisle with folding tables on the wall. People are sitting here and texting, doing whatever on their phones, reading, writing, and so on. The compartments don't have a lot of floor space, so Jackie is sticking her ass in the aisle each time she gets something out of her backpack (frequently for the first half an hour). There is a Chinese guy checking out her ass each time and we're laughing about it.
At one point, there is a hunt for a western toilet. One is found but the sanitary conditions are not ideal. Jackie asks her mother for the wipes for her face, "and also for your genitals". Apparently, the ones for your face cannot be used on your genitals because they say "face" on them and not "genitals". The genital ones don't say "genitals" either but that's not the point. Over the course of our laughter, genitals turns to "petunia" and stay there for the rest of the trip.
16 hours later, we arrive in Xian, China.
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