Coming and going

As stated, Gao Jing had assisted us by securing tickets before we arrived in Xinyang. There was some concern because she had no gotten a ticket to Qingdao. The reason for this was that the Qingdao train station was being remodeled for the 2008 Olympics. However, the Hostel that she planed to stay in had also posted directions fro the alternate station.

Her reason for wanting to go to Qingdao was to take a boat to South Korea in order to visit her sister, Victoria, who is there in the US Army. I needed to go to Xian to meet Zeneta, who was flying in from the States.

This was basically a relax and do some laundry stop. In addition to that it made it synchronize schedules and to insure that all was on schedule. We borrowed one of Collins bicycles and went on a ride. She removed a lot of stuff from her pack in order to lighten her load as she went to Korea and the next day we set off for our respective trains.

The trip to Xian was entirely uneventful and I sat around the lounge until it was time to check in and got a double (160Y) instead of staying in the dorms (40Y). Later that night I walked over to the Melody Hotel and got the airport shuttle bus (25Y).

It was a bit of an irritation, at the airport, in the receiving area, there was only one bench that would hold about four people for all of the people that were waiting for arrivals. This is something I have noticed about China and even Debra has commented on, the lack of public seating. In this case the majority of the seating, sufficient for about 100, was on the inside of the exit area. As a result they were generally unused. The only people I saw using them were airport employees, to sleep on.

In addition to that, Zeneta's plane was extremely late. She was scheduled to arrive at 9:30pm and her plane did not arrive until 2:30am. We then took a bus back to the Melody and, from there, walked to our hostel.

I had already purchased return tickets (soft sleeper) to Xinyang for the next day. So, after a bit of shopping, we hopped on the train and spent most of the return journey sleeping.

That next Saturday I went on another 100k ride, that I had scheduled to go on, with the activity group. The result was that Zeneta and Gao needed to go to the train station to pick up Debra on her return.

The ride went pretty well, except that it was hot. We stopped a few times to rest and the like, and then in the middle of the ride we stopped for lunch. It was shortly before this that the mechanic caught up with us. He was not able to leave when we did so the mechanic riding with us on this trip was on a scooter and stayed with us until the lunch stop. Then he went back to the shop.

Before lunch we went swimming. This is the first time I have been swimming in China. In fact, this is the first time I have been immersed in China. The water in this river was about chest deep and I could easily see the bottom. It was a great opportunity to cool off.

Lunch was a collection of soups. I later discovered that there was a lot of concern that I was not eating much. I did eat a lot of the vegetables in the spicy soup and several bowls of rice.

After lunch, the doctor came out to where we were and talked to all of us for a while. Then we waited for a van to come and take two of the riders back. At that point a third rider chose to also ride back in the van, which left eleven of us.

As has happened to me before, after lunch I bonked. First, this was a group of strong riders. The weaker riders simply chose not to make this ride. On the way out I was running in the middle of the pack. Then I was near the back. Then, after about ten or fifteen kilometers, I was in back. The mechanic fell back to ride with me (he always rides in back) and gave me some foul concoction. It is a brown drink, about two tablespoons, in a sealed single use bottle. I have seen several using these as energy drinks and he had a box of them in his pack. I drank two of them, one at one stop and one at the next. Then, I was back in the middle (actually, toward the front).

In all, it was a good ride. As many of you have determined, I enjoy these rides. I see places that a regular tourist would not, I get to work on my Chinese, and it is an opportunity to get out and be social. Often the westerners in these small town tend to get very insular and unadventurous. This is the opposite of that.

When I returned Zeneta and Gao had already picked up Debra. It was now time to begin preparing for her trip to Xian.

I had already obtained the tickets to Xian for both of us. They were middle bunk sleeper tickets. However, that was all that was available.

The plan was that I would travel to Xian with Debra and see her off. Then, I would do a bit of shopping in Xian and return.

The problems started when we were waiting and the train was late. Then the attendant came and took our tickets and gave us our money back. That was a real bad sign.

At that point I called Gao and asked her to talk to the attendant at the train station (I am glad that we wait in soft seating, at least there are attendants). It turns out that due to flooding near Xian there would be no trains running from this station to Xian.

Seeing as Debra had a flight to catch, this was not a simple case of waiting until the trains would be running again. So, I purchased three tickets to Zhengzhou on a D train. The D train is the new high speed train service that is running on limited routes in China. It runs about 250kph.

The reason for three tickets was simple; one of the tickets was for Gao. That way when we got to Zhengzhou she would be able to help us.

The reason for hurrying to Zhengzhou was that I felt that we would have more options when we got there. It is a major rail hub and approaches Xian from a different direction. Thus, even though the tracks from Xinyang were closed, I expected the tracks from Zhengzhou to still be open.

We got to Zhengzhou and Gao purchased two tickets to Xain for us and a ticket back to Xinyang for herself. This was the beginning of the failure of this plan; her train left first.

Unaware of the impending problems, she and Debra went and watched some street performers. They were performing in the middle of the night because it was too hot in the day time.

Finally it came time for her to leave and off she went as we continued to wait for our 3:30am train. At 3:30am the train switched from being listed as arriving to "delayed indefinitely."

At about six am we discovered that all of the Xian trains, from this station, were also being stopped. These tracks were also washed out. We then went looking for a flight to Xian and were informed that there were no flights from Zhengzhou to Xian. The next thing we tried was to see if she could catch her flight in Beijing. The flight had a transfer there and it would be possible to put her on another D train and get her there in time.

It turned out that doing that was not an option either. We then went and got her a bus ticket to Xian. Once she had the bus ticket I then went and got a D ticket back to Xinyang (ooh… first class). I had planned to accompany her all of the way to the airport in Xian. However, I just did not want to go through all of this again in getting back.

I waited until I saw her get on the bus, then I went to lunch (yes, it was already approaching lunch time) then I went back and waited for my train.

As far as the ride back, I hesitate to recommend the first class of the D train. The only reason that I would recommend it is you have a long stop and want to wait in the first class waiting room.

The first class cars did have wider and more comfortable seats. There was definitely more leg room. However, the reason I hesitate to recommend it is because of the carpet. The first class cars are carpeted. You must understand that the Chinese do not, generally, diaper their infants. The result is that the car smelt of urine.

I am now back in Xinyang, Debra is in the States Gao Jing has returned to her home town of Niawan and Zeneta is here watching a Harry Potter movie.