BK in BJ (or HK)

I started the day in Shenzhen.  Okay, here's one small picture:

I took one of the new high speed trains to Guangzhou.  I bought a ticket to the "wrong" station and took a taxi across town to my departure station ($5 for some sight-seeing).  Here's a small pic from outside Guangzhou East station, which was much less crowded than the one I arrived at.

As it turns out, I'd have to come to Guangzhou anyway.  The Shenzhen-Shanghai tickets were all sold out.  After arriving in Guangzhou, I wanted to check if by some miracle someone had returned a soft-sleeper ticket I could buy.  I checked the board ... and of course not.  The train was sold out.  And there was even a column for "no seat" tickets, with none left.  At first, I thought that column was just for other lines on the board and "none" meant there were never any ... I mean "no seat" ticket for a 17 hour trip?  C'mon.  And I checked the other dates to Shanghai ....... and there were some "no seat" tickets available, and usually the only thing available.  Oh jeez.  After knowing my train was completely booked - even with people with no seat - I knew this wouldn't be fun.

From here, the post may get long.  I've written it over and over in my head hundreds of times.  You do that when you're by yourself for 17 hours on a train.  I guess in general, I can use a lot of nots to describe it.  It was not a horrible experience, it was not terribly unpleasant, but it's also something I do not plan on doing ever again.  I've done it once and now I'll buy the damn plane ticket.  I would not recommend China-skeptic friends or family members to travel this way as it doesn't really give show to the better qualities of the Chinese.  But $30 for a 1800 km trip ... hard to complain too much.  It also saves the cost of a night at a hotel.  Still, though, next time I think I'll splurge on the plane if I can't get the bed.

First, thank whatever deity you believe in it was air-conditioned.  That helped.  While waiting to depart, it wasn't - and the guy next to me was seriously crowding me and Guangzhou was hot.  He had one of his bags at his side, deciding that was more important than giving me my full seat.  The car is arranged in a 3x2 format, seats facing each other, with maybe 2 feet between them and each having a small table.  Many added a person, so there are 4 sitting in 3 or 3 sitting in 2.  As night rolls around, you find whatever position you can to get some sleep.  The people on inside can use the wall or the table.  The middle people can also sometimes use the table, but it's a bit awkward.  The outside people do whatever.  The people in the aisles do whatever.  Being a bad seat-sleeper myself, I got about an hour the whole trip (usually in a position similar to the guy in black above).  Be prepared to be woken up often as people need to get past you.  A couple traveling together have the huge advantage of doing the mutual lean.  Or as one near me did, what I call the BJ position (put some books on the floor, sit on them facing the seat and put your head in the lap while the receiver leans forward resting on you).  However, where to get the room for this?  This only works if...

You may notice some legs in the bottom-right of my picture and think "Hey, wait, isn't that guy lying down?  Sure looks like there's room to me."  Yeah, he got lucky.  Around midnight, his traveling companion pulled out a sheet, and climbed under the seats.  Just a few minutes before I was recalling a story where someone said another person got on the luggage rack to sleep.  Here that was impossible as space for luggage was nearly as rare as space for humans.  And then I thought it was good everyone had luggage under their seats, or there'd be people all over the place.  Apparently this guy was able to  clear some room, though ...  so, his friend got the extra seat and the couple got the space between the chairs.  Which was good all around because that side was already in the 4 people, 3 seat mode.

I was the only foreigner I saw on this end of the train.  I felt uncomfortable due to the basic nature of the situation, but being "alone" doesn't bother me much anymore.  Good thing, too, as it may have been too overwhelming otherwise.  I occasionally talked to my neighbors, but generally just listened to music and ignored it all.  Most were people I just have no interest in conversing with.  I don't want to be mean about it ... but ... well  ... they lack 素质.  I spent a long time thinking of how to say it, but I can only come up with the chinese.  It's not that they're uncivilized, disgusting, rude, obnoxious, uncultured, or uneducated, but they're not not those either.  They just don't know different.  Picking your nose for ten minutes, constantly examining and flicking it is just something you do (and make sure your fingernails are half an inch long and unclean) as the guy in red liked to do.  Crowding, kicking or using your neighbor as a pillow is just what you have to do to get some sleep.  If you have no seat, and no one offers you a 4 in 3 or 3 in 2, then you have to sleep in the aisle and just wake up when someone needs past.  Smoking a cigarette in non-smoking cars is something that you just have to do (fortunately, no one near me).  They're the people other people use to represent the entire country when they criticize the Chinese as a race.  And granted, there are a lot - there's bound to be with 1.3 bazillion people that have only recently seen economic growth.  The other Chinese (well, those that foreigners are more likely to interact with) aren't thrilled with them either, though.  It's just one of those things you have to accept.  After all, the people like this grew up in significantly different circumstances than I did and it is getting better.

Fifteen hours in - that is, 2 hours left to go, you think that we're practically there!  And then you think, hmmm.... had I taken the plane, it'd have only been two hours.  It'd also have more room.  And the staff wouldn't try several times to sell you absolute crap (a flashlight that doesn't need a battery, some magical toothbrush that in a store would be twice as expensive, and in the morning, some toys).

You may also ask about some of the bodily requirements.  Seventeen hours is a long time and, well, how'd that go?  Fortunately, I have very, very good control over my functions.  Combined with intentionally eating and drinking less to ensure an uninterrupted trip, I successfully made it all the way here.  So I can't comment on the facilities.  Probably a very good thing as there weren't many toilets for a whole heckuva lot of people.

In summary, this one of those experiences that once it's over with it immediately gets better.  Now I can say I've done it as if hasn't any ex-pat in China worth their salt done the overnight like this?! and that I'll never do it again if possible.  Also, in the end, I'm here again in Shanghai.

Hi.

I haven't been too resolved about anything in 2009.  Where to go next was certainly another one that I took my time deciding.  Short story: Shanghai here I come.  Probably.  The leading contenders were/are Hong Kong and Shanghai, but Beijing and home were possibilities, too (especially after the computer issue, home sounded very easy ... the simple way out ... the abort button).

Traveling won't be fun and part of me wants to cancel it.  By putting off the decision, I possibly set myself up for an annoying (but "authentic"!) experience.  I'm taking the train to Shanghai from nearby Guangzhou tomorrow.  It's an overnight train, all told 17ish hours.  And I'll be in one of the "hard seats."  All the beds, even the "hard beds" were filled.  I don't mind the seat, actually.  If there was the "soft seat" option, I may even take that.  But the "hard seat" (I think) means there are three across.  And I'll be with ... uh ... well, let's be nice and say it's the cheapest form of transport.

I've only taken one other overnight train in China - from Shanghai to Beijing.  I got a total of 10 minutes of sleep.  There was an extremely loud snoring and cell-phone talking roommate.  I also had a terrible headache that day and was going to struggle to sleep regardless.  So, who knows?  Maybe the hard seat will be good.  Um,  yeah.  And I'll win the lottery tomorrow.

I, for now, plan on staying in Shanghai for a bit.  But there's the huge questions of finding a place to stay and the visa.  The visa extension shouldn't be a huge question, however it's not cheap (we Americans get charged the most by the Chinese).  That's for later, though ... time to pack up, again, and research where to stay, again.  Yeah, this is getting old.

I'll admit I'm absolutely completely spoiled.  I don't need luxury, but I certainly need a basic level of comfort, privacy and convenience.  As such, I planned on relying on my computer to make the coming days, weeks, and months as cheap as possible while reaching that level.  The internet is a wonderful thing.

I got the hotel and the computer was bust.  Its lights blinked when you hit the on button and that was it.  I thought it either finally died, had something jostled loose on the trip, or maybe a moisture issue (my parents keep the room waaaaayyy too cold).  To find out, I wanted to take it to a repair shop.  I asked where I could find one and then set out.  All the hotel staff knew was the area it was probably in.  I consider myself reasonably versed in China now, so I set out to look for this random place.  I was pretty sure I knew what I was looking for and I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be fun.

I found the place.  Huge electronics market, people outside selling fake receipts, DVDs, etc. etc. etc.  Head for a dell store.  No one approaches me, but I can see some of the staff hesitate.  I eventually ask about getting it fixed.    They send me off to the building next door.  The first shop I could access from outside, which was great.  I avoided the mass of small stores trying to lure in the rich white guy.  The next one was inside .... oh boy ... well, here we go.  No other choice.  I go in, and I get looks but no verbal or physical assaults.  I guess none speak English and that suits me just fine.  I hated and dreaded going to the one in Beijing.  Anyway - I find the dell store and the guy there eventually sends me back to the other building, but to an office that specializes in repairs.  It's on the 20th floor.  I get to the elevator and there are masses waiting ... and the elevators are basically stopping on every floor.  I'm so not looking forward to being crammed in with a bunch of chinese all staring at me wondering what the foreigner is doing there for 20 floors.  So, I take the stairs.  I find the office, and the guy says I'd have to leave it a week.  That's basically not a choice - especially since I just want it opened and told if it's dead or it's a simple fix.  He says there is a more specialized place in another building ... ask there.  So, I head off.  It's on the 17th floor.  I get to the elevator there, and it's the same damn thing.  Nuts to this, I'm going home.  I'd probably end up getting ripped off anyway, and this old machine doesn't need any more money spent on it (yes - I do still have that new small one I bought a little while ago.  But it is still at a secure, undisclosed location somewhere else in China waiting to be shipped back to me when I have a semi-stable address).

After getting it back home, I took it apart myself to see if I could do something.  It started up a couple of times, but would shut down pretty quick.  I cleaned it, I un- and re-plugged all the innards, I pleaded with it.  Eventually it started up and stayed on.  According to what I've read on line about this problem, though, I shouldn't ever plan on it starting up at any specific time ...  it may take a day or two to feel like working again.  So, once it's on.  It stays on.

That's the story.  You may find it boring ... it may be one of those "you had to be there things."  You may have had to be in my mindset ("Well, I'm back in China, but is this really where I want to be?  Hong Kong was nice ....... and just a subway away ...... if only it was cheaper......") Or maybe just knowing about those damned electronics markets will be enough.  I don't get why they're so popular.  Do the people like having to worry about being ripped off, buying fake goods, and being constantly yelled at to buy something?  I'll stick to buying my computers online, thank you very much.

At the end of the subway from Hong Kong, Shenzhen (wikipedia entry) is one of the leading symbols of the Chinese economic miracle.  It also shows how far the country still has to come.

Thirty years ago, before the opening of China, Shenzhen was just a collection of fishing villages (though far from small by American standards, still tiny by Chinese).  Deng Xiaoping then declared it the first Special Economic Zone in China and there's been no looking back.  The city now rivals any of the large ones of the west and hosts one of the major stock exchanges in China.  The municipal area now covers 8.6 million people (and according to wiki, 2.1 million are 'legal' residents - meaning all the rest migrated here).

I have some pictures, but I'm too lazy to put them up.  Honestly, all these boom cities start to look the same.  Although I get the feeling they like round buildings here.

And now... the other side.  I'm generally in a bad mood, so of course I'll be more negative about things.  First, the contrast with Hong Kong was expected, and yet still startling.  I had been used to a certain level of discomfort due to being different by living in Beijing.  That all but disappeared once I landed in Hong Kong.  I immediately felt comfortable and 'accepted' there.  People everywhere were polite, nice and generally obeyed the social contract.  Once I crossed the border line, it changed.  There was a urine smell, people spitting, smoking, and line-cutting, and generally watching out only for themselves.  Granted it could just be my paranoia, but people were staring at me more.  I was once again an outsider, and much more so than Beijing.

I ate at Little Sheep - a hotpot place I took my parents to in Hong Kong.  I wanted to compare.  The price was about half, but the quality was significantly lower.  That there sums up a lot of the experience here - cheaper, but you may not be thrilled about that.

The subway system has some catching up to do.  It's now just two lines, but many more are being built.  One street was completely ripped up with only a little space for pedestrians for the new line construction.  Not surprisingly, many of the store fronts on that street were vacant.

I'll put my first day experience with my computer in another post since it may get long.

There's a large building on fire in Beijing.  According to one report I just read, the preliminary suspect is fireworks.  That would have been my bet, too.  Today is "yuanxiao jie" ... basically the last day of the Spring Festival.  It's the 2nd most crazy day when it comes to fireworks during the celebrations.  To give you an idea, here's a video from this year's New Year's day outside my apartment (which you can see on the right at the end of the video).  This goes on all up and down the street, every street, every neighborhood.  It was taken with my camera which doesn't have sound ... a shame, because it's madness.  If you're a fireworks fan, this is for you.  My building's security guards all have fire extinguishers, and run around putting out the grass/shrub fires that inevitably arise.  (There were at least 6 this past year, with one becoming a decent sized shrub fire, which hilariously resulted in the first-responding guard getting completely 'extinguished' by the 2nd and 3rd arrivers.  That must have been freaking cold).