So today we head out to Xi’an, our hotel is so cool and nice, that they have given us the room until we have to head out…at 9PM! So ULises and I have an unexpected whole day to waste, which we pretty much do. At 9 or so, we head out with a few of the other hotel guests to the train station – and just so happen to run into the hotel manager (Rainbow) as well – who is on the same train as us to Xi’an – small town!
This time Ulises and I asked our hotel to help us get train tickets in advance – so we ended up with two soft sleeper tickets to Xi’an – a supposed 8 hour train ride or so to our next destination. So Ulises and I stowed our luggage as efficiently as possible, trying not to wake the father and son on the bunks below ours - and settled in to enjoy a ride with AC, beds, linens and even a door…it was far superior travel than the hard seat experience we had on the way to Pingyao, and after putting on my headphones and listening to Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (the UK version of course…nothing puts me to sleep quicker than an British accent) I was out like a light.
An interesting note about the China rail system – just in case you ever decide to ride, you can buy tickets from most railway stations, but the train booking systems between stations do not work (even in the same city) so you have to have a ticket bought at a station and then either shipped to you or faxed – with the real ticket held by the conductor until your arrival – it makes getting around that much more challenging. Overall, the train system can take you pretty much anywhere in the country, the trains depart on time, and (if you have the right ticket) can be pretty comfortable…however – they never arrive on time – we got into town around 11AM the next day.
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