(Back date to 14 Jan 13)
Today was day one of my Xijiang travels - all of it spent aboard K2058, the Chengdu-Urumqi train. I hopped the train in the Chengdu North Train Station (a really impressive station actually - there’s a huge chandelier in the waiting rooms) without any problems or delays and said my last good bye to the city I’ve been living in for the last six months - 再见成都！
The train itself is much more comfortable than I had anticipated. All I was told about this train was that there was no air-conditioning which is kind of a big deal considering we are headed north for 48 hours. But actually so far the cabin is a cool 10 degrees celsius (50 degrees F) which is quite manageable. I have the top berth of a 3 bed bunk and my 5 neighbors are all quiet and elderly and just kind of sleep all day - works for me! The cabin beside me however is home to five men in their forties and they are wildly active. Actually, they brought two large bottles of local rice liquor (baijiu) and started drinking them as soon as we left the station (11AM)....they’re a fun group....
There was not much to see out of the windows today so I spent most of the day wandering up and down the length of the train which confirmed my suspicions that I am indeed the only non-Chinese passenger (not including, of course, the various Chinese minority groups aboard, which are many, Uighurs, and other Muslim minorities mainly). But it’s forcing me to speak Chinese which is a good thing! Tomorrow morning we break out of the Min Mountain range in northern Sichuan and head northwest along a track wedged between the Himalayan mountain range to the south and the Gobi Desert and Mongolia to the north before we descend into the Taklamakan Desert so the scenery should get better quickly. I’m hoping for a few good shots of the landscape from the train tomorrow.
And as far as I can tell there is not one outlet to charge my electronic items so I’m rationing my intake (which includes this computer)!
Time to sleep - more train stuff tomorrow!
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| K2058 Chengdu - Urumqi |
The train itself is much more comfortable than I had anticipated. All I was told about this train was that there was no air-conditioning which is kind of a big deal considering we are headed north for 48 hours. But actually so far the cabin is a cool 10 degrees celsius (50 degrees F) which is quite manageable. I have the top berth of a 3 bed bunk and my 5 neighbors are all quiet and elderly and just kind of sleep all day - works for me! The cabin beside me however is home to five men in their forties and they are wildly active. Actually, they brought two large bottles of local rice liquor (baijiu) and started drinking them as soon as we left the station (11AM)....they’re a fun group....
There was not much to see out of the windows today so I spent most of the day wandering up and down the length of the train which confirmed my suspicions that I am indeed the only non-Chinese passenger (not including, of course, the various Chinese minority groups aboard, which are many, Uighurs, and other Muslim minorities mainly). But it’s forcing me to speak Chinese which is a good thing! Tomorrow morning we break out of the Min Mountain range in northern Sichuan and head northwest along a track wedged between the Himalayan mountain range to the south and the Gobi Desert and Mongolia to the north before we descend into the Taklamakan Desert so the scenery should get better quickly. I’m hoping for a few good shots of the landscape from the train tomorrow.
And as far as I can tell there is not one outlet to charge my electronic items so I’m rationing my intake (which includes this computer)!
Time to sleep - more train stuff tomorrow!
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