Day 124 - Back in the driving seat

As soon as I picked up my card I headed to Beijing Railway Station to get the first ticket to Xian. Knowing now that I only had a week left, I needed to start moving pretty quick. Wanting to see at least some of the west. My bank card worked first time I tried. Delighted to suddenly be independent again, after nearly a month, is a great feeling. With this new sense of purpose I marched over to work out how to get a ticket out of Beijing. Expecting the worst it was actually a lot easier than I thought. Be aware that, next to nothing is written in English in China. You'll see toilet signs and some basic ones although that's about it. Try to stop a young person. As them do they speak English and tell them what you are doing. If that fails, try to find a westerner. Otherwise you need to queue, hope the person behind the counter speaks English and you don't have to queue again. Hard-sleeper ticket booked on that evenings night train to Xian. Was planning on doing a zoom trip o Xian and then heading on to Chengdu that night. Jumped on the metro and went to back to the Youth Hostel. Grabbed a ride on one of those hilarious rickshaw type things from the metro stop to the youth hostel.

Grabbed my laptop and went into Fish Nation for the Big Breakfast. Deserved the treat. After many hours online, Ian joined me and then Eoghan and Aidan came in for the much loved over Fish and Chips. I had booked a flight from Xian to Chengdu for the same evening as arrived. Allowing me to hit two cities in one. With less than a week left there had to be some trimming. I got my stuff together, bid my farewells. It was going to nearly 6 weeks before I saw Ian, Peter and Aidan again. Eoghan walked me to a taxi at the end of Nan Lu Guo. With my directions to West Beijing Railway Station written down I was on my way with loads of time to spare. Five mintues later we were stuck in a four lane bumper to bumper tail back. Knowing I had time to spare I remained calm. Fairly calm. My trust in taxi drivers is never the best. The lack of language, kept me quiet, lets say. I was certain he had brought us into the middle of this madness to mount up the fair. We got to the station 40 minutes before the trains departure. The outside of the railway station was similar in size to the front of the terminal in Dublin Airport.

People had already started boarding by the time I got to the waiting area. I went straight through and down on to the platform for the awaiting train. Hard sleeper is the same as AC3 on the Indian trains. 3 bunks opposite 3 bunks. There is a bit more headroom and no additional bunks across the passageway. Instead there are two small fold down seats and a table. The beds are all fixed down so, you either have to climb into your bed or hope that you can grab one of the small seats. The trains are impeccable and staff are constantly moving through the train. There is a hot and cold water supply, toilets are spotless and toilet paper available. There is a pleasant dining car and smoking areas available throughout the train. Food and sundry carts travel up and down the train. I purchased a flask, similar to the ones you see Chinese people constantly carrying. If you thought the Irish like tea, well the Chinese are in a different league of their own. They carry these flasks of tea everywhere they go. After walking around for a bit I rang a youth hostel in Xian to book a trip to the Terracotta Warriors. They were happy to facilitate and even agreed to pick me up at the the train station upon my arrival. Next I the I sat down and watched some of the new series of Heroes on my Asus Eee PC. I went to bed with the laptop and watched another one or two episodes before getting to sleep.