For anyone that comes to China, the experience of riding on a train is an experience to be had. In this post I am going to write about our first train experience when we went from Chongqing to Xi’an. Before I do that though, I am going explain some things about the train system to give you a bit of background.
When you purchase ticket there are four classes of tickets that you can buy:
Hard Seat: The least expensive tickets on the train but also largely to be considered the least comfortable. Despite being called ‘hard’ seat they are lightly padded and in a three plus three arrangement. If you are going a long distance, these aren’t recommended.
Soft Seat: The second most expensive ticket. In a two by two arrangement, the comfort of this section of the train I would say is largely comparable to that on coach in an airplane.
Hard Sleeper: This one is the third most expensive ticket that you can buy. The beds a located in their own open cabin and are three high on each side for a total of six beds. The prices for these tickets vary on which berth you buy; top is least expensive and the bottom is the most expensive. Middle is, well, just that, right in the middle in terms of price. Once again, the name doesn’t tell the true story as beds aren’t hard and are rather comfortable with clean linens.
Soft Sleeper: The most expensive ticket that you can buy. The beds are wider, supposedly softer and often there are personal televisions and power outlets. The cabins also have doors that can close. While offering more comfort, they are often not preferred by international travelers due to the high price and the fact you might be trapped with someone who is smelly or snore and there is no relief, comparatively.
So on Tuesday morning we board the K1004 from Chongqingbei (Chongqing North) to Xi’an leaving at 10:14 am. Much to my happiness, there was a McDonalds and I delighted myself to a breakfast sandwich :). After that we headed through security which was a simple metal detector and x-ray machine. I am surprised that the security stuff has not gone off because each time I have gone through I have had a lot of fireworks in my backpack and coins and metal in my pockets. I still feel safe though. 🙂
Anyway, once we got through security we went into this big reception hall and waited for our train to be called. Since this was the originating station, there were a lot of other people there waiting for the same train. They called our train and like a herd of cattle, we (including hundreds of other Chinese) crammed through the gates. Much to our despise, we encountered steps. With no ramp or escalator in sights, we had to carry our bags up the stairs, which wouldn’t have been that bad if our bags didn’t weigh so much. But after P90x, our muscles are ginormous so it didn’t matter. 😛
We found the #15 car and boarded our train car. Since we are cheap (:)) we had tickets for the top hard sleeper. After lifting our luggage onto the luggage rack, we climbed up the ladder to our places. The top beds, we found out at that time, only have about two and half feet before you encounter the top of the train. So we magically became Chinese gymnasts and got our bean pole bodies situated. After a while on the train a lady came around and collected our tickets and she gave us a plastic card. At the end of the train ride, we gave the card back and got our tickets.
As for the train ride its self, it was a lot of fun. Although no one spoke English, we still had a lot of fun interacting with them. Also, we had a chance to explore the train. We found a cabin that was cooler and largely empty and played a card game. That was a lot of fun because this boy and girl kept coming up to the table behind us and the boy would make a farting sound and giggling. Being immature like I am, I joined in the fun and started making some juicy flatulence sounds. I don’t why but that never fails to be funny. 🙂
When the train arrived in Xi’an, we were blessed with a ramp and no stairs. 🙂