It’s SO cold! And it’s only the middle of November ... Last night we had our first snow.
It’s only just over a week ago that George (our Canadian co-worker who lives upstairs in our apartment), Peter and I set off to visit Dalian. We had no college "minder" with us because the whole college had been grounded (teachers and students) because of misbehaviour and low standards. Well, that’s what they told us.
Anyway, It’s a long way, and we only had 4 1/2 days. We set off on Wednesday afternoon on a sleeper bus. There are floor level and top level beds along each window - five along each side - and another row down the middle. As you get on, they hand you a plastic bag for your shoes. And the rest of the time you are pretty much confined to your bunk which is about 18" wide (narrower than George and Peter's shoulders) and probably a bit less than 6' long (George's feet were hanging over). Each bunk has a mattress (Chinese rock-hard style) and a thing that you can lie on or under (sort of a heavy quilt) and a pillow.
Contrary to what we were told, there were no toilet stops. There was a toilet on the bus - not western style! - it was a bit of a nightmare. There were a pair of oversize shower-slippers outside the toilet door so you could slip them on and not get your feet wet. Inside the toilet room there was the customary squat arrangement with a bar to hold onto so you don't fall. And an open window, with freezing cold air blasting in ... it was quite an experience. Once again, poor old George couldn't stand up straight in there, and the window was at a very embarrassing height for him.
So there weren't any food stops either - despite what we had been told. Not being therefore prepared we only had a few nibblies with us for the whole 20 hours. George felt that was a good thing, less food less trips to the toilet!
Then, in the early hours of the morning, we were staring blearily out the window of this high-speed bus roaring along the expressway at around 150km/hr, and we noticed patches of white in the fields - yep, snow. We started reading the road-signs and worked out we were only an hour or two from Dalian, and the bus stopped briefly here and there to let people off. Then they stopped in the middle of nowhere, nothing except a few taxis waiting to pick people up ... and someone poked their head in the door and said "Hullo! Hullo!" So "Hullo!" we replied cheerfully, but then gradually realized we were being told to get off the bus. Finally, reluctantly, we slipped our shoes back on and staggered off the bus in great disarray. Then we found there was a little bus behind our big one, that would take us into Dalian.
We stayed in a magnificent hotel in Dalian. We were on the 16th floor with amazing views which Peter had to keep taking pictures of. After our first night there we went to see the school where George will be teaching in February - we might (or might not) go there later. We really like Dalian, it’s where we originally wanted to go - so clean, and there are hills and the ocean. But it doesn't feel so Chinese as it does here. Henan province is one of the poorer ones (I think down south is poorest) and we are in a poor semi-rural area - which is kind of nice in its own way. But George will be teaching kids, and we don't want to do that any more - even though they got all excited at the prospect of a music teacher (when they heard that’s what I used to do) because they are planning to begin a music program. It would be nice to go to Dalian, and to see George again, we get on really well with him.
Then we had a couple of days to enjoy the sights of Dalian before heading back. We took the train coming back (we were told there were no seats on the way over but had no trouble booking a fare back).
The train was sooo much better. The bunks were a smidge wider, and longer, and you could actually walk between them ... and sit up! And you could buy food at some stations on the way (but this time we were prepared!) The toilet was much more bearable, frequently washed down, and there were sinks to wash at (and a mirror) and hot water on tap...a corridor to walk up and down. All in all, quite pleasant. We did not have a private berth (called "soft sleeper"), we took berths in a "hard sleeper", which doesn't mean that they are any harder than usual, only that there are six to a cabin - 3 levels. We only had one Chinese room-mate. We nicknamed him "'Nora", and he kept George awake most of the night!
Its funny sharing a cabin or bus with a bunch of people you have never met and can't communicate with - it still has a very family feel, totally non-threatening. They all wear thick full-body warm underwear. They take off their fancy business suits and flop down in their knitted woolen trousers and jumpers. But in the morning the men particularly continued to strut around in their underwear (well, it was warm on the train), looking a little bit ridiculous.
The staff takes good care of you. They come and take your ticket off you and give you a plastic card-token with your bed number, and your ticket goes in the appropriate slot in their file. Shortly before your stop they bring back your ticket, and tell you when you will arrive, giving you time to get packed up and organized. Then just before the station they gather all the disembarkees in a special section at the end of the carriage, and lock the doors on both sides so no one gets lost or misplaced. And they help you off in an orderly fashion.
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