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A Train to Kaili
Tuesday, August 9, 2005-5:44 PM
Guangzhou's main train station deserves its own circle in hell, maybe two or three. If I thought about the fact that I'd have to board a train there to travel, I might never leave Guangzhou.
Corridors and stairwells dimly lit in the evening with amber lights lead to cavernous waiting halls. Lines of people wait to get inside to wait for hours for their trains.
In the meantime, they make newspaper beds and surround themselves with their luggage packed in huge plastic bags that aren't lifted or rolled but instead just dragged across the ground.
In spite of the fact that the floors are constantly being swept, garbage covers the floors and seats.
Police send out constant warnings with bullhorns telling passengers to watch their valuables.
Moments before my trained boarded, a sea of bodies moved in anticipation. People pushed, squeezed themselves through the crowd, and hopped over chairs to move closer to the front of the line.
In the beginning, the thought of a twenty-two hour train ride didn't bother me at all since I had a seat. It'd turn out to be more difficult than I expected, but in the end a stroke of good luck and a quick decision ended up saving me a few hours and a little money.
The train was too bright inside, and it was too dark outside to see out through the windows. Even when I tried, my eyes would just get tired trying to follow the lights on the buildings as they passed by the train window.
Instead, I had nothing to look at but the passengers near my, a bunch of kids, about six or so, half boys and half girls.
Their families decided to bring their Sunday shopping with them on the train. The table and even the floor was covered with enough food so the kids could perpetually drink Pepsi and eat potato chips.
At first, the three boys played cards. I didn't know the game they were playing, but I understood the outcome. The winner got to torture the losers by flicking their foreheads with his index finger.
Since there was so much food covering our table, there was nowhere for me to lay my head down and go to sleep. During the night, the air-conditioning was on full-blast. I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt. The night didn't pass quickly.
The next morning we were deep into Southwestern China. Outside the window, I could see China's characteristic southwestern landscape, hundreds of steep hills covered in lush vegetation surrounded by terraced fields. We passed rivers far from big cities with groups of kids swimming to pass time.
A woman sitting across from me noticed I wasn't eating. I almost never eat on trains. The food is terrible, and I don't use any energy sitting there, staring out the window.
She tried to get me to eat a bowl of noodles or a hard-boiled egg. Politely, I refused.
Eventually, she did manage to get me to eat an apple. She took one out of her bag and forced me to take it. Then she grabbed a pocket knife from her husband.
I've seen lots of Chinese guys do it, but I've never tried myself to cut the peel off of an apple with a pocket knife. Clumsily, I started hacking away.
Ten minutes later, half my apple was on the ground. I ate the other half and thanked her for it.
The scariest thing that happened was when a passenger in a nearby seat started having a seizure or an asthma attack, and no one seemed to know what to do.
A few passengers tried to restrain him. A lot of passengers stood up to stare. But no one was talking; no one was running for help. Everyone was just staring.
He'd calm down for a few minutes, and then the gasping for breath and shaking would start again. I couldn't see clearly what was going on.
The situation was never really resolved. After he calmed down for a few minutes, some people from the train tried to persuade him to get off the train, go to a hospital, and if everything was okay, get on the next train.
He was concerned about the money. I don't know what he eventually decided. I ended up getting off the train before him.
My ticket was for Guiyang in Guizhou, but that was not my ultimate destination. After getting to Guiyang, I planned to take another train or bus to a nearby city, Kaili, to visit some minority villages.
From the map, I didn't think the train I was on would pass through Kaili.
It did. When I heard the stop announced, I made a quick decision. There was nothing for me to see in Guiyang. I got off the train.
Without a map of Kaili, I just started walking. I had no idea where to go. I was just guessing.
The area around the train station was not developed. I'd look one way, and see nothing. I'd look the other way, and I'd see almost nothing. I kept walking in the direction I saw almost nothing.
It worked. I eventually wound up in the city center. It looked just like any other Chinese city I've visited, just perhaps a little smaller.
In China, there are two types of hotels: hotels that can rent to foreigners and hotels that can't rent to foreigners. I usually don't bother with the ones that can't rent to foreigners.
But, after walking around for an hour or so and not seeing many hotels, I decided to give it a shot. I wound up in a 30 renminbi a night room with a bathroom, a television, and a fan.
It took me a while to figure out how to flush the toilet. There's no string or handle. You just run the sink. The water makes its way down to the toilet eventually.
Tomorrow I'll try to visit a minority village.
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