The previous post is Leaving Xiamen (May 01).
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Xiamen Train Station (May 01) · May 5, 10:02 AM

I’m camped out with approximately thousands of others waiting for trains to various Chinese destinations. Most squat on piles of luggage in the shade. A lucky few have seating in the open-air waiting area (they won’t let you into the indoors and air-conditioned area more than two hours before departure). The scoreboard above the ticket window is red all over — not a single train leaving in the next 4 days has an open seat. The lines at the ticket counter are correspondingly short, but not empty. These people are probably settling for “unreserved hard seating”, which means up to 15 or 20 hours of standing in the aisles. Like sardines, but without the oil.

I notice that I’m the only one sitting butt-to-the-ground. Everyone is standing, squatting, or sitting on something (e.g. their bags). There are no other laowai in sight. I chalk this up to the common sense not to travel during the busy holiday travel period. So busy.

…

I’m on the train now, rattling slowly to Jiujiang. It’s a nice train — modern and clean. People are chatting quietly right now. The car has approximately 72 passengers stacked in 3 layers of bunks along one side. Fold-down seating, narrow windowsill/tables, and a thin hallway take up about 30 inches on the other side. Noodle-cup meals are popular. Boiled (and still steaming) water is available from an urn at the front of the car. Attendants roll narrow carts with these noodle meals, assorted chinese snacks, “fresh” dumplings, and “fresh” hot lunches. They aren’t selling much here; most people brought a grocery bag of food for the ride. … and they’ve just pulled the curtains closed. I expect lights-out in about ten minutes.

On the way out of town fireworks were exploding over some city in the distance. I made two friends in the waiting room. One spoke a little English. Goodnight.

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