The previous post is Lhasa (July 15).
The next post is Hezuo (July 17).

Enroute to Lanzhou (July 16) · Jul 17, 03:03 AM

Mikael talked me into buying a cheap hard seat to Lanzhou three days back — it leaves at eight. We’re up with two middle-aged Chinese men equipped with trekking gear. Mikael and I take a thirty yuan cab to the train station and board at 7:30, at the tail end of the initial boarding rush; there’s still room to stow our bags overhead. Chinese travelers, muslim families, assorted small children with their parents, and a half-dozen Tibetan monks are sharing our car; it seats 98.

The day passes in segments: talking, instant noodles for breakfast, journaling, a visit to the dining room for an expensive lunch buffet, beer in the dining room, another visit later for coffee with the second half of Pirates of the Caribbean, then noodles and beer in the dining car for dinner. The dining car is a comfortable hangout. We enjoy watching the Tibetan plateau — lakes, mountains, and pastures — roll by, and the staff is content to let us, except during the busy meal rushes and conductor’s meal meetings, when we retreat to our seats. The car is a strange mix of new, Chinese crowded, and dirty. Mikael tries the oxygen feed.

We stay up late with a couple of Chinese college students from Lhasa — another viewing of the second half of Pirates and then cards. We’re kicked out at one along with a rowdy group including a very beautiful opera singer. This is how the night begins.

They pull shut the curtains, but never dim the lights.

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