Tom: Enroute to Guiyang (August 07)

Enroute to Guiyang (August 07) · Aug 11, 09:32 AM

This morning I found a small group pushing hands and I worked out nearby, but was tired and have a lot to do, so I didn’t stay long or push myself hard. I had another French breakfast (my third) at the City Cafe and then returned to my room to shower and pack. My towel is at the laundry, so I dried off with an ugly blue fleece pullover leftover from my hiking days. I hate that fleece, and hung it out to dry; if I’m lucky I’ll forget about it later. I checked out and deposited my luggage with the hotels left luggage service. There is a 22:31 train to Guiyang — K156 — and I have a ticket for bottom bunk 17 in car 8; I picked up my ticket from the booking agent at the City Cafe yesterday.

I walked a lot today. The only time I got into a vehicle was an evening taxi from the hostel to the train station, but before that I spent a couple hours shopping for a coat. Wuyi Lu just north of Dongfeng Xilu has a block of uniform, safety, and police shops. I found among them a single coat long enough for me to wear properly — an insulated overcoat in grey, trimmed with red — the colors of generic security. I bought a matching hat and a leather belt pouch with the chinese characters for police (_jing cha_). The coat is bulky and the hat is awkwardly non-crushable.

As I was walking around I didn’t a cowboy hat. I didn’t buy contacts, or a new AA battery for my alarm clock. I didn’t buy shoes or pirate Adidas gear. I didn’t buy any more clothes. Already I have more stuff than will fit into my pack, but I didn’t buy a duffel either, and I still haven’t bought any Chinese techno or pop music. At the stores I found my coat, I could also have picked up a riot shield, or a club, or a stun baton, or a set of blue and red flashing lights, but all that gear is a little heavy.

I did buy ice-creams.

The big brands — Nestle, Magnum — are about twice the price of generic Chinese brands, but the contents match the picture on the packaging and the ice-cream is creamy, so it’s worth the multi-cent premium. Also I had a spicy noodle bowl — spicy food is great before an ice-cream treat, and together the combo costs less than $1 US.

On the way back to the hostel I found the cheap plastic bags (surprisingly durable) that I’ve seen so many times at train stations — great for carrying soft bulk like my overcoat. At the hostel’s business center and at a computer down the street I burned time planning an overnight trip to Kyoto and worked on Burning Man logistics. At nine I took a taxi to the train station.

It feels good to be back in the rush of a busy train station; it’s been a while since my last proper sleep (from Turpan to Kashgar in Xinjiang). Tonight’s sleeper will be my last — the remainder of my travel will be by bus. I’m pretty sure about that, which is too bad, because hard sleepers are a very comfortable way to travel.

I fell asleep on my bottom bunk early, before they dimmed the lights. In the last minutes of semi-consciousness, my brain starts hearing the Chinese conversation around me as English. It’s a strange phenomenon that I’ll miss in America, where I usually fall asleep in the silence of a dark apartment.

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http://tom.spacing-guild.net/2006/08/11/xijiang-august-08

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