Go The Long Distance Trains

Still no photos yet because there haven't been any worth taking - I'm sitting at the Guilin Flowers Hostel (30 kuai a night for a dorm bed) in their shared lounge area where there's a pool table, some computers and a small bar. We took the te kuai (special express) train from Shenzhen yesterday and it was a 14 hour ride to Guilin arriving at 10am this morning. In the words of the guy who was sleeping 2 bunks above me (translation): 'Express my arse, how does a express train take 14 hours to go anywhere'. In hardsleepers there are 6 bunks to a compartment - they've been upgraded now, they've now got carpet and airconditioning, and private luggage storage space similar to soft sleepers - that's progress. Even the trains that are the last bastion of communism are going capitalist to compete with the cheap airlines springing up in China.

There is no onboard entertainment on China trains, you pass the time by talking to strangers about all sorts of bullshit, eating the instant noodles you brought with you cos train food is so bad, and sleeping the rest of the time. Some people bring books but I can only read the 'Rough Guide to China' so many times before I got bored so I went to search for interesting types to talk to including a Hunan construction worker who had lots to say about why China and Japan will never be at peace (they've been at war for 1000s of years, the WW2 atrocities are just a small part of the problem), why China will never invade Taiwan (cos Taiwanese people are Chinese as well, and Chinese shouldn't fight with Chinese). Then there was the middle aged Pommy English teacher on the train who also talked world politics with me and what we thought of the changes in Chinese society - he'd been in China for 6 years and hadn't bothered to learn mandarin properly - shame on him haha.

Got to Guilin this morning - been for a walk around the city - fuck its great to be back in China, the grubbiness, dodgy food stalls (had noodles for 3kuai this morning), touts, the atmosphere, the general 'can't give a shit' attitude from the Chinese people - I absolutely love it. I'll be going to Yangshuo down the Li river for a few days starting from tomorrow because there's really not much to see in Guilin city, pity its the dry season so there's not much water in the river but that just made everything around herea whole lot cheaper and there's less tourists to deal with.

Promise photos will be uploaded next time.