From Guiyang to Beijing

Sunday, June 27th, 2010 in: News, Travel

The train ride from Zhenyuan to Guiyang was surprisingly pleasant, even though we were in a hard berth. The bunk beds were stacked 3 high, and the hallways were overflowing with people who couldn’t afford or couldn’t get reserved seats for themselves. What’s even crazier is although our journey was 5 hours, all of the guys sitting out in the hallway had been on the train since Guangzhou, over 25 hours. That’s quite a journey to take even with a reserved seat. Nevertheless, everyone was in surprisingly good spirits, and the mood elevated even more as we approached Guiyang. The capital of Guizhou, Guiyang is smaller than Wuhan but still a sizeable metropolis with few features to distinguish itself from any other large city in the region. We killed some time in the KFC knockoff next to the train station, our last meal together on this journey.

It finally came time to take my leave, and we walked to the bus stop for the airport shuttle. The guys weren’t staying in Guiyang, so they were heading back to the train station to continue on to Chongking to start the second leg of their trip. Grandpa pressed a 10 yuan note into my hand for the bus. “I said I’d get you to Beijing, now you’re on your own.” I thanked him and Jim and Ben for letting me tag along with them, I got a taste of China that I surely wouldn’t have been able to experience if it weren’t for them, and I really was thankful for the opportunity.

The rest of my flight to Beijing was rather uneventful, but once I got there I knew a new adventure was waiting for me…

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