matpat42's Blog

planes trains and automobiles
Date: Oct 7th, 2007 7:21:02 am - Subscribe
Mood: rested


October 1, 1949 Mao Ze Dong stood on the Tian an men Gate and declared the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
Fifty eight years later...it is a national holiday during which the traffic is heavier than at any time of year other than Spring Festival. So, what does an intelligent world traveler like myself do? Join the lemmings.

At five o-clock last Sunday morning, two friends and I got in a cab and went to the Airport. We got on a plane to the city of Harbin, where we got on a bus that took us into the city to the train station. At a pharmacy across the street form the train station we met up with the aunt of one of our colleagues who was going to help us get tickets to a still smaller city farther north and west called Zalantun, where my friend, M, is a teacher. Well, we were told that there were NO tickets to be found anywhere, no bus, no train. So we checked into a hotel, had a nap and went to lunch. on the way back to lunch we found a place that looked like a rail ticket agent. we didn't think much about it, but went to visit this absolutely incredible hundred year old Russian Orthodox church that has been semi-restored and turned into a museum. Really spectacular.

After dinner, we went past that ticket agent again. We looked at each other and thought, "Nothing to lose by trying" and went in and got three sleeper beds to Zalantun leaving just a couple of hours later. So, we ended up in ZLT about 22 hours after we left Tianjin. Had we been able to get train tickets from Tianjin, it would have been closer to 26 hours and we would not have had the chance to walk around Harbin. Really, I want to go to Harbin again, it is a really nice city, pretty, clean, major Russian influence. You can buy amazing bread there.

So, we finally get to ZLT and the skies there are clear and blue and chilly. I was expecting it to be colder, but all in all I was pretty comfortable the entire time. My friends were cold, but I am my own personal portable heater. Zalantun is a small city, about 20,000 and is nestled in a small valley surrounded by hills. Cars are not terribly common yet, and there are still donkey carts going up and down the streets. The donkeys are obviously valued by their owners. they are fat and gentle. No Mc Donald's, No KFC. There are some spectacular local dishes, (mostly made of meat) and milk tea. Milk tea can be salty or sweet. I prefer mine sweet. there is really not a whole lot to do there, so I got in a good visit with my friend, and spent some great quality time with those I traveled with.

The train ride home was gloriously uneventful. we had a first class sleeper so we got to lie down the whole way. In a second class sleeper there are six bunks to a compartment so sitting can only be done on the lowest bunk. In a first class compartment there are only four bunks so all passengers can sit or lie down at will. So we chatted and napped and napped and chatted and snacked. I think we had one official meal and the rest of the time simply munched on crackers, dried fruits and nuts and drank tea or instant coffee. It was cozy. When we got to Beijing, we had to travel from the North station to the central station which is on the far side of the Subway loop line. Fortunately for us, I am quite familiar with the Beijing Subway, and we got where we were going without incident. we were able to get tickets on the new high speed train from Beijing to Tianjin and were home and in bed by eleven.

What a great vacation!
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