Making our way through China and its curiosities (from Xi'an to Chengdu)

Right now, we're sitting in the train from Xi'an to Chengdu and try to get some rest. Quite impossible. We've managed to get on the train, but as we said in our last post, no sleeping wagon, only seating left how stupid can we be to travel on a Sunday) If it wouldn't completely destroy our sleep, it actually would be fun; you can't get anything more local than this. With 118 (seated) Chinese and quite some more standing in one wagon, it's definitely an experience.

When we got at the station before boarding, there was a huge queue. Imagine the worst and then triple it. Pushing people, Chinese getting agressive. Apparently we were in the fast lane, only for people in a real hurry, but our steady "sorry I don't understand Chinese" got us through anyway. Unluckily, this meant that the security had a bit more time to check our luggage while there were fewer people in the line after the first checkpoint. They took our gas bottleT; not allowed on the train...Getting upset did not help. "Meo... Meo... No.. No.. Please stay calm. " and then she left. Our swiss army knife was also almost confiscated, but somehow they wanted to get rid of us and they let us through after 15 minutes of argueing. Great start (and of course right before we aim to use our camping gear in the next days.) After security check, more pushing in the waiting room is required, as you wait in 3 lines before another gate(no.3). My short sanitary break cost us our place in line, but we managed to board anyway. (Toilets remain a challenge. Whoah, these squat toilets had no cabins, peeing in a row. Most aim, but don't succeed. The different coloured leftovers (yellow, brown, red!! almost made me vomit! Great.)

This time we have a bite more space in the train and a window seat, so we might be able to get a little sleep later on. Being between all the Chinese is really fun actually. But you cannot go anywhere without being stared at. I pour my tea...they watch, I look out of the window...they watch, I wash my hands... They watch. I stare, they keep staring back. After 2 hours now, we have become a little less interesting, but I am just waiting for the moment that someone points a camera in our direction again. It's a zoo, and we feel like the tigers. Most funny is Jan, as he is more than a head taller than most. A white giant in shorts with a shoe size they simply cannot understand. We keep getting people placing their feet next to his :) 

Right now, the man with the food cart is fighting his way through. Shouts his way through. Quite distinctive; if there are three things we remember of this country, it is the food, the crowd and the noise. A Chinese girl in the hostel said: "silence means alone. We don't like to be alone, that is why we shout in our telephones and towards each other."

As for the food, we ate lots on the street, despite the rumours of bad oil from the sewers and worse hygienic circumstances. We try everything we can find, from fermented wheat to salted walnuts, fire flamed soups, mystery meat buns (as you can't tell what kind of meat this is supposed to be), ricenoodles for breakfast (Jan's favourite :)) and all-the-same-tasting-pastries. They fry most food so hot, we believe (hope) all bacteria must have died. So far we've been lucky :) And its relatively cheap! At least on the street you can watch them prepare it, which is something different in a restaurant. In the more back alleys food costs between 4 and 8 Yuan (0,5-1€). If you ask the better educated and richer Chinese you have to count on 40-50 (5-6€). They will lead you to very expensive restaurants, as part of the culture to not lose your face and then you are actually paying western prices like 250 yuan (30€) for a duck!! Our friends in Beijing told us that people will actually order (way) too much food, just to be able to show that they are not poor. As we eat everything we must be really low on the social ladder:)) You can see all these signs of New Money like everyone smoking everywhere, the car as expensive as possible (more new VW, Mercs and Beamers then seen elsewhere in europe in the cities, proudly presented big (naked) bellies,  newest phone available,.... You name it :) 

It's the same with speaking English. Chinese people would rather say they don't speak it and turn away than make a mistake. It makes it really hard to find directions. We're stuck to the Lonely Planet, even though that means that we don't get off the beaten track. Quite sad in a way. Even those working in the hostel, that speak a fair amount of English are having trouble to really understand us and give us funny answers or simply the wrong information. The maps are not precise enough, patience is our only hope.

But sticking to the guide book has also an advantage: it also means that we run into (Western) people along the way all the time. We hooked up with a US-Can couple, three Austrians, two Polish and some Dutch. Its been really nice, a little bit like a fellowship and we felt less alone. Also our New chinese mobile nr made it a little easier to find each other again, and we felt a bit more independent. 

Xi'an unfortunately has been the place where we have to say goodbye to most the troup that now either heads off to Shanghai, or north-west in search for the little possibility of catching a glimpse of the monks from the land of snow. We decided against visiting the most famous northern buddhist Monastry, as it is hugely recommended by our guide book. We are sick of tourist traps. That means prices will have tripled and the amount of tourists as well. I don't think we will find the serenity we are looking for. Two of oir friends head off that direction, as we are heading southwest now. And as said before, we've given up to reach the Land of snow by train; our different nationalities will make it impossible. No way. We've been pretty disappointed by it as entering the Himalaya here was reason No. 1 to actually go to this side of the planet. But there is nothing we can do about it, so we're reading about Sichuan (Chengdu) and hope that from this side, we might also see a bit of the magical mountains getting onto the high plateau and feel like being there...:) we will see.