Empty Walls and Full Stations

Day: 240

Staring at the roof in my dorm room, it’s 5:30 in the morning again and I am wide awake. Too early to be sane but too late to fall asleep again, my alarm was set to go off in an hour. I get up and get to work, blogging, downloading pictures and playing on the internet for a while.  When it begins to approach 7am I finally pack up my computer and mosey downstairs for a cup of coffee and a sandwich whilst I wait for my tour to the Great Wall to begin.

I had paid a few dollars extra over the “regular” (ie restored) Wall tour to be able to get to a more or less abandon section of the Great Wall which had fallen to disrepair. This also came with a price tag of a 2 ½ hour trip, each way, packed it a tiny minibus with eleven others, next to a pair of not so miniscule Canadian brothers. At least I had a window to hang my head out and breath the smog filled air that has constantly been burning my eyes and throat.

Arriving at a tiny dirt path that bisected the road, we meant our guide who took us on a half an hour hike at a mind-numbingly slow pace to get up to the Wall.  When we finally crested the last hill and the Wall was in sight, he more or less let us off our leash and pointed us in the direction he wanted us to travel.

Just for everyone’s information, scrambling up and down a giant pile of rocks that once held off invading Mongol hordes, is just good times.

I took a grip of pictures, nothing I am too passionate about, and when we made it to the top of one particularly high tower, we found one enterprising Chinese man had set up shop to sell “I climbed the Great Wall” t-shirts, overpriced bottles of water, and Nescafe coffee drinks; The last of which I bought, partly because I was impressed with his ingenuity and partly because he was just a smiling mo-fo who posed for me in a couple of pictures.

From this peak (both in the day and the Wall) we headed down for lunch and another cramped minibus ride that couldn’t be beat.

Back at the hostel I decided it was time to get the hell out of Beijing.  I checked my Lonely Planet and it told me there was a nightly train to Pingyao, a little town about 12 hours south.  I left everything of value in my locker at the hostel and set off to brave the Beijing metro to get me to what I soon found to be the biggest train station I have ever been in; and even better, it being the last day of the May holiday (one of the biggest travel days in China), this place was packed.  People sleeping on their bags everywhere waiting for their trains, yelling, line cutting, x-rays, and general bedlam was ensuing.

I saw one glimmer of hope shone for me, a ticket window with a sign that said “English Speaking Counter” and there were only two people in line!  I queued up, giving the guy in front of me a little breathing room.  Bad choice, the Chinese behind me decided this breathing room was my own indecision and two of them bumped past to start berating the sales girl with questions while she was still helping the last guy.  She took it in stride and I stretched out my elbows, blocking anyone else from sneaking past.

At the window I asked “One for Pingyao tomorrow?”

“Standing only.” She replied. 

My ass if I was standing on a 12 hour overnight train .

Unfortunately I didn’t have any second choices ready and I was pushed out of the way in my second of indecision. I thought for a moment, but now I was becoming flustered and overwhelmed by this whole place, and the mobs of people where crushing my personal space and I quickly retreated to a cab back to the hostel. I had given up.

Guess I’ll just have to figure it out tomorrow… I thought as I settled in for my first beer at the hostel bar.

Fortunately for me, as with most things in my life, alcohol solved this little problem.

After a few beers I was regaling a pair of Israeli girls with my story and they told me they had found tickets on a bus for tomorrow evening to Pingyao.  I could even book at the hostel for an extra 30yuan ($3.50)!  I didn’t even finish my beer and I was at the front desk having them call and get me a ticket. Done and Done.

I don’t know how I do it but things usually just work out.