Go South, Young Woman!

The title of this one is a parody of 'Go West Young Man'. Of course
the obvious difference is that I am not a man. The less obvious
difference is the direction. To the West of Wuhan lie Chong Qing and
Chengdu, both of which I've already explored and written about.
Although I wouldn't have minded returning to one or the other, there
are several other cities to explore in China. Besides, after the cold
of Wuhan, I'm ready for some warmth. So, south it is.

Even though this is peak travel season in China with New Year/Spring
Festival right around the corner I was able to score a train ticket
for the very next day to Shenzhen. A sleeper car train ticket no less.
Quite a coup for this time of year! All of this within one day of
getting my internet connection back. Not bad, I'd say.

The train was not due to leave till 8PM. That means I have all day to
chat my normal round of chatting, as well as clean the house and pack,
long before I have to be at the train station. Knowing the buses and
traffic patterns, even now that the main road construction is
complete, I resolved to leave the house at 5PM. That would put me at
the train station by 6PM, in plenty of time for my train. Next, the
debate ranged over luggage. Wheeled or carry only? Take my faithful
laptop or depend ont he good graces of the hotel I would be staying
at?

In the end, I packed Chinese style: minimally. One change of clothes
and several changes of underclothes in my trusty black bag, and one
bag of food. A whole bag, just for food? Sure! You should see how the
Chinese pack their food. Bowls of dried noodles, fruit, snacks and
some even bring whole home-cooked meals. I was only bringing a few
linseed bread sandwiches and 6 hard boiled eggs, some cookies and some
fruit. And some chocolate for my sweet tooth.

the next decision: walk across campus to avoid mud or take the quicker
way through the over-the-wall village to the bus? Over the wall, I
say. I can chance a little bit of mud in favor of getting to the bus
stop quickly. Besides, campus would be too depressing with everyone
gone, and going that way would be twice the walk. Just as I started
onto the muddy, unpaved part of the road that separated the community
from the greater world beyond a taxi was leaving. Having just realized
that I had forgotten my bus card and knowing I didn't have any single
Yuan bills for bus fare, and the leaden sky drizzling down to boot, I
took it as a good omen that this cab was just starting its shift, and
from my neighborhood, at that! The driver agreed to take me to the
train station, so I settled into the heated, weather protected
vehicle. On the way to the train station he confided that he is in
fact my neighbor and has seen me tramp through on the way to the bus
stop. It gave him a sense of pride to have intimate connection with
the foreigner and gave me a sense of community that my neighbor was
driving me to the train station.

Waht a way to start my traveling!

This train experience was the best I've had so far, bar none. The
train station was not overly crowded as has been in my past travels.
As soon as I got to the waiting room my train started boarding. I made
it to my car with no cattlelike herding and found my bunk with no
problems. No one stared at me or made comments, as I've grown to
expect from past trips. In more ways than one I was traveling
incognito. My bunk was a middle bunk, kind of hard on a long body like
mine but not terribly bad. Usually I go for the top bunk; there tends
to be more head room. All in all, not too shabby a trip... except for
the weird dreams and being woken up at 5AM.

Arriving in Shenzhen after what I now deem poor sleep and too little
of it, I tried to buy my return ticket. The plan was to only stay in
Shenzhen for 3 days. Gary had invited me to spend New Year festival
with him and his family. I had every intention of being there. The
Chinese train system had other ideas. There were no tickets back to
Wuhan. Well, now that was a pickle. Kind of killed my plans, didn't
it?

First things first. I am now in Shenzhen and must find lodging. Off I
go, looking for the hotel I had scoped out on www.hostelworld.com.
According to the directions it was within walking distance of the
train station, but according to past guest reviews it was going to be
hard to find. I did not find that to be true. Only after one
misdirection I was able to locate it by its colorful blue and yellow
exterior. By the time I got there I was sweating: it is substantially
warmer in Shenzhen than Wuhan. Of course I had to dress in layers
while still in Wuhan or risk freezing on my way to the train station
and aboard the train. As soon as I was introduced to my room I
divested myself of all but my outer layer of clothing.

Next I acquainted myself with the hotel and the amenities my room
provided. The room itself was a cubicle. 8x8, no window, just enough
room for a double bed and a small desk. The attached bathroom was
clean and equally economical of space: a shower stall with curtain, a
sink and a Western toilet. Everything was very clean. A small
television was mounted on the wall at the foot of the bed. No other
amenities that I've grown used to, such as a kettle for hot water, a
blow dryer or a place to hang or put away clothes. And no window. That
was rather strange. 2 public-use Blow dryers and mirrors were
festooned by the elevators. The hot water dispenser unit was housed in
a nook just beyond the blow driers, in a space where one might find an
ice machine in an american hotel.

Dizzy from poor sleep the temptation to sink onto my bed and nap was
great but I vetoed the idea. I didn't want to spend my first day here
asleep. I went in search of a cup of coffee and, sitting on a
sun-dappled bench, pondered my options. Usually I research my
destination before deciding to go there but, having won my internet
connection just hte day before buying my train ticket I did not have
time to do so. Still dizzy from poor sleep but now wired on caffeine,
and knowing virtually nothing about Shenzhen I decided to spend the
day riding buses.

Riding public transportation is a great way to meet a city. Resolving
to take the bus with the longest route I paid the 3Yuan fare and fixed
my eyes out the window. Within walking distance of my hotel I spied a
Walmart. Good thing: not being able to buy a train ticket out of this
city for the forseeable future, I'm going to need a lot more
listerine!