Train Journey to Huang Shan

Our journey began in Changsha with a one hour train to Zhuzhou. We had been warned when we purchased our tickets the day before that there were no seats left, so with little other choice, we were prepared for the worst. One hour was not too bad, David and I leaned against a chair and read our books, moving out of the way whenever someone needed to get by. This, was manageable...

We had a short break in Zhuzhou, yet another town in China with over a million people and yet we have never heard of it! With an overnight train to catch, and an insight into the standing room only conditions, we thought we were quite smart in purchasing two mini plastic stools we could put in the aisle. As the gates to the platform opened, the bun fight began...

Luckily for us, some people got off the train as it got later into the night, and some very nice people who were with a tour group kept letting us sit down whilst they were up and about. I was very lucky that the man who left his seat, in which I sat down, didn't return for a good ten hours! David also managed to get a seat. We were once again a topic of conversation on the train, with smiles of interest!

David even managed to discuss a 1998 Michael Owen goal with a Chinese tour guide who was keen to practice his English! Food is the aim of the game on trains it seems with endless pot noodles passing by, and trolleys of food being sold (the trolleys just added to the chaos of the crowded aisles!!) Some Chinese snack foods are not the most convenient with all sorts of shrink wrapped meats, sausages and chickens feet juice spilling out...nice. The aisle was a non-stop flow of people, so you have to constantly let people pass as it was very narrow, and in the process, try to avoid the chickens feet that were being passed from one table to the other across the aisle!! All this kind of commotion continued for the whole fourteen hours!

Needless to say, not a lot of sleep was had. It was sitting down, head-bobbing, nap style, bum-aching sleep! Thankfully we had those seats to nap in, otherwise I doubt we would have slept at all seeing as there was no space for our stools anyway! They were quickly discarded and what we thought had been a smart purchase, was shoved underneath a chair.

Add to that a three hour delay and you can see how one simple train journey turned into an adventure!! There are always adventures in China!!!

At 7am, we left the train in search of the peacefulness of nature in the Yellow Mountain...