M-whY

Xi'an was our next planned stop, and the night before, we had tried to get tickets from the train station. Ideally, we would've left early in the morning and arrived sometime in the evening. Everything was sold out for the next three days though, save for hard seats, which I'd only ride if there was absolutely no other way. The woman behind the window suggested an afternoon train to a town called Taiyuan, where there were more daily departures to Xi'an. This was more preferable to any other option we had, and though that meant another half day in Datong, I could deal with black boogers for a few more hours.

Just as Shanghai and Beijing are two different places, Datong and Beijing are worlds apart. Plenty of foreigners have discovered the treasures China's capital has to offer, much fewer have ventured out to a place like Datong. Caucasians, though not unheard of, are still a novelty to most locals. I know I myself can sometimes have difficulty traveling incognito - I wear Nikes, my luggage looks different from theirs, and my posture doesn't reflect years of hardship - but I know from experience that most will assume me a citizen of PRC, just from a wealthier part. Jon, however, stood out like a sore thumb.

People were polite about their staring though. They wouldn't hold their gaze long, and would wait until they had walked past before doing the full head turn for a better look. (Much like what guys do when a pretty lady walks by, except I doubt it's Jon's attractiveness that interested them.) "[Don't point]" a mother scolded her daughter, who didn't know better. "Hah-loo!" shouted the street peddlers. All the attention was on Jon. It was as if all of the sudden I was wearing tout repellant. No one gave me a second glance.

But being an apple in a peach basket does have its advantages. For example, I'm reluctant to take pictures of breakfast; People would look at me funny and I prefer to travel low-key. Jon could shoot all he wanted. His presence alone in some of these shops was cause for curiousity. "[Look at that foreigner taking pictures,]" they'd smile. To them, it was like someone taking a picture of a Big Mac. Why would anyone bother?

Our train didn't leave til half past two, so for a good portion of the morning, Jon did what I usually do to kill time: Work on the blog. He took his assignment seriously, calling it his fifteen minutes of fame, obviously an overstatement as I don't get THAT many hits. Meanwhile, I sought out an internet cafe to do my parts. When I returned an hour and a half later, he wasn't even a third finished.

"This is pretty hard," he (cheerfully) said, which leads me to explain why I pushed this task on him in the first place. For him, to write up a day was fun. For me... I have to admit, after 200+ entries, there have been times where I've thought, "To hell with it all," and considered giving up. I welcomed the day off.

1:00pm rolled around, and it was time to check out. Until boarding time, we hung out at the train station, where I had a rare opportunity to read (rather than write). Peter Hessler's "River Town" is a great book, given to me by a backpacker I had met on the Yangzi River. Full of observations about China I found my agreeing with, and with humor to boot, I highly recommend it to anyone who's thinking about traveling here.

2:30pm, and we joined the rush of passengers climbing aboard. Our soft sleeper berths were nice. Not as nice as the ones running between Shanghai and Beijing, but definately a step up from hard sleepers. There was even a flower in a vase sitting on the table. (No, I don't know what kind of flower it was.) Sharing our four bed compartment was an older man, who turned out to be quite friendly. As usual, he was incredulous when I told him I was American. I added that I had Taiwanese ancestry, to which he responded, "Taiwan is China." That, too, is a common response, though I brought it up matter-of-factly, just as someone might say "I'm from Chengdu" or "I'm from Hong Kong." I prefer not to get into discussions of this nature - I wonder if I have the vocabulary to hold one - so I just smiled and let is pass.

For five hours, we rolled past plains and wind carved crevices. Every once in a while, we'd pass a power plant or a mining town. Trucks belching black fumes crawled along the roads, caking buildings with soot. I wondered why people bothered hanging their laundry outside. Wouldn't it just get dirty again?

It was dark by the time we reached Taiyuan. The old man warned us it'd be cold outside, showing us the multiple layers he had donned. In preparation, I put on a couple more tshirts, but it turned out he had been exaggerating and I would've been fine the way I was. Immediately after getting off, we sought out the ticket office, hoping to get a transfer to Xi'an that night.

"Only hard seat available."

"And tomorrow? Any sleepers?"

"Soft sleeper tomorrow morning."

"I'll take two."

"There's only one left."

This was a problem. Further inquiry revealed that there'd be nothing available for the next two days either. I ended up buying the soft sleeper, and a hard seat on the same train, with the intention of taking the hard seat myself. But Jon would have none of it.

"I'm not your average Compunetix guy, I can handle it," he insisted. There was no point in arguing now. We were stuck in Taiyuan for the night and first order of business should be to find a place to stay.

Taiyuan, a typical Chinese metropolis and a provincial capital, isn't exactly a backpacker hotspot. With no youth hostels available, a 3-star hotel provided the best bang for a buck. 230yuan, or about US$28, for a roomy double. After getting settled it was time for dinner.

"Let's eat here," suggested Jon, pointing at restaurant that a lot of people were dining at. Hotpot was the specialty here, I just took the waitresses suggestion, beer duck hotpot. Jon, apparently compiling a picture book of all his meals, was snapping as way as usual. You know, being next to Jon, maybe no one will notice, I thought, and so here we are, another day, concluded with a picture of food.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!