Everyone Speaks to Me in Russian!

Sunday, May 30, 2010--Beijing towards Inner Mongolia   Wes' flight to Chicago where he will visit his mother was not until 16:00, so he got to sleep in this morning.  My train, however, left Beijing North Train Station at 9:04, so I had to set the alarm and get up early.  I tried to get onto the computer, but the connection was just too slow that early in the morning.  My guess is that the Chinese guests who get up early get on their computers first thing each day.   The metro trains were running more slowly than on other days.  It took me about 40 minutes to get to the train station, but that still was 1 1/2 hours before the departure time.  Now that Wes is not along, I have to worry about everything myself.  I almost took the metro in the wrong direction when I switched trains this morning.  I caught it and got off the train and rushed to the other one on the opposite side of the platform just in time.  Of course, it would not have been a major problem.  I could have gone to the next station and transferred directions there using up only maybe 10 more minutes.  But now I must anticipate everything and double-check myself rather than relying on Wes to help out.  Some of my present worries:  I have a 29-30 hour train ride ahead of me.  Will my compartment companions be nice?  Will they smell okay?  Will I have to deal with any of them snoring?  Will there be room for me to store my luggage out of the way?   When the train arrived, I could not find the numbers to indicate which exactly was my place.  With the number "2" on my ticket, I knew I should be in an end compartment.  A man at the first compartment motioned for me to go to the other end.  When I got there, someone looked at my ticket and indicated the middle bunk on the inside wall.  My mind wondered, "What could be their numbering system?"  Later, I learned that my whole compartment had only 1 and 2 followed by a Chinese symbol to indicate 1 lower, 1 middle, 1 upper, 2 lower, etc.  Then it made sense.  Furthermore, the train arrived looking dirty.  It had already been traveling overnight.  The bedding was messed up by whomever had been in my place, and apparently there were no plans to replace it with fresh linens. Fortunately, I got my bags stored on the overhead rack and was able to lock them in place with my bicycle chain I carry so that I could sleep during the night without worrying about them being stolen.    There was a strange situation related to seating.  Anytime I have ever taking a sleeper car, the bottom "beds" have served as seats for all 6 passengers during the day.  That wasn't the case here.  The two men who had the bottom beds were spralled out on them.  Everyone with a middle or upper bed was either in his bed at 9:00 in the morning or sitting on a small seat in the aisle.  I checked, and all compartments were that way.  It really made traveling uncomfortable, since it wasn't possible for everyone to sit up.    Instand noodles are the big hit for meals on the train.  Everyone seemed to be carrying them.  Each train car has a huge boiler filled with steaming water.  There was constant traffic past me as people went to the boiler to add hot water over their boxes of noodles.  One of my 5 compartment companions did something that looked like a good idea.  He opened his noodles, added hot water, than peeled two boiled eggs and placed them inside the box.  By the time he was ready to eat his soup, he had two hot boiled eggs to eat along with what comes in the packaging.   A young woman in the compartment spoke some English.  She started talking to me.  Then everyone in my compartment had questions about me.  They were all nice people, thank goodness, and they seemed fascinated that an American was traveling alone on such a long trip to such a remote area.   For dinner, I bought a prepared meal off the cart.  It had rice, boiled egg, a green vegie, tofu in a dark sauce, and fried fish (with lots of bones).  The older man who had put the boiled eggs in his soup gave me something that looked like a dried fig and told me to eat it with my meal.  He was having one, too.  It wasn't a fig unless figs get VERY hard and chewy when they are dried.  Also, it was quite salty.  But that was good since most of the meal needed something to flavor it.  I knawed off a bite every once in a while to please the old man and to add to the taste of my meal.   After eating, some young people started showing an interest in me.  There were 28 of them traveling together.  They had been to a two-month class in the south and were returing to Hailaer where they work for a large government-owned power plant.  One young woman spoke Engish quite well, and it was obvious that one of the young men could understand everything I said.  About 12 of us visited for two hours.  It was fun to meet them and learn about their jobs and their plans.  And they had plenty of questions for me about everything.  It was one of those warm, wonderful encounters that tend to only happen when one travels alone in a foreign country--a great experience!   Spending Update:  During the 23 days that Wes and I traveled together, my expenses were $622.59 for an average of $27.07 per day.  Now that I will be paying hotels completely on my own, I expect that average to jump about $15-20 more per day for the rest of the time I am in China.   Monday, May 31, 2010--On the Train and in Manzhouli   The bed on the train was both hard and narrow.  Fortunately, they cut off the air conditioning system in the evening which allowed me to use my comforter to soften the bed some.  Still, I had a bit of a restless night.  I had to sleep with earplugs due to the noise of the train, especially a loud vibrating sound it made.    I awoke around 7:30 and began reading.  I finished reading my current novel--A Woman in Jerusalem by A. B. Yeshoshua.  It is sometimes quite funny.  I gave it 3 stars out of 4.   As the day progressed, I visited with all the people from the previous evening but in smaller groups.  I also visited with a new young woman, a banker, who had gotten on the train during the night.  Two different people gave me phone numbers for my next two destinations in case I had any kind of problem.  And several of them made suggestions about things to do and places to stay.    We arrived in Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia at 14:30.  It had taken 29 1/2 hours to get here.  My guidebook has only two pages on the city and no map.  Fortunately, I had gotten onto Google a few days ago and drawn my own map from it.  I had no problem finding my way from the train station to town.  I saw a hotel just as I was on the edge of the center of town and went in to check on a room.  The better hotels here charge rather high rates because this is the tourist season which is rather short due to the lack of a long summer here.  This hotel was obviously a step down from the 3-4 star places where Wes and I had been staying.  But I would give it two stars.  Furthermore, a woman was actually on her knees cleaning the carpeting which looked clean already!  The room was bright and clean with a TV and a very clean bathroom.  The best part is that the rate is only $15 per night.  The worst part is that I had to carry my suitcase up 96 steps to get to my floor!   I am just next to the Russian border and near the border to Mongolia.  All three countries come together just a few kilometers outside of Manzhouli.  That creates an interesting situation.  The countryside as we approached the city was grasslands like in Mongolia with sheep farmers and occasional yurts (Mongolian tents) to be be seen.  In town, however, the architecture is greatly influenced by Russia, and all signs are in Chinese and in Cyrillic letters.  Everyone who sees me just assumes that I am a Russian and speaks to me in the Russian language.  And I have seen plenty of Russians on the street myself.  They come here for cheap shopping compared to prices in their country.    I've only been in town for a couple of hours.  I have taken some photos of some of the old Russian-style wooden buildings and of some of the new architecture influenced by Russian styles.  I still need to explore the place, however.  I am hoping I might be able to order some Russian food to eat tonight.  I'm now sure, though, since no one hear seems to speak English.  Maybe I will be lucky and a Russian who is in a restaurant will speak English and be able to help me.