Trip To South China Part 1

14:49 4-30-10 (sadly I won't be able to keep the exact time for most of the trip)

With our backpacks bulging and our feet yearning for the open road our multicultural troop set off on our journey.  Here begins a tale of adventure, trains, Chinese food, and aching backs.  A tale that shall be remembered for a little while and then eventually forgotten by the majority of people who read it.

Like most adventures it starts off with the person writing them being rather bored.  Our train didn't leave till 11:30 which left me with plenty of time to kill, most of which was slain by eyeing my bulging backpack and watching anime.  I also wrote my mother a happy birthday e-mail.

Around 10, Clement, Sandra, and I set off from our dorm to make the perilous trip to the station.  Crossing paths with foul chaotic motor beats and a truck so over burdened with plastic bottles that it truly was a sight to see.  Through it all we had to dodge and twirl around other adventures like ourselves.

Once safely at our destination our trio parted ways to scrounge for food; the French heading towards the golden arches and me preferring a more local bread shop.  While my search for food yielded great success my beverage was not exactly what I had in mind, it was certainly milk tea but with a very strange after taste and small jelly rectangles in it. :(

After our meal had been consumed, we donned our overweight packs and headed to the highly infested hub of the train station.  Looking much like an airport terminal we found our terminal, produced our tickets, and descended via elevator to our grand carriage… maybe "grand" is an overstatement more like a 55 Chevy, over used but still in working order.

On the train we were joined by our local comrade and semi-guide code named "Charlie."  Our new completed group occupied four bunk beds on this ride, two on the bottom, and the other two in the middle.  We also had a small table near the window which we used to play cards on.

In fact, speaking of cards a large portion of our time was spent playing a game Charlie taught us.  Kind of like a cross between Rummy and Uno.  China and America clearly trumped the French Representative. :)

Now after some talking and food, we still have 14 more hours to go so if something happens I shall record this historical event in thy analogs. 15:30

19:50

Stuck in our beds the band of adventures summoned their courage and sang the latest songs of heroics from across the lands.  But even in their merry making we managed to scrounge around and come up with a high class meal of dehydrated noodles and boiler tap water.  But it's not as simple as it may first appear for the water is seemingly boiled in the pits of hell itself and even finding a way to carry your bottle is fraught with peril.

In the evening the brave adventures were passed by a local fruit seller who offered a tempting batch of apples and slices of "orange-like" fruit.  But the fowl fruit supplier was actually a witch and tried to trick the travelers with bad "orange-like" slices.  Angered by her trickery the group demanded compensation in the form of TOMATOS!!! Good night. 20:07