Forty-two hours on a train in China

by Catherine Bodry on

Amtrak it ain’t.

On a budget, with time to spare and feeling guilty about my carbon footprint, I decided to brave the train from Shanghai to Kunming. A soft-sleeper (equivalent to first class) wasn’t any less expensive than the plane, so I opted for the hard sleeper class – three bunks to a wall, two walls to a “nook.” It was definitely an adventure: following is a rundown of the 42 hours it took to get to Kunming….

4 p.m. Almost as soon as I take my pack off in Shanghai’s southern train station’s “waiting lounge,” people start rushing out the door; I follow. I find my bunk and set about securing a spot on a shelf for my pack. I nod hello to the five other passengers sharing my area. Across from the beds are two seats that fold down from the wall; the only real place to sit are on these and the bottom bunks, since the middle and upper berths don’t have enough headroom. There are no other Westerners and no one around me speaks English.

6 p.m. I watch the Shanghai outer limits roll by. At first I thought the window was tinted gray, so dark was the sky. It was lightly raining and the pollution left the air hazy. Along the tracks stretched rows and rows of vegetable patches with all kinds of greens. At first I couldn’t understand why the patches were rectangles instead of squares, like on American farms, until I realized that these were developed on a scale designed for human labor, not machinery.

7 p.m. There doesn’t seem to be any bottled water for sale on board. Boiling water is readily available, and passengers all have plastic containers that they fill and let chill. I only have one small disposable bottle, and am getting thirsty. I eat a protein bar left over from my flights and a cup of instant noodles. People are smoking, but in between cars so it’s not too bad. Also, the cell phone noise and pop music seem mild compared to what I’ve expected.

8 p.m. I brave the squat toilet, and climb into bed. The bunks are narrow, with guard rails, so it’s impossible to curl up. There’s a tiny hook where I hang my glasses, headlamp, and, much later, ear plugs. The fluorescent lighting is garish and I throw my sweatshirt over my eyes. The youth in the next nook over are having a party, or so it sounds. I fall asleep to my iPod playing Elvis Perkins.

6 a.m. The stewards come through and open curtains. I crack all my joints and crawl out of bed. I eat another protein bar and take my last sip of water. I go to the bathroom, and soon as I’m in someone pounds on the door. I hear someone say something about the foreigner (“laowai”) and a few seconds later the pounding is louder. I give up on emptying my bladder and step out. A steward dumps a bucket of boiling water in the hole and all over the floor. Seeing the steam come off, I decide to hold it a bit longer – do I really need a poop steam bath?

9 a.m. I lay down to read and fall asleep. So do most of the people around me.

11 a.m. Everyone is eating lunch. A woman in a white head scarf rolls a cart filled with unidentifiable stuff on it. I eat my last protein bar.

Noon: I try to fill my disposable water bottle with boiling water, and it melts. Whoops. I return to my bunk and practice saying, in Mandarin, “I would like cold water,” even though I know it’s useless. I try walking to the dining car, but the doors are locked.

2 p.m. I begin knitting a hat, which gets a lot of attention; people stop to fondle the yarn. I sit on the bottom bunk with one of the friendly couples. I also start sending out text messages that read “I’m stillll on the train!” just for some contact.

4 p.m. After I about lose it over how thirsty I am, the train makes a big stop. I see food carts as we pull in the station, and when we’ve come to a complete stop I sprint along with all the other passengers. I grab two liters of water and a super-sized instant noodle. The train is in the station less than five minutes; I’m glad I did like the locals and ran.

6 p.m. I’ve been on the train for 26 hours. My friendly couples have been traded for a family with a charming but boisterous young child. I eat my noodles, and wait to brush my teeth at the sink next to the hot water dispenser. The young man inside sticks his feet in the sink one at a time and washes them.

8 p.m. I take an over-the-counter sleeping pill and fall asleep to David Sedaris.

6 a.m. I wake up to an impossibly fluorescent sunrise over rolling peaks. The land looks arid and dry, with a few trees. A nuclear reactor rolls by. A brand new highway, empty. People working in fields. A brand new city rising from the farmland. I send out more text messages and knit.

7 a.m. Ladies, I know you’re with me here. Thirty-nine hours on a train and my body can’t wait three more to start my period. Sometimes, it truly is the curse. I deal with it, and am grateful it didn’t start three hours in.

10 a.m. Arrival! I haven’t eaten anything since my last instant noodles at 6 p.m., my hair is oily enough to lube an engine, and I’m doubled over with cramps. I get in a cab, find my hostel, use the bathroom, shower, and then order a Western breakfast.

That about sums up the ride. In general, it wasn’t awful, but I’m not signing up to do it again next week, either.The train was surprisingly quiet and passably clean. A companion would have helped the tedium and some foreknowledge about eating and drinking supplies would have been nice as well, but all in all I’m glad I saved money and carbon by riding rather than flying.

Miners accused of destroying part of Great Wall of China

by Sean McLachlan on

It was built to keep out foreign invaders, but apparently the Great Wall of China can’t protect itself from the greed of Chinese corporations.

The Hohhot Kekao Mining Co. is accused of destroying 330 ft (100 m) of China’s most famous structure while prospecting for gold. The damage occurred in Inner Mongolia, where the company is prospecting. This stretch of the wall is one of the oldest, dating to the Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.).

This isn’t the first time the Wall has been damaged. Local farmers often steal stones for building materials, much like what happened to parts of Hadrian’s Wall in England, and last year five miners were sentenced to up to three years in jail for damaging the Wall while operating heavy machinery nearby. Officials said those responsible for the new damage could face up to ten years because of the greater amount of destruction.

As China goes through its Industrial Revolution, its cultural heritage faces greater threats. The Industrial Revolution in England destroyed many of that country’s ancient buildings and stone circles, and the expansion of St. Louis, Missouri, in the nineteenth century destroyed virtually all trace of a prehistoric Native American town. St. Louis used to be called “Mound City” because of the numerous prehistoric earthen mounds there, but now only one survives. it would be nice if China could learn from other countries’ mistakes.
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Why we love Shanghai dumplings

by Catherine Bodry on

I thought I would never move beyond curry as my favorite Asian food, but within 24 hours of arriving in China, a dumpling local to the Yangtze river delta is giving my complex curries quite a run.

My friend took me to a small corner “restaurant,” a typical Chinese joint with a few tables and bright fluorescent lights. Baskets of skewered vegetables, tofu and meatballs were stacked against a wall; I picked out several and handed my basketful to a woman who dumped it in a broth to cook. While we waited for our soup, a bamboo steamer arrived, and my friend explained to me how to eat the Shanghai dumplings inside.

“They’re filled with hot soup, so be careful not to spill it in your lap,” he said. He instructed me to bite a small piece of the purse-like dumpling, and then suck the scalding, oily broth out. After I slurped out the broth (the most difficult part was reigning in the dumpling with my chopsticks — I’m still a little rusty). I dipped the dumpling in vinegar (“It’s good for you!” explained my friend), and popped the whole pocket in my mouth. What followed was a mouthful of savory, meaty and doughy goodness, a pork soup explosion in my mouth.

These particular dumplings are copied all over China, but are best in Shanghai. Residents are so proud of them, in fact, that my friend figures that the worst insult you could ever give a Shanghai citizen would be “screw your mother’s dumplings.”

Photo: Gary Soup, Flickr

Exploring the Mekong River

by Kraig Becker on

Some of the most amazing adventure destinations center around the great rivers of the world. Whether it’s rafting the Rio Grande, kayaking the Congo, or simply taking a leisurely cruise down the Nile, we seem to have a fascination with these waterways that have played an important role in human development. One of those rivers is the Mekong, which stretches for more than 2700 miles as it meanders through Laos, Thailand, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

In Laos, the Mekong is known as the “Mother River” and it plays an important role in that country’s culture and lore. Travel writer Kate Quill discovered this for herself recently when she made her own Mekong journey, sharing the details with us in this article from the London Times. Kate spent a week on the river back in October, and describes a tropical landscape filled with dense jungles and rocky peaks.

On her journey up the Mekong, Quill stopped at a remote village that gave her a sense of what life is like for those that depend on the river for their daily needs. Villages like the one she visited remain largely untouched by the outside world, lacking nearly all modern conveniences. She also notes that the Laos’ lack of public health care is also evident when interacting with the villagers.

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit the four longest rivers in the world, spending time on the Nile, Amazon, Yangtze, and Mississippi. Each offered their own unique experiences and glimpses into the cultures of the countries that they flow through. The Mekong seems like it continues this tradition, and offers adventure travelers another destination to add to their list of must see places.

Giant jellyfish cause boat to capsize

by Kraig Becker on

A school of giant Nomura’s jellyfish are being blamed for the sinking of a fishing boat earlier this week, sending the three man crew overboard, and the 10-ton ship to the bottom of the ocean just off the eastern coast of Japan.

According to this story from Sky News, the fishermen were attempting to pull in a net filled with the creatures, but the weight of the catch caused the boat to roll onto its side and begin taking on water. The species of jellyfish are known to weigh in excess of 450 pounds, and can be more than two meters in diameter, which gives you an indication of just how large these beasts can grow.

2009 seems to have been a banner year for the Nomura’s jellyfish, as the waters between China and Japan have seen an unusual number of the creatures in recent months. Scientists believe it is due to near perfect weather and water conditions throughout the year, and the Japanese fishing industry is preparing for an onslaught of problems in the months ahead. In the past, the jellyfish have damaged fishing equipment, stung fish caught in the nets, and clogged commercial sea lanes.

I’m not sure about you, but a 6+ foot, 400 pound jellyfish sounds pretty frightening to me. The small ones are enough to keep most people out of the water, and I can’t imagine what it must be like to come across one of these while scuba diving or snorkeling, let alone dozens of them in one area.