I am going to a bus station to buy a ticket to Beijing and if I am lucky I am going to Beijing!
It tooks some time to get to South Railway Station in Shanghai, just like last time I had to run. There was no available train tickets to Beijing already. That’s another thing I really didn’t like here as you have to plan way ahead to the future. However, I’ve managed to get a bus ticket – just 16h on a bus and I am in Beijing. It was very unexpected and unplanned. I am supposed to meet some newly met friends, including the journalist that I’ve met in Guilin.
Currently I am sitting in Starbucks and sipping my coffee. This ocation was wortha celebration! Also it was a very good coffee, compared to other local places, where it was very diluted – not real coffee.
Yesterday I’ve got Shanghai only after 11:00pm, so I had a bit of inconvenience with finding a hostel, but in the end I’ve managed it. Also, at that time in Shanghai bus station it was a little bit dodgy. I didn’t feel safe.
Today I’ve got up early, eat the breakfast: some buns with tea and I was getting hungry now. It will probably be enough of the food I’ve got until Beijing, but I should probably eat before I board the coach. Can’t wait to see the Forbidden city and Great Wall of China! So cool! I am feeling very anxious and excited!
By the way, while waiting for the bus I thought I will list some cultural difference I have noticed. The central railway station and bus station looks really impressive here. The bus station felt like an airport, which would be twice as big as Lithuania’s Vilnius international airport. Oh yes back to cultural differences:
- Public toilets. I enter a public toilet in the station and on the left I see toilets to squat and on the right unrinals. When passing by toilets I can see on each of them a person squatting and taking a dump sideways. No doors. I probably would get a shy anus like that!
- Girls walk around here holding hands and guys often walk hugging over the shoulders, which is not very common in Lithuania and I don’t think either of them are gay.
- In metro you often have to push people when boarding and leaving the carraige. It is kind of normal here.
- In the streest they are often offering massage and sex. However, I didn’t get such offers myself, but I saw that from a distance with others.
- If a local person helps you, it doesn’t mean they really want to talk to you. They will give you fake email or mobile number.
- Spitting, farting is kind of normal here. No one pays attention to that. Even spitting in the trains.
- Throwing trash on the floor is also part of the culture as the streets are being washed in the evening. Sometimes they waste a lot of water for such washing!
- If the water is going in a weak stream, don’t be upset as it might stop running at all, when 24 mln. inhabitants will flush their toilet haha.
3 hours already on the bus from Shanghai to Beijing. We’ve just stopped for half an hour and I ate very quickly. We exchanged a few words with an English couple from the bus and the journey continued. Also what kind of trip without adventures. When we stopped we went to eat without knowh when the bus leaves, which was very worrying.
Atmosphere in the bus: remined a camp of illegals. People sleep everywhere: on on the floor even near the toilet. Oh yes this time we had a toiled on the bus! This bus way much more comfortable. It even had white sheets, which looked quite old and my legs were really itchy from it, but better than last time when I had just a blanket without any sheets the shell under which I slept. I got my bed right in the same place like last time in the back of the bus. Only this time it doesn’t blow hot air currents into my face. However, this time I had unique aromas aromas coming from the toilter. It took me awhile to to realize where that smell was coming from. At some point I thought it was my clothes due to the lack of washing started to smell of urine already haha.
Buy a trip to Beijing buy bus and get free climbing lessons as an extra! Since there are people sleeping on the ground (I even took a photo) and when you want to go to the toiled you have to climb like amonkey using those handrails without touching the ground. Also some women were climing wearing their skirts and them men on the floor were just staring from below. Girls, don’t travel wearing skirts or short dresses for your own safety!
So after we ate the moaning started in the bus. I thought it reminded me of The Sims computer game simulation, when the sims moans and groans and makes strange sounds. All that was missing just for them to wave when they need to go to the loo.
The window is also raminded of Sim City in many places, because of all the cranes everywhere, new buildings being built surrounded by scaffolding. Most of the houses are built in blocks and one slightly different from the other. Some houses seem to be abandoned, just like in Sim City, when house abandoned were turning black.
My sandal just fell onto someone’s head in the bus… Ooops…