We're on a train to Lhasa, come on inside - 1 October 2008

The train is another of those experiences that Lost on Planet China makes out to be worse than it really is (or at least my experience of it was).  Before reading the book I had the popular, romantic misconceptions of train travel - namely that it would be a genteel affair, similar to something out of an Agatha Christie novel (excepting the murder of course).  When Troost described it as the worst toilet he came across, though, that notion quickly evaporated.

A word about the accomodations - there are multiple classes, including soft sleeper, hard sleeper, and what I'll call non-sleeper (i.e., chairs).  We were in hard sleeper, which has 6 bunks to a compartment, and no closing door.  Here's a pic:

For comparison's sake, soft sleeper only has 4 beds and a closing door, while what I'm terming non-sleeper is just hard-backed chairs.  We passed through the non-sleeper cars on the way to the dining cart, and it just looked miserable.

If you ever happen to ride on this train YOU WANT THE TOP BUNK.  Although it's a hassle to get into, there are two very good reasons you want it:

1. You get _marginally_ more room
2. The bottom bunks are considered communal space, since that's where people sit

Jen got an object lesson in #2 this morning when the Chinese family that had 2 of our 6 bunks came in and had breakfast, using the bunk she was still trying to sleep in as sitting space.  I was in a middle bunk, and there wasn't room for me to sit up.  I basically had to lever myself into place when I wanted to sleep.

A great(?) thing about being on the train is the people watching.  One of the Chinese guys got onto the train and immediately took his pants off.  To be fair he was wearing long johns, but it still caught most of us by surprise.  Especially since he saw fit to accessorize with a sport coat.  During one of the stops he actually got off of to smoke a cigarette wearing his loafers, sport coat, and long-john bottoms.  For the entire two days we were on the train he was a constant.  Secretly I think we were all envious, especially since he was travelling with a much younger (and more attractive) Chinese lady.

Early on, Jen saw fit to take a group picture, so here most of us are before our spirits were crushed by the train:

Putting my Dale Carnegie training to good use, this is what I spent most of the time doing:

Wrapped in a nurturing cocoon of technology

The evening took a strange turn.  I came back from dinner to find Mil conversing with a Chinese gentleman, one of two who replaced the folks that previously were in our compartment.  (Another aside:  passengers may change on the train, but the bedding stays the same *shudder*).

He asked Mil to ask me if most Americans have mistresses.  I'm not sure why he asked, but I told him that we don't, in my experience.  We talked a little while longer, and then he read my palms, offering several predictions.  The most interesting to me was that my first child will be a male child.  No idea if he's the Chinese equivalent of Luco Brasi, though.