As usual it was an early morning departure following insufficient sleep the previous night. We, Son Number One on his return to the UK via China and I, arrived at the airport just before the rush and got to wait for out flight. At Sydney we were bused from the domestic to the international terminal where all went smoothly and we soon found ourselves on a plane bound for Shanghai.
We left before dawn.
Leaving Sydney. Three Australian icons; the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and Sydney harbour.
At Shanghai we retrieved our luggage, underwent immigration formalities and walked a long, long way to the domestic terminal. The domestic terminal was large and spacious. We looked through some of the shops, including some selling refrigerated live crabs, sat around for a while and then went in search of our departure gate. Suddenly we were gone from the spacious atmosphere and into a large room very full of waiting passengers. The classy ambience had really disappeared and hopes of waiting while being comfortable, semi comatose yet alert, evaporated. Eventually, and late as is common in my experience, it was time to go. The bus to the plane took so long it seemed like we were busing to Beijing. At last we arrived and boarded. Contrary to previous experience, with the same airline on the same route, and advice from check in staff we were offered a full meal very late at night. After a couple of hours we arrived in Beijing.
Shanghai domestic terminal before we went to our departure gate.
Some of the live crabs for sale at the airport shops.
I will be glad if the opportunity ever arises to travel at off peak times. I’ve had my fill of full planes. I’ve never had any bad experiences; no screaming babies near my eardrums or such like, but I do like more space than my cattle class entitlement.
At the airport we encountered a cheerful taxi driver who managed to track down the location of our hostel without any angst or tantrums. We may have paid a little more than was strictly appropriate, but after being up and on the go for over 20 hours we didn’t care. We just wanted our beds. The hostel was ready for us and soon we were in the land of nod.
This is the street where the hostel was located.
This is a major street in an old residential area which the hostel’s street runs off.
The next two days were slow and quiet in keeping with energy levels. We walked around one small lake because I mistook it for another. We then walked around part of another and then sat and watched the world go by from comfortable chairs at a café/boat rental business. We also visited a lakeside memorial to a man born in the city where I work who was famous as an astronomer and hydrologer around 800 years ago. The owners of my favourite Beijing restaurant were having a night off or else the restaurant had changed hands because the service was definitely on the poor side.
Fishermen & their poles on the small lake.
This “You are Here” type map was the clincher as to which lake we were walking around! I thought I had remembered the way to the lake from 13 months before but what I had remembered was the way to the subway station.
Some of the fishermen on the larger Houhai Lake. Some had extremely long rods.
Some swimmers in Houhai Lake.
Some of the boats on and buildings near Houhai Lake.
These men in their little boat collected weed from one section of the lake, which had been separated off with bamboo, and deposited it in a different area.
The water weed was removed from the area behind the ducks and birds.
The next day we visited a nearby market. It was the usual mix of fruit/veg/prepared foods/meat,fish,poultry/hardware/household necessities/clothing & accessories. I recognized one of the stallholders I’d bought a pair of cotton pants/trousers from a year earlier. They had done their job and I ditched them about a month before in Kunming in an effort to reduce weight for the return trip. Afterwards we headed back towards the lake but didn’t get much further than the café/boat rental place. My son hired a kayak, at what we later discovered was an inflated price, and enjoyed paddling on the lake and seeing parts we hadn’t visited on foot.
Some of the vegetable area of the market.
In the market. One of my students told me that the bamboo pram used to be a common place for babies to sleep. I’ve seen one somewhere else.
This building was on the way to the lake. We had walked past it the previous night when the lights were on and the doors open. It was very basic dormitory accommodation for working men as was another nearby on the main road.
An Aussie kayaking on Lake Houhai. Unlike the previous day the sky was grey.
Soon it was time to prepare for the train trip to Xingtai. We got a cab without incident, but the driver wanted to drop us opposite the railway station. I wasn’t keen on the idea as I was used to being dropped outside the front entrance. However, the last section is a grindingly slow trip for vehicles and I understood why he wanted to dispose of us quickly. I had a sherpa so I agreed. It also meant we were far enough away to get photos of the imposing building which is the railway station.
One of the many buildings seen on the way to the station.
Another
More. I don’t know why the sky was grey over the lake but blue a couple of kilometres south.
Beijing West Railway Station. As is common with large cities Beijing has a number of railway stations and you may need to transfer between them to complete a journey.
My sherpa with most of our luggage. The covered walkway we used to cross to the station is in the background.
The station was its usual busy self but we did manage to find a seat in the waiting room without any trouble. The hostel had been unable to get soft seat tickets for us so were faced with sitting in hard seat class. The seats aren’t hard, but very cramped and carriages are usually filled with standing passengers and their luggage.
Our train originated in Beijing and we were given plenty of time to board. It was very crowded. Fortunately we didn’t have to fight our way through any migrant workers and their enormous bags. Our carriage was also extremely crowded with around 40 people standing in the aisle and the ends would have been full too. Never-the-less, the little snacks trolley managed to fight its way through the passengers on several occasions. We had to dislodge two standing passengers from our seats before we could sit down. Apparently that train has a reputation for delays, but we were lucky that it left on time.
Boarding the carriage. There were numerous people still to board and find a position before the train left.
Tiny folding stools are commonly on sale around railway stations to provide standing passengers with a seat. After our first stop I saw a young woman enter the carriage holding aloft a pink pouffe. By the second stop she had reached the middle of the carriage where we were located. The pouffe had been deflated. After sitting on the floor on a piece of paper for a while she removed a small pump from a bag and with the help of a friend inflated the pouffe and placed its pink rabbit cover on it. She then sat down and proceeded with her embroidery, something many Chinese women with time on their hands are never without. We arrived at our stop and unexpectedly got a taxi without any trouble and arrived at college without incident.
Some of the photos belong to the Aussie kayaker.
