Fried Pancake in Chengde 馅饼
Beijing Railway station was surprisingly modern given that it was quite old. The exterior of the building seems to be quite old but it seems they renovated the inside, making it comfortable to passengers. This is Beijing’s principal railway station and one would expect that it would be crawling with people. However, this was not the case, when I got there at around eleven in the evening, there was hardly any crowd. It seems that most of the trains have already left. Good, at least I won’t have to worry about too many people.
The trains in China usually arrive on time, they would announce it if there was a delay. I have been on several train rides in China and already know what to expect. I didn’t like my train rides there, probably because I would always go for the cheapest class I could find. This time however, I actually aimed for a hard sleeper, but there were no tickets available. So hard seat it is. I already know this is probably the worst thing ever but I don’t have much choice.
Some Kind of Congee, But Tasteless
The seats were familiar, two or three people to a bench with a thin layer of cloth which is their excuse for a cushion. Unfortunately, my seat was already taken but people just said to chose some other seat since there were still a few empty seats. I managed to find a two seater with only one person on it. The seat across me was also vacant so we can raise use feet up if we want to. I know. I know, you shouldn’t do that, but when in Rome….
The ride on K4452/K4453 takes around six hours, roughly the same time as the bus in the highway. This however, is the perfect time to take it as it gets me there at 6:31 in the morning. This means I don’t have to worry about finding a place to stay. The ride was as expected, not very comfortable. But this was probably worse because it was quite cold. Chengde is a little further up north and they say it is colder there than in Beijing. The smokers near the door weren’t helping either since they keep going to the smoking area in between cars and leaving the door open, in the process letting the frigid air in. I can’t count the number of times I had to slam the door closed that night.
Obviously, I didn’t get much sleep and I was only too glad to see the sky brighten with the arrival of dawn. I have been to Chengde a few days before and I was happy to have made it here. It wasn’t as cold as that night anymore but I was still prepared in case the weather suddenly changes. I quickly looked for a restaurant to eat before starting my exploration. For all the trouble I went through just to get here, this place better be worth it.
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