Taking the Motorcycle Taxi to Taishan International Youth Hostel 泰山国际青年旅社
I was very impressed with the high speed train I was taking out of Beijing. It seems that the rail transport in China has improved by leaps and bounds at least in certain areas. I can’t wait until they upgrade the train from Beijing to Chengde. So where was I heading off to anyway? I am heading off to the city of Tai’an 泰安in Shandong 山东 province. The ride will be taking around three hours although there would be a couple of stops, but since the train is travelling so fast, I don’t think it matters much. I’m glad that Beijing has this fast train going there as it makes things much more convenient for me, although I have to pay a little more for the high speed comfort. Incidentally, this train goes all the way to Shanghai in nine hours. If you are not in that much of a hurry, the high speed train from Beijing to Shanghai is the way to travel in style.
Dorm Beds in Taishan International Youth Hostel 泰山国际青年旅社
As I was relaxing on my seat, I noticed this shabbily dressed elderly man who didn’t look very Chinese, he had a headgear and was carrying a sack. He definitely looked out of place in the train. He didn’t seem to have a seat either. A little while later, one of the staff of the train started interrogating him and asking for his train ticket. He starting speaking in a language which I couldn’t understand and apparently neither could they. A lady train staff, who seemed to be from security, raised her voice and demanded his train ticket and ask where he was going. Despite this the man continued speaking in a foreign language. Eventually, the lady had her way and the man spoke in Chinese saying he was on his way to Kashgar in faraway Xinjiang.
At Least I have an Option
Apparently, the man managed to sneak in on the train without anyone noticing. I guess if you bothered looking for a seat you should be able to do the same thing yourself. However, the man was found out and he was escorted by train security and will be let off at the next stop. I have no idea what will become of that man, but he seemed desperate enough to stow aboard a train to Shanghai. Maybe he doesn’t know how to get there since it was actually the wrong way, or maybe he was lying about Kashgar, who knows. What I do know is not to get on the bad side of train security. The lady was certainly very scary.
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