NanningFeb 9, 2006
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Barb waiting for the push and shove....
Barb's seat on the train....
Yes, the Never-ending New Year puts a wedge in the travel plans, as we found out.
The train station was jammed, and Jenny said that they do not assign seats on the train and they don't count how many tickets they sell. Nightmare. I hope that the pictures show what a bloody push-fest it was trying to get on the train. We said that we'll just shove with the rest of them and try for seats. No such luck. Barb was the first one to beat her way through - my god! - I thought she was going to lose an arm. They get one relative on the train and then start opening windows and pulling luggage and boxes on...UNREAL.
We were in the aisles sitting on our packs. Only for four hours though...and we all did manage at one point to get part of a butt cheek on to a seat. Whatever. Harsh on the back, but it's part of the experience, right?
The word that comes to mind now when I think Asia - Vietnam and China - is GOBSMACK. They all chew with their mouths open and spit and spew and make noise and it is quite repulsive. I just don't get it. They SPIT inside! Just grosses me out. Hard to eat. I swear, this one young pretty girl took about a half hour to eat a chicken leg on the train today and I wanted to choke her with it by the time she was done. The smacking!
OK, that's my rant. We're in Nanning for the night (and must confess that we went to Pizza Hut for normal non-noodle-smack food) and did a little shopping, and now must go, as we have a nine hour local bus tomorrow....
Yeah.
Stay tuned.
