I join the quiz night at Route 66, have a pizza for dinner and as
planned, I have what I don't eat packed away as lunch tomorrow on the
train. The pizzas are very large here and defy all but the biggest
appetites. I have a great time. My team wins every prize which is
marvellous but also rather embarrassing: we get so much booze
delivered to our table that we give some of it away, in particular
about a gallon of rum and coke. There is enough to share with
everyone. Perhaps needless to say I get pretty drunk and there's a
singalong on KTV following the quiz. I can't remember what time I
went home but I imagine it was around midnight or maybe later. The
next day I wake up with a dull hangover and have forgotten parts of
the evening. I can't remember performing in the Karaoke so when
someone sends me a photograph of myself in action I groan with
embarrassment. I look like some old fart in his second childhood who
should have given up such things about 15 years ago!
I've planned to get the bullet train to Beijing at just before 12
noon, so I have a leisurely breakfast, pack my computer and
accessories so I can keep in touch with Sarah and my family. I want
to dismiss work from my mind, so won't be going on my work email for
a few weeks. I check and re-check everything, and empty my fridge of
vegetables and eggs which would only rot if left there, so I give
these away to a friend of Iris who is taking care of my house plants
while I'm away. Finally the time comes, about 10.30 am, for me to go.
Owing to the deep cold in northern China I have to put on several
layers of clothing and at times it feels as if I were dressing in a
spacesuit or a deep-sea diving suit. I have an inner layer of a
T-shirt, pants and socks, a second layer of a long-sleeved T-shirt,
jogging bottoms and more socks, then a third of trousers or jeans and
a sweatshirt plus thick socks. This is followed by a hoodie and two
coats, gloves, hat and walking boots. It takes about 15 minutes to
put all of this on.
Whenever I set out on a journey like this I have the feeling of
travelling: it's indefinable, just a sense of being on my way. I try
to think only of the stage immediately ahead, like the taxi ride to
the railway station, which always forms in my head as “airport”.
I found out a little while ago that I'm not alone in thinking this:
it seems to be due to the fact that Chinese railway stations have the
feel of an airport and they behave like airports with baggage checks,
passport checks, chicanes and huge LED screens for information.
I watch the landscape flash by from the window of the train and
recall the very first visit I made to Beijing last year at around
this time.
Chinese New Year has fallen early this year, it is the Year of the
Rooster. I have with me the pizza from last night which I kept in the
fridge and it's kept very well. It forms a good and satisfying lunch
on board the train, and I make a mental note to try catching an
earlier train next time so I can have lunch in Beijing, which is what
I did the first time.
The most tedious part of this journey is always the transfer from
Beijing West railway station to my accommodation in Dongcheng North,
my preferred area to stay in. I know the Beijing subway well enough
by now to find my way there without a map, but it takes about an hour
with a line change and there is never anywhere to sit as it's so
crowded. Finally I arrive at my hostel, the Dragon King,where I've
stayed before and check in just before 2pm. Throughout the journey
I've had this dull and steadily worsening headache along with attacks
of nausea which make me wonder if I'm about to be sick. I don't
overindulge like this too often but I always regret it when I do,
perhaps like most of us. I'm meeting my friend Phantom later this
evening and I don't want to spoil it so I hope I can dispel this!
I request a room change as the door handle is broken, and this is no
problem. The staff here are unfailingly cheerful, helpful and polite:
nothing seems too much trouble for them, so following this I have a
strong black coffee in the hostel bar and a bowl of mushroom soup,
which helps to dissipate my hangover and this gradually recedes over
the course of the afternoon.
It's a very pleasant bar, often quiet, tastefully decorated and does a good selection of Western food and breakfasts!
I spend my time setting up the internet connection on WIFI so I can
contact the outside world. It's very slow however and my VPN responds
below par: I draw the conclusion that such programmes work better the
further away you are from Beijing, possibly the epicentre of the
Great Firewall.
A hot shower dispels the remnants of my alcohol-induced headache and
I walk out to meet Phantom at Great Leap at 5pm as arranged.
We have an extremely pleasant evening although it gets off to a poor
start as the restaurant I wanted to visit has closed down for
repairs. Gloomily we discuss alternatives and we try another one on
NanlogouXiang Bar Street. However we can't get a decent table for
some reason so we don't stay and Phantom shows me a second one which
we accept: the décor is pleasant and there is plenty of choice on
the menu.
Following this we walk to the bar we visited last time, which we find
out does bar food, so I make a note of this for future reference! We
sit and talk about life and art, I discuss experimental photography
and take some photos to illustrate my point.
We empathise, argue and
laugh, the kind of conversation you have only with close friends and
which I miss: the kind of talk I have in England with Sarah. I pace
myself on beer this evening though. Finally we fetch up in a little
bar which does Japanese food and it looks very good. Another one for
the list on future occasions. Phantom won't let me pay: I tend not to fight this as I honestly never win!
Looks great, glad you had a nice evening with Phantom say hi from me!
ReplyDeleteSarah xx