I rise at 8 after a good night's sleep, have a coffee, pack and check
out at around 10.30. The train is at 12. The subway ride to the
station takes about 40 minutes and is easy apart from the fact that
there are no downwards escalators in the stations and my cases are
very heavy. There is a lift but it is outside the ticketing area so I
do not know how to use it. So I have to carry my bags down several
flights of stairs which is uncomfortable and annoying. What would I
do if I were elderly and infirm?
The hotel has been very quiet and comfortable if slightly more humble
than the last two I stayed in. So there is little more to tell. The
train journey is less than an hour and I have a practical routine of
taking my bags back to my apartment, then going for lunch and a beer
in the local shacks. The sun is shining and it's relatively warm
today for this time of the year.
I do have a slight episode when I leave the railway station and the
taxi driver cannot understand my pidgin Chinese, also I don't have my
address printed. So I have to call one of my students to translate
for me. On arriving at the campus area, I'm rather shocked and
saddened to find that most of the shacks I used to visit for a local
beer and occasional noodles have been torn down: this seems to
happen each time there is a holiday. I'm now quite convinced that
they will all be gone by the time I leave for England. My friend Jack
tells me the police clear them away (there are protection rackets
operating.) I end up having lunch in a restaurant. If there are no
beer shacks I will be at a loss where to go for occasional
recreation. Luckily a few still remain.
However there are very few places open to eat, so it is fortunate
that I have some home-made meals in the freezer that I made before I
left for Guangxi. I have one of these in the evening.
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