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CHANGSHA, HUNAN — Planning is important when traveling, but maybe I didn’t plan as carefully as I should have.
I am on my way to Beijing, to meet up with some friends and do the sight-seeing I couldn’t do in February. I planned to get to Beijing the same way as last: shuttle bus to Changsha, then overnight express train to Beijing. Only this time, I was going to stay overnight in Changsha.
And a good thing, too. Because my plans for train travel were dashed yesterday evening.
China has an extensive passenger train system. It also has a huge population. Normally, getting a train ticket is not a big issue, but the end of the summer holiday is two weeks away.
So, when I went to the ticket office last evening, I found a horde of people trying to buy tickets. And I found there were none for me.
The Changsha ticket office has two big LED boards listing available tickets for northbound and southbound trains. For the Beijing-bound trains, there were no sleeper berths available until after the 22nd, no seats until the 19th. If I wanted to travel standing for 16 hours, I could have gotten a ticket for the 18th.
But I was expected in Beijing on the 16th. And standing that long in a crowded train has little appeal. It’s bad enough on short trips.
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With visa in hand, my next step is to actually get to China.
In June I booked flights through a discounter, www.cfares.com. You can join for free and search for and book domestic and international flights, as well as hotels. There are three main choices for arriving airports in China: Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. As it turns out, the HK prices were somewhat lower and placed me somewhat closer to my final destination. Besides, I figured that landing in HK would ease my transition, since they speak English in HK.
My ticket cost $663 one-way to Hong Kong. I fly out of Louisville Wednesday morning and cool my heels in Chicago-O’Hare for a couple of hours, before boarding a 15-hour nonstop to HK. Crossing the International Date Line means I arrive Friday afternoon (local time).
Originally, I was all gung-ho about immediately boarding a plane or train bound for Hunan. After some reflection, it seemed wiser to stay at a hotel after so long a journey. So, returning to the wonders of the Internet, I went to www.hotels.com and www.lonelyplanet.com to scope out a reasonable compromise between cost and amenities. (In other words, I didn’t want a hostel or the Ritz, but something in-between.) The best choice seemed to be the YMCA International House in Kowloon, for several reasons. Despite its association with the YMCA, it is not at all like the YMCA’s here in the states. It’s really a hotel, which might explain why the hotel will be renamed The Citylights in September. Cost: about US$80. It’s near two major metro stations, one of which I need to get to the mainland. And finally, there is a cheap shuttle service by coach from HK International Airport right to the hotel. While I could also take the metro or bus, lugging my bags in either did not seem that appealing.
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