*Booking: Can be done on the official China Rail website but apparently need a Chinese mobile number and ID to do it, on ctrip website but it is delivered to only major cities as of Feb2017, there are many agents who book the train tickets for a charge of about 6USD per ticket (change of train is considered a new ticket)+delivery charge+payment surcharge if using PayPal or credit card.

*WiFi: available but only for Chinese mobiles and in any case the landing page is almost always in Chinese

*Money: No card payment possible on train

*Language: English not widely spoken, so be prepared with some standard Chinese phrases. Even better write it down and point-shouldn’t be so hard with all the translation apps.

*Tips: Smoking is permitted on trains in designated areas. Food can be bought on the train either in the canteen or the pushcarts. 220V charging points in every compartment of the soft sleeper.

We head down to the train station to board our train to Beijing. Train station security checks are straight forward. id check, ticket check followed by xray of baggage and body scan. people are not allowed on the platform until the train arrives. everyone has to wait in waiting rooms and they are opened once the trains are ready to board. tickets are checked before boarding. we had booked soft sleeper which is a 4 person compartment with baggage place under seats and also some “attic” space. Hot water is available, food and drink carts pass by often. 220V charging points are available so is WiFi, access with some China specific apps. The facilities in general are OK. However the toilets are not that clean and sometimes the water in the wash area or sink can run out (as it happened).

Don’t plan your trip in the high season or around it and try to avoid peripheral stations like changping bei (bei is north in Chinese. Beijing was the capital of the north in old China) since getting to Beijing Nan(Nan being south in Chinese) (for the high speed train) would be a hassle (2 hour metro ride, or about for a dist of about 112 km)

We have the company of a very friendly family with roots in Mongolia. we hear stories of traditional celebrations with family accompanied with food, drink, music (impromptu singing). Roasted nuts are a staple snack to chat over. We are told stories of favorite past times in their culture, punctuated in between by a very spunky 3 year old kids talk. we are also offered tips of navigating Beijing and offered some desert oranges

The scenery passing us by is very varied. From the grasslands of inner Mongolia to hilly regions proceeding down south. Vast farmlands to crowded cities. All the variety of scenery and people breaks up the monotony of the train travel.

Traveling is always fun hearing some stories from the local part of the world

Apparently foreigners or foreign looking persons are not very common on these trains. Result, i get one more celebrity or peculiar zoo animal experience (just kidding!). When we walk into the pantry, the chef welcomes us like we are the captain of the train and especially puts on the apron and makes it a point to personally come collect our order. He does not speak much English but is generally very interested to talk to us and wants to take the best possible care of us guests. For lunch we have some chopped potatoes with vegetables and rice, at the end of the meal he comes by again and offers to pour some hot water into our rice bowl, apparently a way of finishing the meal. The celebrations of the Chinese new year still seemed to be going on even though the date was Feb10. He also offers to make sticky rice sweets just for us. Very friendly! The captain of the train and some train staff are also in the pantry and crew in general are very jovial and joke around (like commenting that a comb will be gifted to a bald crew member present in the group for the spring festival). A meal costs an average of 40Yuan. There are also push carts that pass by in the compartments selling Chinese version of porridge, sweets, chips, soft drinks, steamed corn and lunch set meals.

Smoking is allowed on Chinese trains between compartments and if the doors don’t/wont be shut the smoke enters the cabins and stays there. So be prepared for that, we had a hellish ride in the second half of the train ride because of that. Cigarettes are even sold on the push carts!

It was the time around the Chinese new year and was such a joy to look at the houses irrespective of how rich or poor it looked, to be decorated with red lanterns and Chinese writing of prosperity and good wishes. this was a constant theme in all the villages and city we passed through on the way to Beijing. Even the life-stock (cows, donkeys, sheep) were sometimes marked with red. We even caught glimpses of a dragon dance very briefly. Later as the sunset and we were passing through various villages and cities there was this non stop fireworks lighting up the night in some spectacular show. A very interesting and unexpected experience!

It has been a pleasant journey with friendly co passengers, a very warm train crew, stunning landscape from Inner Mongolia to Beijing, watching the festivities of spring season in the villages we rush by.

Next up .. Nightmare in Beijing??