Catch Up Photos - Water Town & Overnight Train

Our last day in Shanghai, we went with Ellen to a still-active ancient water town (Zhujiajiao) on the outskirts of the city before heading to the train station to catch the overnight train to Xi'an. Here are some photos to go with the previous blog entry.

Ellen and John on the boat ride - the power source was a guy standing on the back with a big oar.

Temple

John with his beer in a glass boot at dinner.

John thrilled to have his picture taken in the hard sleeper compartment (sitting on the bottom bunk bed).

And the two bunks above John's head.

The compartment view of all 6 bunks. There are 11 compartments on a train car with a squatty potty and 3 sinks at the end of the hallway.

The hallway of the train car. Outside each compartment is a mini table and two fold down seats.

Views of the scenery along the railroad tracks:

It's Saturday - We must be in Xi'an

We are at the "internet bar" on the top floor of the City Hotel Xi'an. We won't be able to upload any photos until we get to Qingdao (Tuesday). Yesterday we went with Ellen to a water city on the outskirts of Shanghai. A living community with waterways/canals showing the old and current ways of life. We hit the Pearl Tower Market before having a nice dinner (John drank his beer out of a glass boot). Then to the train station and some mad chaos to wade through to get to our waiting lounge. We stuck out like sore thumbs amongst the locals eating their ramen noodles and waiting for the train. We took the overnight train to Xi'an. The hard sleeper is 6 beds (3 up the wall on each side) in each "room" - but no door from the hallway. Community squatty potty at the end of the car with 3 sinks in the hallway. Our fellow passengers were amused by us, I think - and kept their distance. We slept fairly well for the circumstances. Lights were off at 11pm and it was rather quiet. People started getting up around 6am. Some beautiful scenery and interesting cities / villages this morning - along with the garbage dumps and deserted villages. The train station on this end was just as chaotic and just a river of people flowing out of it. Our hotel is decent - you get what you pay for. We had a large lunch/dinner at a local place with a book menu of a variety of Chinese dishes. We gorged ourselves for $10 and it was delicious - 4 different dishes, beer, and pop. More later when we aren't paying for time.