Yesterday we boarded a train that took us from Hong Kong all the way to Shanghai. We’d learned from our first train ride in china to bring plenty of food. (It can be a long walk to the dining car, and the train food that periodically gets rolled by is not very tasty.) So we brought a small stock of instant noodles, bread, and newspapers (brain food). After boarding, we found our section of the car, shoved our big bags under the lower bunk and hung our bags of food on a wall hook. All right, I thought, we are ready to go. Another man came and sat in our compartment only to be chased out a few minutes later, by the guy who actually held the ticket for that bunk. Argued out, actually. He seemed to be pretty serious about this train ride. My suspicions were confirmed as he unzipped his suitcase and methodically began to take provisions out and place them on the table. Bowl of noodles. A paper cup for tea. A small roll of toilet paper. And a couple cans of beer (extras remained in the suitcase for later). It looked like he was setting out a nightstand at home, only this was a train.

On another note, entering China via a train from Hong Kong was a breeze compared with the Vietnam/China border. No questions, no book inspections. Just a quick scan of our passports and a stamp back into China. It’s nice to be back.