A: How to buy a train ticket in China.
1) get yourself to the main station in Shuzou after navigating the metro for the 1st time.
2) try the counter with the shortest queue.
3) proceed to designated longer queue where the clerk could maybe speak english.
4) wait a bit.
5) get to the front and explain that you want to buy train tickets to Xi'an.
6) sort of get the message that there are not any sleeper berths left to Xian.
7) buy 4 tickets to Xi'an
8) go back home and wonder why 'Xi'an' doesnt look like 'Xi'an' on the ticket, maybe the spelling is different.
9) get home and ask friendly and helpful hostel staff why the spelling is different.
10) realise that ticket is not for Xi'an but somewhere else in China.....get a note in Chinese saying you want your money back.
11) go back to said station and find same counter.
12) stand in line.
13) Smile to helpful clerk and show that these tickets dont go to Xi'an.
14) get smile back and acknowledgement that these tickets wont take you to Xian and that there are not any other tickets left.
15) refund not possible with friendly clerk.
16) go to north side of station and repeat steps 2 to 5.
17) repeat steps 13 and 14.
18) get refund.
19) phew.
20) go back to hostel and find alternative means of transport to Xi'an.
21) find that all google related websites have been blocked by the Great Firewall.
22) have a nice cold beer with friendly Canadian at hostel.
23) all is well with the world......
(until he had to tell me in the morning that we still were going no where the next day - M)
1) get yourself to the main station in Shuzou after navigating the metro for the 1st time.
2) try the counter with the shortest queue.
3) proceed to designated longer queue where the clerk could maybe speak english.
4) wait a bit.
5) get to the front and explain that you want to buy train tickets to Xi'an.
6) sort of get the message that there are not any sleeper berths left to Xian.
7) buy 4 tickets to Xi'an
8) go back home and wonder why 'Xi'an' doesnt look like 'Xi'an' on the ticket, maybe the spelling is different.
9) get home and ask friendly and helpful hostel staff why the spelling is different.
10) realise that ticket is not for Xi'an but somewhere else in China.....get a note in Chinese saying you want your money back.
11) go back to said station and find same counter.
12) stand in line.
13) Smile to helpful clerk and show that these tickets dont go to Xi'an.
14) get smile back and acknowledgement that these tickets wont take you to Xian and that there are not any other tickets left.
15) refund not possible with friendly clerk.
16) go to north side of station and repeat steps 2 to 5.
17) repeat steps 13 and 14.
18) get refund.
19) phew.
20) go back to hostel and find alternative means of transport to Xi'an.
21) find that all google related websites have been blocked by the Great Firewall.
22) have a nice cold beer with friendly Canadian at hostel.
23) all is well with the world......
(until he had to tell me in the morning that we still were going no where the next day - M)
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