Jiangsu, part 8: Train to Suzhou

Splat-crash went the jar of greens, then the man slowly walked to the restroom. Those nearby in the train station glanced up briefly.

A minute later, the cleaning woman didn't notice the broken glass and walked right by, dustpan in hand.

We were waiting for the 12:04 train to Suzhou. People raced through the massive waiting area to catch the 11:39 train to ... somewhere. They were like a huge swarm of locusts as soon as the sign changed from red to green, but there was plenty of time between that push and the last-minute race just before the train left. The sign turned from green to yellow...

The cleaning crew evenutally swept up the broken glass and spilled vegetables.

I got a KFC spicy chicken sandwich. Dark meat instead of white, but the same mayo and lettuce, though. Chunlin brought me a cup of coffee. Very nice of her.

Chunlin is the epitome of first and second languages.

The time for our swarm approached and people started queuing before the sign changed to green. We waited till the crowd had dwindled before we stood and got on the train.



The ride was comfortable. The train reminded me of the one between Philadelphia and New York, but cleaner.



The Suzhou train station was under construction, presumably for the new high-speed rail line going in between Shanghai and Beijing.





Once outside the station, we were swarmed by hawkers for hats, maps, and tour groups. Chunlin talked to one or two tour-group people while I grew agitated. Time was short and I didn't want to wait around on someone else's schedule. Then again, we didn't really know how to get where we were going.



Eventually, Chunlin got one of the tour groups to sell us train tickets to return to Shanghai, for a little fee, and I got to not go on a guided tour.