www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
Lifestyle

Taking a dream train journey, after 20 years

By Dinah Chong Watkins ( China Daily ) Updated: 2011-08-17 09:57:58

Flying out of Shanghai in the summer is a lesson in patience and prayer when seasonal storms play havoc with flight routes.

Arriving at Hongqiao Airport, the departures board was awash in red with delayed and cancelled flight notices. Having experienced five-plus hour delays and outright cancellations twice within the space of three weeks, when we saw our flight delayed along with a backlog of others we decided to take our chances and try the new bullet train to Beijing.

At five hours it was more than double the flight time, but departure was guaranteed, something our flight couldn't claim.

The last time I took a train in China, the Soviet Union was still in one big piece, a "mouse" was something you'd trap in the kitchen, not put on your desk, and big hair for women was matched only by even bigger shoulder pads.

Taking a dream train journey, after 20 years

Twenty years ago, the sole perk on domestic trains was the endless servings of hot tea perched on child-size tabletops, and every lurch of the carriage meant a quick grab of the mug to prevent a scalding spill on your thighs.

Devilishly engineered to save costs, the toilet was but a hole in the floor. Two slim handrails sandwiched it and if one looked straight down, one could see the train tracks pass at a dizzying speed. With the constant side-to-side motion of the train, it required, if not an Olympian level of agility, certainly a bravado and skill that the elderly, small children and those who had one too many servings of baiju, are not famous for.

But the thought of spending half a day or more waiting for our flight to depart gave us the impetus to go for the next best option. Conveniently, Honqiao Airport and the train station connect seamlessly and after a short walk, we bought our train tickets 10 minutes before departure.

First class seats on the train were the fare equivalent of economy on the plane and the seats turned out to be comfortably wide with plenty of legroom. An electrical outlet at our feet made it entirely possible for my husband to continue to work on his laptop while I checked out the dining car.

Visions of glamorous white-glove service on the Oriental Express aside, the dining car was definitely the "in" spot to be. It was hopping with couples and small groups obviously enjoying the scenery, drinks and dinner. The meal was a choice of mass produced lunchboxes, filled with rice and indeterminate meat chunks. Clearly this was something a vending machine could spit out but stuck on a train for hours, it took on a sheen of deliciousness and desirability.

After the complimentary snack and water service, it was time to confront the facilities. The washroom was vacant and the doors slid open with a touch. Gone was the pair of life-saving handrails, the middle of the floor was intact and on top rested a shiny white toilet not unlike the ones used on Airbus planes; when flushed, it gave off a cavernous sucking sound. It was modern, clean and similar to the ones in Europe and Japan. The bullet trains are said to have cost billions, but I can say it's certainly worth every fen.

When we pulled into Beijing station, there was no stampede to get off like when an airplane touches down. Everyone took their time to gather their bags and as we happily walked out onto the concourse filled with shops and restaurants, I knew it wouldn't be another 20 years before I took the train again.

Editor's Picks
Hot words

Most Popular
...
主站蜘蛛池模板: a毛片在线观看 | 国产aaa女人十八毛片 | 日日a.v拍夜夜添久久免费 | 亚洲综合国产精品 | 日本黄色免费大片 | 国产精品爱久久久久久久三级 | 9191精品国产免费不久久 | 高清一级毛片 | 一本伊大人香蕉高清在线观看 | 亚洲社区在线 | 久久综合狠狠综合狠狠 | 欧美人交性视频在线香蕉 | 久9青青cao精品视频在线 | 国产v日韩v欧美v精品专区 | ririai99在线视频观看 | 亚洲精品久久久久久久久久久网站 | 天天爱天天做天天爽天天躁 | 日韩一区二区三区不卡视频 | 欧美视频在线观 | 国内精品久久久久影院亚洲 | 99国产国人青青视频在线观看 | 久久精品国产国产精品四凭 | 中文字幕一区中文亚洲 | 九一色视频 | 久艹在线视频 | 男女午夜| 99精品国产高清一区二区三区香蕉 | 亚洲综合a| 九九视频只有精品六 | 亚洲三级在线观看 | 一级aaa级毛片午夜在线播放 | 日本欧美一区二区三区不卡视频 | 日韩高清不卡在线 | 韩国一级片在线观看 | 久久久久久久国产视频 | 欧美在线一级va免费观看 | 天码毛片一区二区三区入口 | 国产精品黄在线观看观看 | 亚洲国产午夜看片 | 中文字幕亚洲一区二区v@在线 | 国产韩国精品一区二区三区 |