Traveling by train in China

At 6:00 am we awakened with military “hero” music from a speaker in our compartment (with no volume control) and the sounds of everyone spitting. The music problem was solvable--John took our handy Swiss army miniature knife and disabled the speaker with the nail file.

The spitting continued (as the floor got progressively more disgusting).
Soft sleeper was…. well—not exactly “soft”. The blankets were filthy, the sheets questionably clean and the facilities left a lot to be desired. One toilet for the entire car…. squat and pee onto the tracks…and a urinal that empties on your shoes.

We were averaging about 50K/ 30 mph.
Everyone was awakened at 6:00am- except the dining car crew. The dining car doesn’t open until 9:00 am.

At our first morning stop, John jumped off the train and bought some beef broth noodles and we got cups, glasses and tea (not in a bag…the next challenge).
People in hard seats were brushing their teeth and spitting on the floor.
The scenery was beautiful

Everyone smokes and spits.
We saw caves with people still living in them.
Traveling the China Stink Road. After only one shower in 6 days, we were not at our best. But, as everyone says, it’s dry heat….so you don’t sweat.
The local staff walked by singing as they headed to their breakfast. The staff seems to be the only ones eating in the dining car.
Day 2 on the train and it was empty
Lots of cheap beer and no tourists.
We stopped at a local station across from another train filled with Urghurs. They found us as amusing as we found them.
We entered the Ganju corridor at WuWei, stretched out on our beds and watched the scenery for the first 50 miles before sunset.
We were asleep at 8:30.