Chongqing to Guangzhou

What I really like about the Chinese Railways is provided by the existence of a Communist State!! Surprisingly they have a 2 tier system in place for the "priviledged classes" whereby you are allowed a separate waiting room and are allowed to board your train if you have purchased "upper class" tickets, or in some stations merely pay an extra 15 RMB (about £1.40) to gain entry to the "VIP" lounge which usually sports easy chairs, sofas, a bar serving fresh coffee or tea and various snacks to consume there or on the journey. This is well worth it as the ordinary class waiting areas are invariably tremendously overcrowded with insufficient seating, can be dirty, very noisy and when permitted to access the platform resembles a stampede of Wildebeest crossing a crocodile infested river. Also some very dubious looking characters wander around looking for easy plunder and quite a few "professional" beggars who are persistent to the degree of justifiable homicide by the unfortunate traveller who is their target, especially westerners who are considered rich beyond imagination by the beggars. Sometimes infants are used (trained) for this purpose and on one occasion when travelling from Beijing to TaiYuan I was accosted by the same woman each end of the journey!!! Presumably she "costs in" the price of a ticket for her trade as to even gain access to the platforms without a valid ticket would be almost miraculous as the Chinese Rail officials are vigorous and aggressive in their scrutinising the travellers who are funnelled through the substantial barriers twixt waiting areas and platforms.
So British Rail, PLEASE take a laef out of the China Rail book and re-introduce First Class Waiting rooms!! (Why on earth did they do away with them in the first instance?)

20 hour train journey from C to G but very comfortable and the "facilities" were very clean for once thanks to the scrupulous attention of the smart, polite and friendly conductoresses who attend each carriage.

The scenery was very attractive on the trip with a variety of landscape being framed by the carriage window, mountains, huge rivers, forests, terraced hills, wide valleys and lots of paddy fields. The peasants seem to be benefitting from more income nowadays as their dwellings gradually improve from mud structures to brick clad reinforced concetre framed buildings. This is to protect from earthquake damage. While we were in Chendu there was an earthquake in the province but we felt nothing on the 16th floor of the hotel.
The evening of the day of our return to Foshan saw us at another wedding dinner, near Shunde, in a village. There were at least 500 guests in the outdoor dinner with the caterers cooking upon fires and stoves inthe open too. They did very well and the service was slick. We ate amongst other things crocodile and snake, the former being a bit tough but the latter quite delicious. Neither tasted like chicken!!


Today we will be at yet another wedding dinner, this time my wife's cousin is the lucky lady.
It looks like i will have to return to Beijing late December for another meeting, bit of a nuisance just before Christmas.
Looking forward to a few relaxing days in Canton province before returning to the UK.