Alright, by now I'm deep in China's Southwest - Kunming is the place I arrived at today after a tiring 25-hour train ride. The train was just like the sleeper trains I remembered from my first trip back in 2005 - packed, noisy, not as glisteningly clean as your average European train, but then again, this is not average and it is definitely not European. AND it's still far from infringing on my comfort zone, so what about it? And even if I feel slightly uneasy at times (stained blanket anyone?), I just push the thought aside because, c'mon, no one I know of has died of stains yet - that is, unless they are forming on your skin, but we're not there yet. Funnily, now that I was back in a Chinese train, the memory of a few things came back that I had not expected initially. I'm a smell person, so that's where we're at. There's hardly a minute, when you don't smell something - be it people smoking in the lavatory of the non-smoking train (hey, my place was close by, maybe that would've been helpful at times), the arome of freshly brewed green tea somewhere close by, the pungent smell emitted by the shoes of the friendly man at the lowest berth as soon as he settles down for a nap (sans shoes, that is), the mouthwatering smell of the dinner the young couple on the middle berths is enjoying whereas I am hunched over a cup of not-as-exquisite Ramen noodles, finally the smell of someone peeling a mandarin in the hallway. Picture this all, underlaid by romantic Chinese soft pop, continuous chattering and the occasional noise of someone clearing his nose/throat/upper respiratory system in the sinks (did I mention that I was close to the lavatories?).
But well, I always like it when a trip like that puts me back in perspective - concerning conditions of traveling as well as time perspective. How else would you spend 25 hours like that? Needless to mention, I already finished my first book for this trip (I was halfway through after my 11.5-hour flight already) and I have ingested a good deal of my Lonely Planet as well. That, plus two solid podcasts and a long time spent sleeping or trying to sleep. Since I feel pretty refreshed now, I consider this as a success (or could it be the heavenly coffee latte I devoured here in the great hostel in Kunming?).
Btw, Guangzhou (my first destination) proved to be nice as well - a fantastic hostel, a bustling city and in between the Li River, which turned into quite a sight at night - I hope to be able to upload a few pix soon, but until then you'll just have to make do with my descriptions. Even though the hostel was very nice, I did find it quite a hassle to get there - even more so, since I was a teeny bit tired by the total of, uhm, roughly 18 hours spent traveling. It was indeed very easy to get from the airport to the neighborhood I wanted to go to (all hail the airport express bus!), but from there on it took me another 2-3 km with walking AND trying out different directions to my destinations. Chinese are very helpful, but at one point I seriously doubted their knowledge of the place - that was when two guys simultaneously pointed in opposite directions after having a look at my Chinese/English map. Great. Since I had already tried out the first direction, I trusted the second guy's handsign - and was reaffirmed by his positive nod when his comrade wasn't looking on. In the end, it might've been wiser to accept a motorcycle taxi offer of 5 yuan, but then again - how should I have made it back up again if I were to fall down due to my heavy backpack pulling me down? THAT would've been quite a sight to all the curious people around. Anyways, everything turned out fine, my sense of direction and some good pointers helped me to find the hostel and after a sound nap I took to exploring Guangzhou. It's a bustling city with some colonial history, so once you get to tiny Shamian Island in the middle of the Li River (conveniently located across from the hostel), you start wondering just where you landed. The place abounds with colonial-style palazzos from the time when Guangzhou was still referred to as Canton and there are still a number of consulates on the island itself. The most surprising thing was, however, that I seem to have landed in a huge construction site. Roads are being torn open, paint slashed on houses, buildings torn down and new ones erected and you have a hard time coming across a neighborhood that doesn't have any reconstruction work going on. No, my friends, even for China this is not normal. Nay, it's for the upcoming Asian games this November, which will take place right there.
So the contrast to Kunming is quite a big one - here, the atmosphere appears to be very, very laid back and even though there are the numerous inevitable construction sites, the place is still somehow easy to enjoy.
Which is what I'll be doing right now. Well then, till the next entry!
Btw, I seem to not be able to read your comments - even though I can post (via email), the whatever prevents me from visiting my own site. But just keep writing, I'm already looking forward to reading it later on. 
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