24 hour train ride? I wish

[benlehman]

Briefly, factual rundown of the last day:

1) I missed my train out of Kowloon. By a minute.
2) I bought a ticket to Guangzhou, hoping to transfer.
3) In Guangzhou, all tickets to Shanghai were sold out for the next few days. They managed to get me a complicated routing ticket that will get me to Shanghai too late for my meeting.
4) I rent a room in three girls' house for the night. The other guy in the room says "if you want to get to Shanghai sooner, why not buy a plane ticket? It couldn't be over 600 yuan." He is wrong.
5) I cash back my train ticket, and we spend the night wandering around town looking for a plane ticket under 1000 yuan. We don't find it.
6) This morning, I buy a plane ticket for 990 yuan to Shanghai tonight.
7) ?

The good news is that (God willing and the river don't rise) I will be in Shanghai for my meeting. The bad news is... I just spent $150 when I really couldn't afford it.

Comments

[dorkboysayswhat.livejournal.com]

I'm freakin' telling you, you get a platform ticket and just buy the ticket on the train. They have the little no-ticket office thingy in car 10, usually. China 101, man!

[benlehman.livejournal.com]

There is one Kowloon-Shanghai tran every two days.

Fucker.

yrs--
--Ben