2006-04-02

benlehman: (Snake)
2006-04-02 09:31 am

24 hour train ride? I wish

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.
benlehman: (Default)
2006-04-02 10:52 pm

Arrived

I've arrived safely in Shanghai, a little poorer than expected but otherwise no worse for wear.

Things I want to remember:
1) Two moments of shocking racism in HK.
2) The memory of Guangzhou
3) Three unexpectedly kind people.
4) Two books I read.