China Day 5 - Harbin to Beijing by Train

Assalamualaikum. Ni Hao!

Previous post here.

16 Jan 2016

Harbin, China

After so much negotiation with the 'small red taxi' driver (I seriously do not know what it is called until now), we finally agreed on a price. Nasiblah driver lain yang offer harga mahal. We didn't layan expensive price because we know the price range to the train station. Gitu angkuh!

Anyway, we paid CNY 6 for the less than 10 minutes ride. All worth it. Before agreeing, we did inquired the fare from few of the drivers. Semua letak harga ketuk gila since they don't have meter like normal taxi does; until this Ahjussi called us back & asked how much we're willing to pay. And so the rest is history. 

#1 That's the small red taxi I mentioned earlier. They are cheaper than the sedan taxi. And faster; come on look at its size.

#2 The driver dropped us at a big junction. Ingatkan kena pedajal since we negotiate the fare gila-gila. 

#3 Turned out Harbin Train Station is just opposite the place where we're dropped off. Ada barrier tengah jalan tu hence Ahjussi couldn't drop us off at the main entrance

#4 We took the underground passage to get to the main entrance
So this is how the station looks like from the entrance. To the right is where we queued up for the taxi the night we arrived

#4 To the waiting hall we straightaway went although it was still early 

#5 Refer your train number at each digital board before entering the waiting hall (worry not, they're all in ABC & numbers)

#6 Plenty of lockers at the station but considering we didn't plan on going out anymore, we just keep our backpacks with us

They are lots of stall inside the train station selling ramyeon, snacks, fresh produce, fruits, drinks & whatnot. There is even electronic shops. So fret not. You definitely won't starve here. There is of course unlimited supply of hot water at each hall. 

#7 Searching for seats in this huge waiting hall

Chill dulu as our train was at 9pm sebenarnya. Semangat kan pi train station seawal mungkin. Penat sudah mau mengukur jalan di city nun. We have no plan to go to Snow Town so we do not allocate any budget for it (transportation & entrance). Makanya duduk cuci mata dalam train station. Luckily sunset awal so ndaklah rasa rugi berkampung di station since 4pm.

Sempat tengok 'live' dramas. Budak kecil selamba dog buka seluar tepi tangga & kencing. Nasib Jea nampak else memang mendapatlah kami tempias urin since we're sitting on the stairs (just few steps below where he settled his business). Lepas kejadian tu terus masing-masing banned diri dari duduk atas lantai. Adoilah manners & attitude.

We roamed around the station until we found seats near the nursery room. Dekat toilet as well. So sempat tumpang solat jama' dalam nursery room. Ndak lama datang this family of 5. Nenek, cucu-s & her parents. Sebabkan no seat left, they settled themselves on the floor not far from us. Lepas jak duduk, masing-masing keluarkan bekal. Nenek kupas buah, the mother went to wash the vegetables they bought, the cucu-s buka ramyeon, the father rebus telur. Rupanya early dinner!

This scene answered Jea's question when she saw all the vegetables & fruits at the stall earlier. She wonders who will buy them especially the fresh produce. Seeing how this family happily enjoying their dinner, maka tahulah sudah kami. Patutlah selalu dengar. PRC ni campak mana pun memang boleh survive; they are trained well & survival skill diorang memang no joke.

#8 Luggage turned into table & they even brought small folding chairs!

#9 How the waiting hall looks like every time there's announcement for departure. Crowded & packed tapi still teratur.

Selama naik long distance trains di China (in those 2 weeks of this journey), belum ada kejadian train delayed or rescheduled. Although gate is open 10 minutes before departure time, everyone managed to get on board on time. 

Barang diingat. Kejadian macam diorang menjerit panggil ahli keluarga or kawan yang terpisah jauh dari queue tu memang sentiasa ada. Part bercerita tonasi suara level maksimum tu biasa. Laaaaagi biasa part panggil seluruh ahli keluarga potong queue just because dia sudah secure line paling depan. Mula tu macam mau menyinga juga, tapi bila tengok muka locals lain redha & act like nothing happened...kami pun buatlah macam local. Masuk kandang kambing, mengembek. Remember?

By the way, our train to Beijing arrived on time. As expected all passengers got on their seat right before the train departed. Aku sempat tawaf carriage, to make sure where the washroom & hot water dispenser are. 

#10 Soft seat refer to reclinable chair, armrest, spacious leg room. And of course chair is 'soft' like the one in the flight

We booked our ticket via Ctrip few weeks before the trip. Terpaksa settled with soft seat as all sleeper seat are sold out. And as expected, although we booked under the same reference number we're still sitting away from each other. This time luckily dalam same carriage.

Soft Seat (2 pax) : CNY 543 (RM 160.00 per pax)

Destination : Harbin to Beijing

Duration : 10 hours 

#11 Supper 

I went straight to sleep after supper. Tiada istilah sembang kosong with Jea as its an overnight train & there's no space to lepak unlike those carriages with sleepers bed. I slept soundly throughout the journey with few toilet visits in between. Nasiblah orang sebelah kalau ada kejadian aku berdendang. 

Woke up an hour before we arrived Beijing. Sempatlah bersihkan diri & breakfast ala kadar before arrival.

17 Jan 2016
Beijing, China

#12 Hello Beijing; we meet again

Sampai Beijing Railway Station on time. Harini ada aktiviti memanjat before another late night train journey. This time we managed to set our bearing once we disembarked the train. Alhamdulillah, sudah masuk Day 6 kalau blur sama suasana Beijing...tiada siapa dapat tolong lah kan.

So where we're off to? Tu tunggu next entry.

Till then, wassalam.

eryantierdabdulkarim