Adventures in Guangzhou!

When I finally did get on the train, I was pleased to see that the only tickets left had put me in the soft sleeper section, the equivelant of first class for a short range train. There were two attendants constantly bringing around hot water, cleaning up garbage, and generally just making sure everyone was happy. While the regular hard seat cars were teeming with smoke, people, and noise, I stretched out with four seats to myself and a pleasant view of the rolling countryside.

I spent the six hours on the train daydreaming, drinking tea, napping, and reading. About an hour outside of Dandong was Fenghuang Shan--Phoenix Mountain. Having heard about this peak from the Jason and Vivian, I impulsively decided to get off the train and hike part of the mountain while it was still light out. Sadly I didn't have time to go all the way up but it was a cool walk/climb.

Catching the next ride into Dandong, I arrived a bit after sunset. I immediately decided that there's something about arriving in a new place at night that is strangely disconcerting. I felt like I couldn't get my bearings. I felt like everyone at the train station was trying to scam me. I felt like the buildings were all dimly lit for no reason. Of course none of these things were true, but the unknown of the darkness has a way of playing tricks on you. Either that, or the book I was reading was starting to get to me. The Historian is about Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula. A good read, but perhaps not the best choice when traveling alone to new places.

I had planned on doing some of the sightseeing during the day and heading out in the morning, but after seeing Phoenix Mountain, I was forced to change my plans. I found a cheap dingy hotel for twenty kuai, and then walked down to the river--the physical divider between China and North Korea. The Friendship Bridge connects the two sides and serves as a crossing point for those with the proper papers. I thought this was funny for a couple of reasons. First, the bridge is all lit up at night with flashing neon, rotating spotlights, and overall gaudy decoration. This is funny enough by itself but then you look over and realize that it crosses the river and goes right into darkness for as far as the eye can see. As all of the PiA-ers told me, it's almost like the Chinese are saying, "Check it out over here--we're all having such a better time!"

Second, in the 24 hours that I was there, I didn't see a single person or vehicle cross the border. This isn't totally shocking except for the fact that there are relations between the two countries. Dandong itself has Korean everywhere--every storefront, restaurant menu, traffic sign, etc. all have Korean characters. Clearly somebody must be crossing, right?

Following the old maxim of "when in the town across from Rome, do as the people in that town think the Romans do," I decided to have Korean food for dinner. I gotta say, it was pretty darn good. I have no idea if there was actually anyone Korean involved in the production of my meal, but it seemed authentic enough to me. After walking around the river for a bit, I headed back to the hotel to bed.