22-07-09 Eclipse Day

After dawn to dusk continuous sunshine for two weeks and temperatures in the 40s, eclipse day was grey and cloudy. I woke up at 5 pm ready for the epic journey to Yanguan. Everything went to plan, first catching the bus to East Bus Station then the 523 to Yangtan. Time was getting on as I transferred to the 106 and the sky was getting darker as first contact time approached. It started raining as I got to the River Viewing place. I met the Dutch couple again and they said they had been there since 7 am. The clouds kept lifting briefly and each time there was a sigh from the crowd. There was no need to use the eclipse glasses because of the cloud coverage. As totality approached, the birds started flying back to their nests and a huge black cloud covered what tiny bit of sun we could see. It went very dark at totality and as soon as the moon’s shadow started moving away, the sky cleared up enough to track its progress. It was a huge disappointment but maybe I will get to Easter Island next year to see one there? I very much doubt I could afford it as Easter Island is off Chile somewhere in the Pacific.

I wandered away from the crowds and went to watch the tidal bore from the village. It was OK but not as big as I expected. Maybe if I’d stayed it would have looked better form the viewing stands.

23-07-09 Hangzhou to Shanghai

I tried every combination of routes to get out of Hangzhou and the only place I could get out to was Shanghai. That was OK as I managed to book a soft sleeper to Kunming for two days later on Saturday.
I left my bags at the station as I needed to find a hostel. There was a good one mentioned in the Lonely Planet and it was near the Metro line. Unfortunately it was fully booked so the next choice was the Ming Hostel near to the Bund. I managed to find it eventually and they said they only had a bed for one night but there may be a cancellation the next morning.

I asked how to get to the train station and was told the bus stopped just round the corner. It was easier than the Metro. The hostel did food so I ate there that night. The young girl behind the bar was horrified when I ordered a second beer and asked if I always drank that much? I said I was going to have another one after that and I did. That was the most I have had to drink on any one night but I really enjoyed them.

Friday 24th July

Luckily the hostel had a bed for that night and as the weather was pretty miserable but hot and sticky so I went round the air-conditioned shops in Nanjing Lu then over to the Pudong side to look at their shops. I ate again at the hostel but only had two beers this time!!!

25-07-09 Shanghai to Kunming (48 hours by train)

I had booked soft sleeper (first class) to Kunming but they only had an upper berth. I shared the compartment with a elderly couple (probably my age!) and a grandma with her grandson. I scrambled up to my bed with the couple watching in trepidation in case I fell. There was every chance of that! I had been asleep about one hour when the child started howling, moaning and screaming. This went on for about three hours. The grandma kept taking him outside then when he was quiet, she would bring him back in and he would start again. He did eventually go to sleep.

The next morning he was all smiles even though I was threatening him with what would happen that night if there was a repeat performance. All said with a smile on my face too. The grandma tried to talk to me in Chinese but I couldn’t understand her. She got my Mandarin phrase book and pointed to the ‘like’. She said ‘he likes you’ and kept saying it every time she saw me in the corridor. I had to keep dodging from one end of the carriage to the other to avoid them!

About 4 pm a couple of girls asked if they could talk to me and I said it was fine. Before we knew it, there was about twelve all around me, all asking questions. It was quite nice as I’d hardly said anything from the previous day as travelers tend to go hard sleeper unlike softie me.

The grandma and child got off the train at 6 pm, which was a relief as I was not looking forward to another screaming night.
The couple got off early the next morning. The train didn’t move for a while so I went to ask the carriage attendant what was the matter. She spoke a little English and said that her train was late and she didn’t like it. We had a bit of a conversation but she couldn’t explain why we were delayed or when the train would be going. She finally found someone who spoke English who told me we were on a detour as there had been some flooding the night before. With hindsight, I think possibly it would have been quicker to get off the train and catch a bus.

We finally arrived about seven hours late. There was no chance of a taxi as the whole twenty carriages of people were queuing up. I got the bus but as usual went past the stop where I should have got off. I then took a taxi to the hostel only to be told it was full. The girl rang through to the Camellia Hostel who DID have a dorm bed so I got in another taxi and checked in there. The room was pretty big and we had a hot shower.

28th July Monday

The girl on Reception said there was a Walmart nearby so I took a wander down that evening as I needed a polo shirt and as they are an American firm, I thought they might have one big enough for me. They did. I also got a tee shirt but it was a bit neat on me. I noticed they had instant photos and as I had left mine on the bed at home, I needed to get some for my visas. There was a bit of a queue and rather than wait, I thought I would go back the next morning.

29-07-09 Tuesday

I got up bright and early to walk to the store. When I got there, there was a boy sitting behind the counter, watching ‘In the Night Garden’. I said ‘Excuse me’ – no response. A little louder – no response. At that, I banged really hard on the counter and finally got his attention. He strolled down and when I asked about the photos he said no. I asked why he was advertising a service that he couldn’t provide and I would like to talk to the manager. Several people later, the manager finally arrived. I explained I needed the photos and had come back specially to get them from there. Without more ado, he told on of the assistants to take me to the photo shop down the road. The boy’s name, according to the manager was Dragon – a fairly weedy little one at that.

Although the shop advertised opening hours as 08:30 -22:00, there was no sign of anybody at 9 am. Poor Dragon was really itching to get away from me but he had his orders. The shop finally opened about ten minutes later, he explained what I needed and scurried off. The photos were OK and reasonably cheap.

After two and a half days in Kunming, I finally recognized something from five years ago. The Brilliant Plaza had just been built then but it is now surrounded by lots of other buildings.