Train Tickets

I guess we have been living in China too long... Some things no longer seem strange to us. Buying train tickets is always a bit of an adventure (as you must buy in person, no online or phone purchases). Not only that, but you can only purchase tickets 10 days (sometimes 5 days) in advance, which leads to a bit of a rush closer to travel times. Oh... and there are 1.3 billion people in China, which complicates everything.

This morning I was talking to my mom on Skype, while Matt was at the train ticket outlet buying us tickets to meet a friend in Shanghai this weekend. Apart from the typical things above, we knew this weekend would be tougher than usual for two reasons: 1) it is Labor Day weekend, so many people are going home and 2) the Worlds Fair Expo opens in Shanghai on Saturday. When Matt went to buy tickets, the line was out to the street, so he queued up and called me. He had class in about an hour and didn't think he'd make it through in time, so he wanted me to come meet him to take his place in line and buy our tickets to and from Shanghai. The other problem is that, recently, two of the train and bus stations in Hangzhou closed for much-needed renovations, and the English Website we use to check on schedules has not been updated to reflect this. So, my poor mom was listening as I navigated the Chinese-language Websites for train and bus schedules (we have to get to the train station, as well), while talking with Matt on the cell phone about which times and routes were best.

While a hassle, I didn't think too much of it until hanging up with Matt, at which time my mom expressed the craziness of this whole situation!