DATELINE: ?, China 

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Author: Lauren Cohen

Stupid internet.

DATELINE: ?, China 

(Click map for more useful detail)

Author: Lauren Cohen

Hour 3 of the 23-hour train journey from Kunming to Guangzhou. I just ate something delicious in the dining car. It was pork, I think, with onions in a spicy chili-oil-hued sauce. Some of the pieces were pure fat and some had the soft texture of offal, but everything tasted like the sauce. I'm sharing a compartment with a mother and son, and a single lady. All Chinese--in fact everyone I've seen on the train is Chinese. The little boy had a McDonald's bag and offered me some French fries. My upper-berth soft-sleeper is very comfortable and has plenty of head room, a cozy blanket, and a pillow with a pillowcase that smells freshly laundered. The other people in my compartment seem to want to sleep even though it's the middle of the afternoon, so I have to use my book light whenever we go through a tunnel. (Last night, Charlie asked me how many books I've finished during this trip. "None, but I've been reading Dostoyevsky.")The hard-sleeper cars seem more lively, with people talking and playing cards across the aisles. I'm sure when nighttime comes, though, I'll appreciate having a quiet compartment with a door that closes.

DATELINE: ?, China 

(Click map for more useful detail)

Author: Lauren Cohen

Hour 3 of the 23-hour train journey from Kunming to Guangzhou. I just ate something delicious in the dining car. It was pork, I think, with onions in a spicy chili-oil-hued sauce. Some of the pieces were pure fat and some had the soft texture of offal, but everything tasted like the sauce. I'm sharing a compartment with a mother and son, and a single lady. All Chinese--in fact everyone I've seen on the train is Chinese. The little boy had a McDonald's bag and offered me some French fries. My upper-berth soft-sleeper is very comfortable and has plenty of head room, a cozy blanket, and a pillow with a pillowcase that smells freshly laundered. The other people in my compartment seem to want to sleep even though it's the middle of the afternoon, so I have to use my book light whenever we go through a tunnel. The hard-sleeper cars seem more lively, with people talking and playing cards across the aisles. I'm sure when nighttime comes, though, I'll appreciate having a quiet compartment with a door that closes.

DATELINE: ?, China 

(Click map for more useful detail)

Author: Lauren Cohen

Hour 3 of the 23-hour train journey from Kunming to Guangzhou. I just ate something delicious in the dining car. It was pork, I think, with onions in a spicy chili-oil-hued sauce. Some of the pieces were pure fat and some had the soft texture of offal, but everything tasted like the sauce. I'm sharing a compartment with a mother and son, and a single lady. All Chinese--in fact everyone I've seen on the train is Chinese. The little boy had a McDonald's bag and offered me some French fries. My upper-berth soft-sleeper is very comfortable and has plenty of head room, a cozy blanket, and a pillow with a pillowcase that smells freshly laundered. The other people in my compartment seem to want to sleep even though it's the middle of the afternoon, so I have to use my book light whenever we go through a tunnel. The hard-sleeper cars seem more lively, with people talking and playing cards across the aisles. I'm sure when nighttime comes, though, I'll appreciate having a quiet compartment with a door that closes.