Train ride from Shanghai to Xiamen and Greenie’s relatives

Shanghai BUND at night

This morning we took a train to Xiamen. Xiamen is an island in southern China, very close to Taiwan. The train station was nothing like the Caltrain back home and thanks to Michelle’s advice, we convinced Greenie to go little earlier. Still, after a major stress of finding what to do and where to find the train (it was crowded, people cutting lines, many platforms and too much going on) we were able to get on just minutes before it started. (Advice: go early!)

The journey was relaxing. Train was not the super high speed, but it did travel up to 130miles/hour. The seats were comfortable and even the bathrooms were ok J. China has invested a lot in the infrastructure. We saw roads and trains all over the countryside. This part is lush green and has rivers, mountains and small rice fields. The interesting part is that there are multistory buildings (empty or half built) dotted all over the country. No one can tell what is the logic behind them, but even Tibet has these structures too.



After 8 hours, we got to the destination and Greenie’s cousins were there to greet us. It is very nice to go to an unknown place and get taken care of like a VIP. We are all amused by the fact that they all put Greenie on a pedestal :-) But, this means that we are in good hands.

Went for dinner at her cousin’s home. Dinner was delicious, at least an 11-course meal including some things that they will not tell us what it was :-) Four generations live in this house ranging in age from 90 to 2.

Xiamen is a disappointment in the sense that I was expecting an island like, “ Hawaii,” but this is a Chinese island: tall buildings, crowded and over flowing with name brand stores and cars. Oh well, it is an experience in real Chinese life. Once again, cars and scooters are replaced by the bicycles all over (even in the country side).

Good night!