It's a long way to Xinxiang

I knew it would be a long journey to Xinxiang this time around but it proved to be even bit more cumbersome than I expected. 

Although the direct distance from Helsinki to Xinxiang is shorter than Helsinki to Shanghai, the connection is significantly more difficult. Whereas my December trip to see Jinlin in Shanghai required just one direct flight from Helsinki, this time around I had to take a route with two stopovers. After much attempts for planning and re-planning the trip, I was in the end so late buying air tickets that single stopover solution of Finnair flight via Beijing to Zhengzhou was not any more available. I had to take a joint KLM - China Southern Airlines solution with stopovers at Amsterdam and Beijing before Zhengzhou. The schedule involved departure from Helsinki at 6 pm on Thursday evening and arrival at Zhengzhou at 6.50 pm on Friday. With the six hour time difference taken into account, this means 20+ hours at airplanes and airports. Luckily I like sitting in airplanes more than the average person, especially when in today's long-distance planes electricity is usually available for my laptop and other lovely gadgets.

Zhengzhou train ticket sales hall at night

Even with those flights done, Zhengzhou is still not Xinxiang but about 100 km away from that. It is good there is a direct bus shuttle from Zhengzhou airport to Xinxian, without need to go through Zhengzhou city center. I was planning for the 7.30 pm shuttle bus. Too bad my Beijing - Zhengzhou flight left Beijing one hour late and arrived to Zhengzhou when that bus had already left. Too bad it was the last bus of the kind for that evening. 

So I had to turn to the plan B which was to take bus to Zhengzhou center, taxi to railway station and travel with train the remaining distance. Jinlin had been strongly advising against this plan: she had told me that the trains are very crowded and difficult in China and especially difficult this time of the year, around Chinese New Year, when 100+ million people are returning to their families for celebration together. In fact on several years several long-distance trains have been so crowded that people cannot go to toilet on their long journeys resulting in sky-rocketing sales of adult diapers for the travellers! 

Noodle soup for the tired traveller

Jinlin had instead been advising to take hotel near the airport and take the shuttle bus on Saturday morning. I did keep this a my plan C in case the train option would not work out. But I am not afraid and actually often enjoy "weird" cultural experiences even if they involve huge crowds and challenging situations late in the evening. Furthermore I had already reserved a hotel for the evening from Xinxiang and did not enjoy idea of the hassle of canceling that reservation, finding a new one from nearby and pushing back my time of arrival to my destination with another day. The train should take one hour so with necessary precautions need for a diaper should be minimal as well ;-)

So after successfully speaking Chinese to the bus ticket personnel, getting a bus ride to Zhengzhou center and talking more Chinese with a nice taxi driver, I arrived at Zhengzhou railway station at 9.30 pm. Attempt to get in to the station, being stopped by a guard and having some more Chinese exchange with him, I learned that a valid ticket is needed in order to enter the train station and that tickets are sold in another location. Luckily that location was not very far away, so after some walking with my bags, queuing in huge crowded ticket sales hall and more Chinese discussion with the ticket selling staff I had a valid ticket in my hand for the 22.45 pm train to Xinxian: the last train for the day and only one having any places left. So that left me still nicely with some time to enjoy huge bowl of delicious noodle-soup, greatly appreciated as my first meal after breakfast in the Amsterdam - Beijing plane long time ago.

One of Zhengzhou railway station waiting halls

The crowds at the Zhengzhou railway station were indeed immense despite the later hour and the fact that only ticket holders were let in. There were six immense waiting halls full of people. One had to go the the correct hall according to the train number and the personnel let people from the halls to the platforms only when their train had arrived to the station and their tickets had been once more inspected. Getting to the fully packed train with all places now sold out and all people having large bags was indeed quite chaotic. But once the dust settled the time spent in the crowded train was not that bad and I even got to have some chat with my fellow passengers about the cold climate of Finland.

Xinxiang around midnight

So in the end I got to my planned hotel around midnight and have been today able to spend nice time with Jinlin. I am still quite exhausted from the travel and jet-lag, so in the afternoon I went for a long nap and she returned to stay with her cousins family in the suburbs. Apparently her mother is currently on a work-trip in Zhengzhou, Jinlin is staying with her cousin and she still had some CAD-design homework from the university. 

Now I've been awake for few more hours and just returned from an evening meal from the street where I bought some sweet rice-porridge from a small restaurant and apples from an old lady on the street (very happy about me speaking Chinese :-)