Shh...It's a Secret: Lanzhou ❤s Foreigners

When we went to purchase our train tickets from Xi’an to Lanzhou, we were told the train we requested (a fast, D-train of about 6 hours) was no longer available, so she gave us tickets on a slightly later, slightly longer train. No big deal, 8 hours vs 6 wouldn’t make much of a difference, we figured. Well, we figured wrong. We had opted for seats instead of sleepers, since it was a day train. There were no soft seats, only hard. Hard seats on a train means either 3 seats or 2 seats facing 3 or 2 other seats, which are bolted to another set of seats that are then facing another set of seats. So, basically, you are sitting completely upright, with a very thin bit of padding under you, facing your travel companions.

Peace out crappy train..and fellow travelers

Strength to survive!

Not to mention the lack of luggage storage overhead, so one of our backpacks had to go under the seat, but there is a metal bar in the center of the set of seats, preventing the bag from going fully under the seats, so it was sticking out where our feet should have been. Steve was knee to knee with the Chinese guy across from him. The toilets were the worst we’ve encountered on a train thus far. And, the train was an hour and a half late arriving, and took over 9 hours instead of the 8 hours it was supposed to. All and all, this was the absolute worst transport experience to date. We were so incredibly uncomfortable the entire time.

We luckily knew ahead of time that there was only one hotel in Lanzhou that accepts foreigners, so we asked one of the staff at the Han Tang House in Xi’an to call ahead for us and reserve a room. It's popular chain hotel in China called the Jinjang Inn. It's pretty close to the train station, though easiest just to take a cab. The price of the room reflected the exclusivity: 240Y a night. (We were informed, on the hush hush, that the largest secret military base/training facility in China is located here) But the plus side is that just around the corner from the hotel (out the front doors, take a left, another left at the corner, cross the street—this should be at the cinema—then a right at the first side street you come to) are a couple of great street-food stands. We got some of the best noodle bowls for 7 yuan each! He put lots of fresh veggies in, as well as a bunch of different spices and sauces, and had 2 different types of noodles. It was a fantastic dinner.

Stuffed crust veggie pizza. YUM!

The other good news is that the 500^th Pizza Hut in China is in Lanzhou (but there are no McDonalds), so we had to check it out. Turns out the Chinese have Americans beat when it comes to stuffed crust pizza! I know this is blasphemy, given that I come from the ICT, but...it's true. It was pretty expensive, but we thought we’d splurge since this would probably be our last Western meal for a while.

Other than eating and sleeping, we don’t have much to report about Lanzhou. I’m sure there are things to do, but after a semi busy time in Xi’an, and a horrible train ride, we were ready to do not much of anything for a day. So we gladly rested and headed over to the bus station somewhat early to catch the 9:30am bus to Xiahe (like ‘shy’ but with a ‘z’ zhy-hu).