I headed into the terminal and went through security, like at an airport except nobody really cared, i walked through with my stuff and boarded my train.
I had what is called in China a hard sleeper, not as comfortable as a soft sleeper, but contrary to the name its still pretty soft.
I got out a bowl of instant noodles I had bought and filled it with hot water, I sat in the aisle of the next car (the aisle of my car was packed) and began eating.
We slowly worked our way out of the city, heading away from Kunming and towards the unknown! I couldn't help smiling as I slurped down spicy broth.
A man was coming at me with a food cart, hawking fruit to the people in their berths. I got out of my seat and stepped into the nearest berth to let him pass.
The girl on the seat that I was standing next to told me to sit down and pointed to the opposite bed. I set my bowl and chopsticks down and we began to talk, she spoke alot of English. She was intrigued about my trip, and I pulled out the map in the back of my journal and showed her where I would go next. Her eyes lit up as she told me about her dream, to go to Paris, Hawaii, Los Angeles, Germany and Taiwan.
I taught her to count in French, and she taught me to count in Mandarin. We talked for another hour or so, before I headed to bed.
I slept pretty good for being on a shelf that was much more narrow than I am. And I woke up to the sun on my face and an absolutely breathtaking view of the mountains and rice terraces out the window. I layed there for most of the morning taking it in.
I ate another bowl of noodles for breakfast, and watched the military march around train stations, I watched children playing in rice fields and farmers carrying gynormous baskets of rice to the market.
We went through hundreds of tunnels and countless bridges, winding through the mountains. My ears popped.
I finished my noodles and washed the bowl out. I decided to head to the dining car and read there, laying on my bed was pretty uncomfortable. As I walked by Olives berth she invited me in once again, I joined her, and spent the remaining 4 hours of the train ride talking with her, reading and showing her pictures of Thailand and Laos. As we neared the station, she started writing in her diary, and as we pulled into the platform she tore it out and handed it to me. It is two poems by her favorite Chinese poet, one about friendship, and the other about the mountains that we had just come through.
She signed it "Taylor, World in your heart. Its so wonderful."
She gave me an apple, and with that we where off, pushing through the masses of people, out to the front of the station.
I cant count how many times I have walked out of a set of doors, having just gotten off a bus a train or a plane, and seen families and friends waiting behind a fence waving excitedly to their loved ones. Or watching people break past security lines and run to hug someone they love. Every time I secretly wish someone was there to meet me, but its an easy trade off in my mind. Id much rather be in a new place than be going home - not yet. Home will come, but not yet.
As I walked through the crowd, the only foreigner in the sea of thousands of people, I heard a man say "Taighloor? Taighloor Haigghh?" I spun around to see a guy from my the hostel I had booked, there to pick me up and give me a ride! How great to finally have someone waiting for me at the exit of the station! I smiled to myself as we walked to a cab.
