Let’s say I fled from Hosam to the lounge yesterday, but he promised to follow me after I showered, and he did. A Mexican professor was also there, and she was desperate because she couldn’t do anything on her laptop, even though she goes to Shanghai every year. I offered her my Magic file, but first Hosam tried to get her a working VPN. After an hour (!), they gave up, and we tried to activate the magic on her laptop. But now she had to install “Runtime” first, and Hosam managed that and started the magic. So, the night had been cut short in that respect, but there was no good reason to shorten it even further by waking up early. My train was due to depart at 11:53 AM, I had decided to leave the hostel at 10:00 AM (more than early for a 2 km walk), and packing would take a maximum of 10 minutes—so why again being nervous?
At 7, 7:30, and 8:00, Hosam’s alarm went off for 10 minutes each—he didn’t respond. So I thought I’d better check his vitals before leaving the room, since it would be days before anyone found him. After some knocking and shouting, he peeped out from behind the bed curtain , let’s say sleepy, but alive and well. I said my goodbyes and went back to the lounge for another two hours before walking to the station. I didn’t make any mistakes with the different arrivals and departures levels, but I still had to learn something new, as the different waiting areas here served multiple platforms respectively. This allowed for a continuous flow of passengers through the gate, instead of long queues that formed and then rushed through altogether.
(Now I know it has no connection to the Jazz musician but with a Basketball player)
When I arrived in Beijing, it was quite chilly for me, but that’s why I bought something warm – Han had warned me!
I walked from the train station to the hotel (4.5 km), but there they couldn’t find my booking. First, one person wanted to see everything I could show, then a second, a third, then they had the manager on the phone, then a fourth person to show and explain everything again (with photo translation to complicate things even more), and after an hour, they told me I needed another hotel.
So I booked another hotel. But after all that, I was so discouraged that I took a taxi. Yes, it’s much faster (without traffic jams like that evening) and so convenient…
I ended up paying less for a hotel that would have cost twice as much because it was a last-minute booking. Additionally the hotel is in the city center, meaning the Forbidden City is within walking distance (4 km).
The window in the room was open when I arrived, and I made myself some tea to warm up. (In China and Taiwan, no hotel has been without a kettle, cups, and tea bags.)