1 December - Easy Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
The title we have given this trip has drawn puzzled looks
from friends when we explain what we are planning. The idea that we might one
day complete a traverse of the whole of Eurasia by train has been at the back
of our minds since we finished our Trans-Mongolian/Trans-Siberian Railway
journey in 2014.
Our first European rail journey was back in 1976, when we
travelled from London to Paris on what was then known as the “Boat Train.” It
was exactly as advertised: the carriages were loaded onto a ferry, shipped
across the Channel, unloaded, and then hauled into Gare du Nord in Paris. More
than a decade later, we took the French Thalys TGV from Amsterdam to Paris.
Although our Trans-Siberian journey ended in Moscow, we continued by train to St Petersburg, Helsinki, and Tallinn in Estonia, then through Latvia and Lithuania, into Poland, and across to Amsterdam via Berlin and Hamburg.
At the other end of the line, we have travelled from Kuala
Lumpur to Singapore via Malacca, and from Kunming to Guangzhou in China. Our
first trip to China included a High-Speed rail journey from Beijing to
Shanghai, and it was from Beijing that we set off for Moscow in 2014.
Complicated, we know, but when everything is laid out on a map, the “gaps”
become obvious.
To us, the plan became more achievable when the Chinese High-Speed
Rail line opened between Kunming in southern China and Vientiane in Laos. All
we needed to do was board a train in Kuala Lumpur and head to Bangkok, take the
overnight sleeper to Vientiane, connect to the Laos-China HSR to Kunming, fly
to Shanghai, take the HSR to Guangzhou and done! Simple?
Well, yes, it is as complicated as it sounds. And just to
prove the point, about a week ago the worst floods in 300 years hit southern
Thailand and northern Malaysia. All trains to Bangkok were cancelled
indefinitely. Not a great start. Tomorrow we are flying to Bangkok and pressing
on from there. Never fear, we will return as soon as we can to tackle the Kuala
Lumpur-Bangkok leg. There is good news on that front - later next year,
Malaysia and Thailand will commence direct rail services between the two
cities.
To our surprise, the Easy Hotel has a no-alcohol policy. We usually enjoy an afternoon beer in our hotel room, preferably on a balcony with a view, but last night we found a bar just up the road and settled in for a few beers and some people-watching.
The pub was on the edge of Little India, close to Sentral
Station, so it was no surprise that most of the clientele were Indian.
Conversation was lively, as an India-South Africa one-day cricket match was on
the big screen and Kohli was smashing the South African bowlers all over the
park, including multiple sixes.
As the crowd grew, a group of about 20 men - several wearing
turbans - settled at a long table. We commented to a guy at the next table that
it was unusual to see such a mixed group of Sikhs and Indians socialising
together.
“No, no, no,” we were told. They were all Sikhs, and they are
a “community.”
It turned out that the “community” was the Hash House
Harriers. Given the age of the group and the obviously strong bonds between
them, they had been together for quite some time. We asked the barman whether
it would be OK to ask them for a photo. “No problem,” he said, “but you will
have to be in it with them.”
As it turned out, they also travelled internationally together and were thinking of doing the journey from Beijing to Moscow. Well, what can we say? Fellow drinkers, cricket fans, and train travellers. Not such a depressing start after all.
3 December - Best Western Chatuchak, Bangkok
We flew into Bangkok and found our way to the hotel via the
Airport Express and the local Blue Line metro. Total cost for a 40-minute trip
- AUD 4.
We are one metro stop away from Krung Thep Aphiwat Station, from where we will depart on Special Express 25 to Nong Khai on the Laos border. As we always do, we went over to the station this morning to locate our platform. Lucky we did.
This station is brand new and very much built for the
future. It is enormous, far bigger than many international airports, including
Brisbane. Thailand is building a High-Speed Rail line from Bangkok to Vientiane
to connect with the Laos-Chinese line, and this station has been designed to
support that future network.
One major task today was claiming a refund for our cancelled Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok trip. After about fifteen minutes at the counter dealing with that and finding our boarding gate, it was close to midday. We had planned to do a couple of things around the city, but Paul has developed a few blisters, so we decided on a quiet afternoon preparing for what could be a sleepless night on the train.
We treated ourselves to a first-class sleeper cabin for the
nine-hour overnight journey. At around AUD 45 each, it didn’t seem too
extravagant. The train terminates at Nong Khai, where we will connect with an
earlier Bangkok service for the final leg into Vientiane.
5 December - SureStay by Best Western, Vientiane
Special Express 25 used relatively new Chinese sleeper
carriages - clean and as comfortable as any sleepers we have used elsewhere. We
had plenty of storage space and our own washbasin, though no toilet. Despite a
fairly bumpy ride, we both managed some sleep.
Our transfer at Nong Khai station began smoothly. We had to
disembark and catch SRT 133, which left Bangkok shortly after the Special
Express. This involved buying a ticket for the 30-minute crossing into Laos.
Our train arrived around 6:45 am, and the connecting service was due at 7:55
am, giving us plenty of time.
Thai exit formalities were straightforward. We left our bags near the front of the short immigration queue and wandered off to grab a coffee. When the fully loaded SRT 133 arrived and the gates opened, we congratulated ourselves on having only four people ahead of us. Unfortunately, for reasons we still don’t understand, we were waved away and sent to the back of a very long queue formed by passengers from the arriving train. Eventually, we took our hard third-class seats and crossed into Laos.
Laos requires visas for most nationalities, including Australians. We opted for the more expensive, but convenient, eVisa. At Laos Immigration, a young officer spotted our eVisas and escorted us to the poorly-signposted eVisa counter. Handprints taken, stamps applied and we were through well ahead of the crowd.
As many travellers in Southeast Asia will attest, organising
transport from a remote train station can be confusing. Khamsavath Station outside
Vientiane was no exception. We had planned to catch a green city bus for about AUD
3, but of course it wasn’t running. Instead, we were confronted by a group of
well-dressed touts offering fixed-price transport. The prices were cheap by our
standards, so we hired a minibus for around AUD 25, outrageously expensive for
Laos, but after a long night and early start, we didn’t argue.
We reached our hotel around 10:00 am. The receptionist
offered early check-in for US 40. We cringed. She smiled, looked around, and
said, “If you wait until 11:00, I can give you access to your room for free.”
After a good night’s sleep and an excellent breakfast, we set out to find something to do. We last visited Vientiane in 2011 and had already covered the main sights so, on a whim, took a tuk-tuk a few kilometres out of town to the Lao People’s Army Museum. A very good decision.
The introductory video, depicting the battle for the Plain
of Jars during the Vietnam War, played behind a large, detailed, battlefield
model. Machine guns flashed, model trucks moved, smoke billowed and, best of
all, helicopters descended from the ceiling. Very impressive. This may not be
the Australian War Memorial or the Imperial War Museum, but given Laos’ limited
resources, it was an outstanding effort.
Fourteen years on from our last visit, Laos appears to have made real progress. The Laos-China Railway has undoubtedly contributed to development. While still one of Asia’s poorest countries, there are visible signs of improvement. There are paved streets, fresh paint on public buildings, and newly developed riverfront parks. Tourism is clearly playing an important role, with many Western and Chinese visitors in the city.
For those interested in the practicalities of ticketing for
a trip like this, we will try to include our successes and failures as we go.
So far, aside from the cancelled Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok train,
our online bookings have worked reasonably well. We used both 12Go and Baolau.
The situation is evolving rapidly, however. For example, we booked one Chinese
HSR trip through 12Go because they allow bookings well ahead of China’s 15-day
ticket release window. That worked fine, but we now find that Trip.com and even
the official China Rail site are easy to use and accept foreign credit cards.
We eventually used Trip.com to book return tickets between
Guangzhou and Shenzhen for later in our trip. No physical tickets are issued, just
a receipt showing carriage and seat numbers. Access to trains is via passport
scanning at the gate.
One word of caution: we had to chase the 12Go agent in Laos,
Laos Travel Tours, to obtain the QR codes required to collect physical tickets
for the Laos-China Railway. The arrangement is that the booking passport and QR
codes are required to enter the station and board the train. Tomorrow, we’ll
see how that works.
6 December - LCR Train D88 to Kunming
We had a very early start this morning to reach the LCR
station in time to collect our tickets. As usual, things turned out to be
simpler than expected. The woman at the ticket window waved away our QR codes,
simply scanned our passports, and printed our tickets. Physical tickets are
required on the LCR, but not on High-Speed Rail within China.
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Security was not particularly rigorous - Paul’s knee replacement didn’t even register. Once our paper tickets were issued, it was smooth sailing. We found our first-class seats easily as signage throughout is in both Chinese and English. The only real difference we noticed between first and second class was the seating configuration - 2x2 rather than 2x3 - and first-class passengers received a snack box and a bottle of water.
There was one ticket check once we were under way. We had a
minor issue when the conductor was not convinced that Australians do not
require a visa for China. Once a more senior officer intervened, all was
quickly resolved.
There is some spectacular scenery in Laos, especially around
Vang Vieng, but sadly much of the journey was through tunnels. Nevertheless, it
was a beautiful day, and even the brief glimpses between tunnels were worth the
ticket price.
At the Laos-China border, all passengers had to disembark for exit formalities from Laos and then Chinese Immigration. Both processes were well organised and reasonably efficient.
Arriving in Kunming in the evening, we expected some
difficulty finding our hotel. Our first challenge was mastering the Kunming
subway, but again, careful planning paid off. We emerged from the station
directly in front of our hotel, which was conveniently located next to a large
suburban shopping mall.
We did have one moment of anxiety at the subway turnstiles. Armed with our newly installed Alipay apps, which we had carefully set up but never tested, we took a deep breath, presented the QR codes to the scanners - and the gates opened. Success. (We’ll include a more detailed explanation of Alipay later in the blog.)
On this trip we’ve splurged slightly on accommodation,
lifting our average nightly spend from about AUD 100 to AUD 150. In Asia, even
in China, which has become more expensive over the years, that buys excellent
quality and service. In Kunming, our home for two nights was the Wanda Realm, which
offered a very comfortable room and quite possibly the best breakfast buffet
we’ve ever encountered.
We have visited Kunming before and didn’t plan to do much
sightseeing this time, so we took the metro for the 20 km ride into the city
centre. What an eye-opener. Kunming has a population approaching nine million, slightly
larger than New York City. For the entire journey into the centre, high-rise
apartment blocks stretched as far as the eye could see on both sides of the
tracks. On just one side alone, we counted well over 500 towers.
Our final stop was Dongfeng Square in the city centre, a clean, open public space. Everything felt remarkably new and exceptionally clean. We wandered, people-watched, and window-shopped until we stumbled upon an old temple complex, a quiet, peaceful enclave hidden within the city, and something we would never have found on any tourist map.
Tomorrow, we fly to Shanghai, as we’ve already done this leg
by train on a previous trip.
9 December - Boyue Hotel, Shanghai Hongqiao Airport
We are in Shanghai for two nights, before our final train
leg down to Guangzhou.
For anyone who hasn’t flown domestically within China, it
might sound daunting. It shouldn’t be. Our experience was no different from any
other domestic flight we’ve taken anywhere in the world. The only notable
difference was the emphasis on power banks, which must meet strict Chinese
standards. Given the recent number of fires caused by exploding power banks on
aircraft, these rules, or stricter ones, are likely to be adopted elsewhere
soon.
Staying at an airport hotel may seem odd, but it makes perfect sense for us. We’ve been to Shanghai before and are essentially passing through as part of this rail journey and will depart from the High-Speed Rail station integrated into this terminal for our trip to Guangzhou, the final stop on this journey and the near fulfillment of our Singapore to London rail journey.
Once again, we’re enjoying five-star accommodation for
around AUD 150, one of the many pleasures of travelling in China.
We are no strangers to “living” in airports for a night or
two. After all, there is food and beer - what more could one want? Shanghai
Hongqiao functions like a city, with convenience stores and many dining
options. As with most things in
China, both the airport and the train station are enormous.
Many people assume that Chinese cities must be unbearably
crowded. Generally, they aren’t. Yes, the cities are vast, many with
populations exceeding 20 million, but the infrastructure is built on a scale to
handle it. Main roads and freeways are often four to six lanes wide. Metro
trains are long and frequent, making it almost always possible to find a seat.
Airports have dozens of check-in counters, so queues are short and fast-moving.
Technology is used everywhere to keep people moving efficiently. Boarding 500
passengers onto a train platform can take as little as five to ten minutes.
Today we headed into the city to stroll along the Bund and
Nanjing Pedestrian Street, an easy metro ride, with a direct line from the
airport.
We’ve used metro systems extensively throughout this trip and have never felt hassled or uneasy. Stations are so large that even in cities with populations exceeding 20 million, overcrowding is rare. Some trains can be busy, but seats usually become available. It all just works.
With some time to spare this afternoon, we decided to visit
the Shanghai Zoo. We consider ourselves zoo aficionados, having visited many
around the world. Some Asian zoos have been truly awful, others, such as
Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, are well regarded but left us underwhelmed. Our expectations
were low.
At the ticket booth, we noticed a senior discount entry fee of AUD 3. “Two seniors, please.
Do we need Passports?”
“No charge. Free for you.”
Apparently, seniors are defined as those aged 60-66. We are
well beyond that.
Without question, Shanghai Zoo ranks among the very best
we’ve visited. Beautifully laid out, it could easily pass for a botanical
garden. A comprehensive range of animals, mostly in humane enclosures,
plentiful food outlets (this is China, after all), small amusement rides for
children, and plenty of shaded seating for older visitors who, lest we forget, entered
for free. A spontaneous decision turned into a highlight of the trip.
Tomorrow: 8:00 am High-Speed train to Guangzhou.
10 December - Yuzhi Hotel, Guangzhou
Shanghai Hongqiao HSR Station is enormous, just as expected,
but this scale is exactly what’s needed to handle the numbers passing through
each hour. High-Speed trains depart every few minutes from at least 12
platforms, and the organisation is flawless. Passengers wait in designated
areas, with automatic gates opening 30 minutes before departure.
No paper tickets are issued. Chinese passengers scan their ID cards; foreigners simply scan their passports and head down to the platform.
We have travelled extensively on Japanese bullet trains,
which are famously efficient, but the scale of China’s rail operation is on an
entirely different level. Even for relative newcomers like us, the system is
easy to navigate and impressively efficient.
On our previous leg, tunnels limited the scenery. This time,
there were fewer tunnels, but a persistent haze followed us for most of the
1,200 km journey. Through the smog we could still see hundreds of tower blocks
near major cities, interspersed with clusters of modern two and three-storey
homes.
Our arrival and departure times were accurate to the second,
just like Japan Rail. We arrived at Guangzhou South Station. Typical in major
Chinese cities, the station is a massive transport hub linking metro lines, High-Speed
services, buses and taxis.
Thanks to experience with large transport hubs, and some
careful research, we navigated our way successfully, though the sheer volume of
people requires constant attention. We are now happily settled in our
comfortable inner-city hotel, enjoying a couple of beers.
Tomorrow, we head to Shenzhen. We tried to do this trip on
our last visit, but booking systems made it too difficult at the time. We’re
more confident now. We’ll see.
11 December - Guangzhou to Shenzhen and back
Another very early start. Just two short metro hops brought
us to Guangzhou Station. The city has three enormous stations, all serving
metro lines, conventional rail and the High-Speed network. We found our waiting
area without difficulty. Once you understand the system, it’s remarkably
straightforward.
Rail travel in China does differ from what we’re used to
elsewhere. Only ticket holders may enter stations, and everyone passes through
airport-style security. Destination boards in Guangzhou and even in Shanghai, are
often in Chinese only. This can be unsettling at first, but train numbers are
clearly displayed and are all you really need.
One potential trap for newcomers is that passport or ID
scans at the gate do not display carriage or seat numbers. With no physical
tickets issued, it’s essential to know your booking details in advance.
The journey to Shenzhen was short, yet our train still
reached 200 km/h through the narrow corridor of undeveloped land between these
two megacities.
Despite limited time, we managed to visit both places we had
targeted - Window of the World and the Ping An Financial Centre observation
deck.
We expected Window of the World to feature small-scale replicas of famous landmarks. We were wrong. After eventually finding the ticket office (poorly signposted from the metro) and checking in for free entry, again courtesy of our advanced years, we were greeted by what appeared to be a half-scale Eiffel Tower. That was just the beginning.
Large, detailed replicas of hundreds of famous buildings and
monuments from around the world are spread throughout the park, all
meticulously maintained and surrounded by food outlets. There was even an
Australian section featuring the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
Back on the metro, we returned to central Shenzhen and headed for the Ping An Financial Centre. By the time we reached the 115th floor, the smog had lifted slightly, allowing a sweeping 360-degree view of the city. This was impressive, but would have been spectacular on a clear day.
Tomorrow, we head home via Kuala Lumpur.
Alipay and WeChat Pay
China has rapidly becoming a cashless economy, but not in
exactly the same way as many western countries are moving away from cash as a
major medium for financial transactions. Virtually all transactions in China
are managed by either Alipay or WeChat Pay. Western credit cards like, Visa and
Mastercard are rarely recognised, except in high end hotels or department
stores. At home in China, locals can link Alipay and WeChat Pay to their bank
accounts. Foreigners can link to foreign credit cards, or under some special
circumstances, to a temporary Chinese bank account. We spent only a week in
China on this trip, and in that time we didn’t even bother to get any cash.
We only used Alipay, but we had installed and set up WeChat
as a backup. Alipay was much easier to set up and use, as it has a built-in
translator. We were able to use the app to set up QR codes to access the metros
we used. We also made online payments through the app, in RMB, even before we
arrived in China. We didn’t use all the functions of the app, but it would be
possible to manage a full itinerary through Alipay. Train and plane bookings,
Didi bookings, meal delivery services, almost anything you might imagine can be
handled through “mini apps” built into Alipay.
Review
This trip was very much about the journey itself, with the
added benefit of a few relaxed days in cities we had previously visited. Due to
severe flooding in northern Malaysia and southern Thailand, we failed, temporarily,
to fully “fill the gap.” Nevertheless, the rest of the journey unfolded largely
as planned.
We came away genuinely impressed by the quality of rail
infrastructure in all three countries we travelled through. Southeast Asia is
developing rapidly, driven by trade and tourism, and there is little doubt that
Chinese investment is playing a major role. Chinese “soft power” is extending
the country’s influence well beyond its borders. Within a few years, it will
likely be possible to travel from Singapore to Kunming entirely on High-Speed
rail and once connected to the Chinese network, Europe, Russia, and Central
Asia become accessible.
We believe China often receives unfair treatment in Western
media. While there are undeniably serious human rights issues within China,
some Western nations, particularly the United States, might benefit from
addressing problems closer to home before directing criticism elsewhere.
We have travelled extensively in Europe and the United
States, and if we focus solely on rail transport, the comparisons are stark.
London’s Underground is crowded, expensive, and prone to breakdowns, with
ageing infrastructure. The New York subway is unsafe, dirty, and feels like a
set from a horror film. Rail systems in continental Europe are generally
better, but still well behind China.
Urban metros and intercity rail in China are modern,
efficient, clean, safe and affordable.
A final comment on China. This was our fourth visit, and we
often recommend the country to fellow travellers in Australia. A common
response is, “I have no interest in going to China.” We wonder whether this
reflects a circular problem. Are perceptions shaped by inaccurate or biased
media coverage, discouraging people from seeing the country for themselves?
Sometimes we feel a little like Marco Polo may have felt when, on his return to
his home city of Venice in the late thirteenth century, he was ridiculed by
sceptical citizens who believed he was exaggerating the wonders he had seen in
the east. At the time Polo was called "Messer Marco
Milioni" (Mr. Marco Millions) meaning, he was telling a million lies.
In contrast, the few friends and acquaintances who have
visited China invariably return enthusiastic and impressed.
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