Train to Haerbin
June 15th, 2009We took the train from Jilin Province to HeiLongJiang Province, destination Haerbin.
The trip was fairly comfortable even though the bunks are too short for anyone over six feet. It was also fairly quiet, until our fellow travelers woke up in the morning and started a chorus of hacking and spitting.
I was having trouble remembering how to pronounce HeiLongJiang until I saw it written in Chinese characters: it means “Black Dragon River”, and I know all those words. This is the first time that Chinese characters made it easier for me to learn something.
To pass the time at the beginning of the trip, we tried to memorize the Chinese zodiac in order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig.