Beijing again

Sunday Jon and I left Handan early in the morning to head to Beijing so we could head to Hohhot, because there aren't any trains directly from Handan. Once we got to Handan we met up with Ross and Landy and had lunch together at Subway before heading our separate ways for the afternoon.

Jon and I then went to the Silk Market so I could buy some new light-weight gym shoes for my adventures this summer and a new camera case that was easier for stashing my stuff. I also ended up buying a hat, which is out of character for me but my friends say it suits me and after starting our travels I'm glad I had it.

There was some confusion with bus/train tickets and so after a lot of "meiyou" and running around we ended up getting soft sleepers for the next morning instead of leaving that night as planned.

Around 6 we met up with the whole No. 3 crew (it was coincidence that we were all in Beijing at the same time) and went to dinner at Outback. Western meals are a blessing sometimes. Then we went to the bookstore where we had all of five minutes to choose books and make our purchase. I was so starved for English reading material that I ran around like a madwoman scooping up books before running to the checkout counter with three new paperbacks in hand.

Then Jon and I found a hostel to crash at for the night and called it a day.

The next morning we headed out early again, but this time we were able to start our day with Starbucks. We hooked up with our other friends from the Shiz at the train station and boarded our 11 hour train to Hohhot. The ride was actually the most beautiful train ride I've experienced in the last 10 months with mountains the whole way. The ride went by surprisingly fast and we were greeted at the station in Hohhot by folks from our hostel who were incredibly kind.

Once we were checked in we went in search of some food and after dinner we went to bed because we were going to have an early morning the next day.