Beijing Station looms large, its mausoleum grey stone iced with traditional pagodas. Close parking is unavailable and we disembark from our bus some 400 metres away before our group snakes its way conga-like towards the main entrance. Those with wheeled luggage cases have the initial advantage across the flat even thought they have to negotiate puddles from earlier rain. Free hands in crowds, through ticket gates, boarding transport and up and down steps make backpacks our preferred option. We look like pack mules with our large packs on our backs and our day packs reversed across our chests.
Joining the large ant colony we follow our group leader to the Californian Noodle Bar and the young waitress greets us with a warm smile and takes us to the back two tables where we stack our large luggage against the wall. After some negotiation we agree on simple beef noodles without chilli and the waitress takes our orders for drinks. After five days together there is a ripple of discontent from one or two of the group about the splitting of the shared meal bill because it includes beer. I overhear Pepper, an American (we refer to her as Pepper because at our first meal she said she couldn’t eat anything with pepper or anything that is spicy), telling Mark, our Chinese guide, ‘it isn’t fair that we pay for some who is drinking beer.’ And she adds she will write to the company when she returns to make a complaint. Mark, whose Chinese name is Lv Yong Ping, looks perplexed as he tries to gather the exact monies from each person and give correct change to cover the bill. The method had been to divide the total equally between the nine in our group. Our most expensive shared meal has been $8AUD and beers often cost less than soft drink or water and the bill might increase by 20 cents on average if someone drank an extra one with the meal so it all seems like small change.
Our group consists of 2 Americans and 7 Australians. Travelling across China without language skills and without a guide would be difficult. We opt for the small group experience because it provides more flexibility and independence as well as providing a wider experience than the ‘private big coach’ alternative. However all relationships need effort and compromise, and travelling with anyone can create tensions and as this small group is our family for the next few weeks we will need to read the signals to prevent ripples becoming waves.
A visit to the toilet in the train station Waiting Room 4 is enough to convince me that Mark’s decision to wait in the Noodle Bar is wise. The waiting room is sardine-can packed and bodies and luggage are sprawled. Forty minutes before departure on soft sleeper first class we shuffle through subways to board what appears to be a brand new train. The four of us stash our luggage beneath the seats and in the overhead holds as we unearth the bottle of Beijing cabernet purchased for just this moment. Placing the bottle on our table in our compartment we ask the others of our group who are in the adjacent rooms if they also got a complimentary bottle of wine. The Australians give us a wry smile and Pepper is not impressed!