First, getting a taxi was impossible. So many people were vying for taxies everywhere. My friend Liz even got into a struggle with one girl as they both tried to get into the same taxi. Hilarious from my viewpoint, but frustrating all the same. Then, we tried to board the bus. I, being used to the Beijing system of boarding on the back, boarded the back of the bus… and waited. The bus wasn’t going, and there was an automated message repeating on the speakers. I couldn’t quite understand the stilted speech in the automated message, but everyone was looking at me, and I flushed, beginning to realize maybe the message was for me. Liz had gone up to pay our fare, so I didn’t know what the problem was, but as I began to understand the message (as it repeated for the eighth time), I realized it was saying, “People who boarded the back of the bus, please get off and board up front.”
Oh. That would be me. That would also explain why this public, double-decker bus-full of impatient Chinese people were all staring at me. I was holding things up. So finally, as I was about to get off and get to the front, the doors closed, and the bus started going. “Well,” I thought, “I’m just going to act like I don’t understand Chinese.” Easy enough, right? But then people began to prepare to disembark from the bus, and my friend Liz’s suitcase was in the way, so a passenger turned and asked me, “Is this yours?” and I reply, IN PERFECT CHINESE, “No it’s not mine, but I can take care of it.” Instant fail, but I couldn’t help it! I just… said it! So now everyone around me knew I understood Chinese and probably thought I was trying to bum a free ride in the back of the bus. After all, they had no idea my friend had gone up front to pay for me.
Well, we eventually got to the train station, and after accidentally walking to the exit, we went back around some construction to the entrance, from where we got in a long and (here’s that word again) crushing line of people waiting to board our train. So, en masse, we squeezed through the ticket check, up the stairs, across the skywalk and down the stairs to our train.
Chalk this up as an embarrassing yet effective learning experience. My guess is that you'll never board the rear of the bus again!
ReplyDeleteThe masses of people traveling to and around Xi'an are part of a larger story; the explosion of domestic tourism. I think you're seeing how the tourism industry (centered around historic and natural sites) bolsters the transportation industry, and hastens the need for infrastructure development.