Nanjing time

The journey from Beijing to Nanjing was the worst train journey I've ever experienced. In total it took 11 hours and it was so packed with people even standing anywhere there was just a bit of space. I have learnt never to take the cheapest hard seats for long trips, it was really uncomfortable after all those hours. Also the bright light was on all the time and people shouting and singing in the middle of the night. I am happy to have experienced it so that I know what it's like but probably hope to never repeat it.

Arriving at Nanjing train station made everything a bit worse. Everyone was staring at me all the time, coming up to me and shouting things, worse than in Thailand even. Above this, no one spoke any English at all and all the signs were in Chinese characters, not even in Pinyin so was a bit lost in translation there. Luckily a friendly couple tried to help me on the right way and after an hour of the subway and walking I eventually fround the University of Nanjing and the International students building. Althought the lady there didn't know why I was there which was a bit worrying, but it turned out we're staying in a hotel for the first week because the other rooms are fully booked. So this is quite nice too. After only 10 minutes at the university, I've already made some friends and got invited to a birthday party next week, good times.