Arrive 8.30am in enchanting Harbin. I think Leeds to Beijing's London. It used to be Russian and the architecture reflects this. Leave my bag at the station cloakroom after dear Li Fe has helped me buy tonight's ticket for Suifenhe. Nice cabman takes me to the wrong street for the internet and I stumble into a photographer's studio, thinking it is a coffee shop and promptly fall off a bench, causing much concern to young people. Charming punky kid walks me to next street to net place which is dark and grubby and awesome with about 30 flatscreen pcs at Y3 an hour. decentish loo, chairs like aeroplane seats. I spend a couple of hours updating this blog (why does anyone do a blog? it hangs over you like Damocles' sword), then do a half decent trip report on the L to B train for dear Mr Smith.
here they have McDonalds! shopping malls! a cinema with Quantum of Solace (nearly go for it) and a Tomato festival - possibly. Certainly there are tomato balloons, elderly dancers in tomato red, drummers and a two-lion Lion Dance. Hilarious. The mall has Gieves and Hawkes, Armani, Cerruti, givenchy - just fab. I go mad with shopping fever and buy emery boards.
Here are Russian shops with fur hats, fur stoles, fur gloves. None of that Peta nonsense here. It is too damn cold.
Back to the net for another couple of hours. Place filling up with kids playing games so I leave and get a cab to St Sophia which is charming and has an exhibition of photos of the early days before the 'liberation'.
Walk back to town and only have to ask directions once.
Train is called and I am lucky to be sharing with Su She (possibly) and unmarried 46 year old whose name I never get. Su is pretty and has a 17 yr old boy who I get to speak on the phone with. She loves my phrase book and together we manage to have really good conversation between the three of us. She already has some English and has no trouble picking up more. On the whole I prefer hard class as no door so more air and much more friendly. There is a 'Smoking section' whcih is an oldfashioned metal ashtray in the corridor. Fine.
