Eric's Beijing Diary

Dear little Inga came to my hotel this morning at 9 am. I met her in the lobby, and we went to a nearby supermarket to get some fruit and bread for my trip. Later, as she was painstakingly washing all my fruit to make sure it was safe, her phone rang. After she was finished talking, she said, "My mother is an empress." I said, "Well, if your mother is an empress, then you must be a princess." She said, "No, I'm a slave." If true, then Inga is the best little slave that ever was. She worked like a trooper helping me get ready for the long journey across the country. And the whole thing was her idea. That kid has definitely been brought up right. And her mother was an empress in deed. A woman of extraordinary dignity and bearing. She came to the hotel to get me, and took us (her brother, his daughter Lori, Inga, and me) to a restaurant nearby and ordered an exquisite lunch. She really didn't need to do something like this, especially after last night's banquet. But in truth, it was exactly what I needed. I got on the train with a full stomach.

On the platform, she met her friend. Turns out, when they got the ticket for me, they had requested a bottom bunk, because they felt that would be more convenient for me. But the ticket had been for a top bunk. She asked her friend to fix the problem. He took me to an empty compartment (each soft sleeper compartment has four beds) at the end of the car, and told me to take my pick. Again, it helps to know someone.