UBER FAIL

che

Vehicle

T plus 7 - Xi'an

I feel like a country bumpkin.

Made a bit of a boo boo today.  Not monumental by any measure, but satisfyingly stupid.  Thought I'd share it with everyone so that you can have a laugh at my expense.

So I decided to buy my 20th May train ticket to Lanzhou (where I catch the train to Tibet on the 21st) early, to avoid any nasty surprises. 

I studied the map of Xi'an and was delighted to find that the train station was within walking distance.  Hooray!  Classic case of the eye seeing only what it wants to see.  Read on.

I arrived at my destination and dashed in, avoiding the small army of touts lurking outside.  Asked for a che to Lanzhou on the 20th.  The lady gave me a strange look when I asked for a "sleeper" but punched out a ticket for me anyway.  I paid, beaming at what I thought was pretty good value for money, and stepped aside to inspect the ticket.  "Hmmm, why is there no seat/bunk number", I wondered.

Now, I have to explain that che is used in mandarin to describe all kinds of vehicles - trains, cars, buses etc.  I also have to explain that there's a bus station directly opposite the train station.  Both are clearly marked on the map.  But again, the eye sees what it wants to see.

You guessed it.  I've booked myself on the bus to Lanzhou by mistake!

The train takes 9 hours.  I'm furiously googling now to see how long the bus will take.  And the ticket doesn't say if I'll be seated on a plushy reclining seat or a hard plastic bench. 

Or no seat.  Bugger.


For reference purposes:

THIS is the railway station in Xi'an.  Suitably grand.  Big clock in front and everything.

And THIS is the bus station in Xi'an.
 
Yes, the one with buses on the outside. 

And massive letters on the top which spell out BUS STATION in Chinese.