Time for another hop on China’s very fast and smooth bullet trains: this time from Xiamen to Wuyishan. Unlike the previous trains I took, this one topped 300kmh over its 4-hour journey. Wuyishan was very beautiful to arrive in, but getting to my hotel wasn’t easy. The hotel arranged driver failed to show up at the train station due to some language confusion, so I was forced to keep a dozen taxi drivers at bay while communicating with my hotel to try to find out what was wrong. Since nobody at the hotel or around me knew English, it was difficult to finally find a resolution. I was forced to find a willing taxi driver who would charge me for the same price I negotiated with the hotel. I found one willing, and we set off for the hotel.
It turned out that the driver had never heard of the hotel and had no idea how to get there. Once he found out, he wanted more money – but I insisted we stick to what was negotiated. When we arrived (using my Google Maps via VPN connection), we found the entire neighbourhood my hotel was located in dug up into muddy tracks that were inaccessible for the taxi. I had to hoof it through the dirty, muddy streets for the last several blocks – only to find out Google maps hotel location was off by several blocks. By the time I finally found the hotel, I was covered in sweat and not happy. It was extremely hot and humid. The hotel reimbursed me for the taxi charge and apologized repeatedly. I later learned the trick is to photograph your train ticket and send it to your hotel so there are no misunderstandings about where and when you need to be picked up.
I ventured off to a local supermarket to try and find something to nibble on while I waiting for my traveling companions to join me. There was no English spoken on site and my iPhone apps were not doing the best job of translating for me. At least I ended up in a nice hotel room with a beautiful view of Wuyishan mountain.
