is there poodle in my noodle

I’m not sure if we have been this excited since our wedding day. Today, we were going on a BULLET TRAIN. The 1,000km journey to Xi’An would take approximately 11/12 hours in a car. We would be there in just 4 hours.

We woke up with a frisson of anticipation, navigating the early morning subway to Beijing West Train Station. After the ubiquitous bag x-rays and ID checks, we grabbed some noodles and soaked in the atmosphere.

Beijing West Station was much like a futuristic King’s Cross St Pancras, with vast waiting rooms designated for various high-speed trains, leaving for all over northern China. We could hardly contain ourselves for the next hour.

Riding the bullet train was like stepping into one of those pictures children draw to illustrate what 2050 would be like. Like Beijing, it was spotless and efficient, powering through the Chinese rural outback offering sometimes quite bleak views of the cityscapes and farmlands.

The speeds were electrifying, with nearby geographical features becoming a blur as the train reached top speeds of 217mph (350kmph). Pretty impressive considering that in 1993, trains in China averaged speeds of just 30mph!