All this work I’ve been putting into my Winter break plans and I think it’sstarting to finally pan-out. On Saturday I woke up at 6:30 AM (!) to go purchase a train ticket to Pingyao, Shanxi. I was a little worried about buying the train ticket because you can only buy tickets 10 days in advance and during this time of year (Chinese New Year) the trains are crazy busy. I’ve heard stories of people camping out all night just to buy a train ticket!

Marina advised me  of a lesser-known ticket office semi-near my school so I went there. I was rather nervous because I’ve never bought a ticket before and don’t think I know enough Chinese to complete the transaction. Being the helpful girlfriend that she is, Marina sent me a text message to show the ticket clerk telling him exactly what I wanted. Long story short, I arrived at 7:30, waited til the window opened at 8 AM (3rd in line), showed the clerk my message and had my ticket in about 5 minutes. Pretty smooth actually!

So now that I’ve got my train ticket, and Marina booked us another train ticket as well as airline tickets, I can actually say that I have solid plans for this trip. It looks a little something like this:

» Read more: Winter Break Travel Plans