Hooray, we've survived the Chinese sleeper train, and are here in Kunming. We left Guangzhou on our first Chinese sleeper train, the 16 hour Z211 at 19:42. We'd arrived at the station in good time to face our first challenge - making sense of the Chinese way of doing things. There were a number of queues heading into the station, all numbered. We looked on the large display and noticed our train had a number four on the same line (thankfully the Chinese also use the same squiggles for numbers as us! ) so headed for queue four. After all, they could only send us away. On reaching the front of the line the official checked our tickets, stamped them, and waved each of us through. On entering the concourse a large LED sign indicated passengers for our train should go upstairs to waiting room four. Unlike other countries we've been to each train is allocated a waiting room for its passengers to avoid a huge melee of people on the concourse. Great system we thought until we arrived at room four to find passengers bulging out of the door. Two officials had radio mikes that conveyed any conversation to the rest of the area, although as each seemed to be talking to people continuously, whilst selling last minute tickets, their voices just added to the cacophony.

Apparently, the waiting rooms often accommodate passengers from a number of trains, so with the imminent departure of the 18:22 the area partially emptied and we were able to find a seat. The process is that you then just wait until your train is ready. Not speaking sufficient Chinese we just waited for people to start moving luggage etc towards the gate. As the departure time approached people started to move towards the exit so John and I, tickets in hand, backpacks on backs, day packs on fronts etc followed the crowd. Eventually, a small gap was opened in the metal barrier and the crowd surged forward like housewives heading into Selfridges for the sale. We didn't need to worry that we would miss out on a seat or berth as we had numbered tickets, but we knew if we didn't push through we would be last on board and maybe struggling for luggage storage, so with elbows sharpened and a count of three we pushed into the small space in front of us and managed to get through the gap unscathed ( although I can't account for the Chinese who were trying to get through at the same time). The next challenge for many of the passengers came as we then had to go down two flights of stairs. Like the Grand National, many fell at this first fence, wheels were falling off makeshift trolleys under the weight of enormous bags, as people struggled to negotiate the stairs. For once John and I had the advantage with our backpacks and strolled ahead chicaning around errant parcels and their distraught owners.

Eventually, after a short walk along the train, we found our carriage and were met by the steward, and a short mat bridging the gap between platform and station. We soon found our cabin. Technically known as a soft sleeper it comprised four bunks in an enclosed cabin, complete with clean sheets pillows and thin duvets the whole thing looked very promising. It turned out we only had one other cabin mate, a nice young man from China who spoke only basic English so we had a nice quiet trip. We even had sockets to charge the electronics...which was a bonus for me as it meant I could catch up with the blog. Well at least write a few of the missing ones.

We woke after a refreshing nights sleep to the sights of the countryside. Green mountainsides and valleys littered with rice terracing - very similar scenery to that of Northern Vietnam around Sapa. Feeling somewhat peckish we headed to the adjacent dining car for our first experience of Chinese breakfast. Don't ask what it was called as we don't know - we just picked off the picture. We'd seen the size of the portions and decided one bowl of the £4 noodle soup would be enough, so selected one which showed a plate of meat and eggs, a side bowl of noodles, and a large bowl of stock. When it arrived the girl proceeded to tip everything into one bowl to make a pretty tasty soup. The dining room was well appointed with ornaments and clean upholstery. Staff wore attractive clean uniforms and the other passengers were pleasant and quiet. Were we really on a Chinese train?

For those of you concerned about toilet facilities I can tell you that the stewards, as well as looking after the needs of passengers, are appointed toilet cleaners as well so both the western and Asian toilets were kept in a sanitary state throughout the journey- unless of course, you followed someone in who had done a solid deposit as the flush alone was insufficient for the job and required the steward's bucket treatment. I'm not sure why there wasn't a bucket for passenger use, as on the Indian trains, maybe they'd had a few stolen - I can only guess. Anyway, in summary, our train journey exceeded expectations - £51 each for the 16-hour journey seemed good value to us. The beds were wide and comfy with everything we needed. The backpacks fitted beneath the bottom bunk, and best of all the door to the cabin could be locked and was great for insulating against noise. Maybe China won't be so bad after all.