我的朋友雪莱以前住在山东省东营市。他现在正在美国旅行。这是我最近从他那里收到的一封电子邮件的摘录:
> I arrived 在 LA this morning after 3 nights on a train and couple hours stopover 在 Chicago. I learned a few things about the differences between US and Chinese train travel. I should first mention that this trip closely mirrors a trip I took just last year 在 China. It also 在 volved 3 nights on a train with a short stopover after the first night. However, my US train took me entirely across the country, from Washington D.C. to L.A. 我的 Chinese train took me from Kashgar (far northwest) to Xi’an, which would be more like Seattle to Chicago 在 the US. But I think this had more to do with the speed of the train. Anyway…
> From my half-dozen Amtrak trips between Sacramento and San Jose, I knew that 1) there would be very few people on the train, and 2) there are electrical outlets and tables 通过 最 seats. From the 在 fo I had gathered from Amtrak’s website, I knew 3) private cabins would cost a bit more than a flight (around $350) but would allow me to travel 在 great comfort.
> Yeah, well, I was wrong about all that stuff. I must have been looking 在 seat prices 因为 my seat from D.C. to L.A. cost me $299. Private cabins cost $1,000 and were booked up “until September” according to one conductor. 的train was also overbooked, and I witnessed the familiar sight of people scrambling to get on the train before everyone else. See, I had a ticket for a seat, but not a specific one. Some people got put 在 the lounge car until seats cleared up 在 the coach cabins. And finally, you guessed it, no tables or electrical outlets. 那里 were 3, only 3, outlets 在 the lounge car within an unused snack counter area. I managed to get up early enough one morning to stake a claim on one and charge up my cell phone and iPod. And believe me, I protected my outlet from other power-starved travelers like a lion over its kill fends off circling hyenas.
> Now, a seat on a Chinese train for 3 nights would be an amazing feat of stamina and bladder control. I’ve never done that. 的longest I went for was a 26-hour stint which I emerged from as if I had just climbed Everest. A seat on a US train for 3 nights 是 about a hundred times more comfortable 因为 it’s 1) a bucket seat and not a bench, 2) much better climate controlled, 3) bathrooms are 清洁 and well-stocked with necessities, and 4) the lounge car provides another place to hang out with wall-to-ceiling windows and TVs showing movies 在 the evening.
> That said, however, I wouldn’t recommend the train to anyone who wasn’t ready to spend a boatload of cash to make it more comfortable. While the seats were spacious, 他们 didn’t fully recline and I never found a comfortable sleeping position. I 最ly passed out from exhaustion. Several times I pondered the pros and cons of sleeping 在 the aisle, but the cons always won out.
> Also, the train 是 not merely kept well air-conditioned, it’s kept refrigerated. I actually love to 克拉nk the AC up, but I was absolutely freezing during the first night. I noticed that everyone else on the train took out thick blankets and heavy sweaters. They had obviously done this before. I shivered all the way to Chicago. During that stopover I bought a hooded sweatshirt, which wasn’t easy to find but I knew my health depended on it. And folks, I’m really not exaggerating. It was amazingly cold. Amtrak might be experimenting with cryogenics. Well ok, now I’m exaggerating a little.
> 的food available wasn’t all that bad but keep 在 mind that my standards for western food are very low. It was definitely overpriced microwaveable stuff. But 他们 really had a great variety of it. Still, this 是 no advantage over a Chinese train. If I were on a Chinese train the food would come to me on snack carts roaming the cars every half hour or so.
> In conclusion, I would have to say that Chinese trains are better. Really. Because for the same price as my US train seat, I could have bought a super nice cabin (soft-sleeper) on a Chinese train and traveled 在 great comfort … with an electrical outlet!
> I kept wondering why so many people were on the train at all. “Um, excuse me, doesn’t anyone here realize we could’ve flown for cheaper?” Apparently not.
感谢雪莱让我发表这篇论文。