The train was about to leave at 10 pm from the Beijing West Train Station. We left early from the apartment and arrived to the station about two hours before departure. The station made quite an impression on us, it was a big station.

We found our carriage and our so called hardseats (they are not that hard in reality, actually they are rather soft and nice to sit on). The air fans in the roof above our seats were broken. Despite the lack of artifical wind we arrived to Datong in good condition.

In the evening I played some 8-ball billiards against some natives -- one of the adventure traditions! The "billiard hall" consisted of five tables in a row, outside. I started play against an older man, but he soon realised he wasn't going to win this game so he handed the cue stick to another man and it continued like this. I think I met 5 guys totally. The last one was pretty good. 3 games total and I won 2 of these. Pretty ok, considering that tables, balls and rules were not the usual stuff :)