Hard seat to Xinjiang

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So next week is National Week, a fall country-wide holiday where China's rural-urban migration is reversed and students, migrants and sojourners make the trek home (travel costs being what they are, however, few among the migrant-worker population can afford the trip).

I'm foolishly taking a train from Shanghai to Urumqi (Wulumuqi in Mandarin), the capital of Xinjiang. This is the "wild west" of China, with the country's hottest and coldest spots, a whack of oil underground and the majority of China's Uyghur population.

That's about all I know. And I sure as hell can't speak Uyghur. But I do know this train is supposed to take about 42 hours, which is triple the amount of time I've spent in a vehicle of any kind. I'm taking a "hard seat," which costs about $60 each way. Should be interesting.

Here's hoping I nab a window seat.