Pineau, that's pretty funny about the 3 monies....you thinking it was 3 Yuan and instead, it was 300....Looking back at things like that is humorous but at that time I'll bet it was a big irritationoni for you !!! Hahahaha ! (I am laughing with you, not at you...)
Yes, the luggage thing is important just like you say. You do not want to deal with so many bags/things, especially since in railway stations you'll have to be going up/down stairs, having multiple bags/suitcases would be a giant pain in the A&& !! I found that out !! My hands were really sore from having to handle stuff all of the time. Also, another thing I found out, when you get on some trains, there aren't so many places where you can put a lot of luggage. Yes, they do have some space, but then you might have to put extra things near the door exits. Then, you will have to always look to see that those things are still there, on a long trip that isn't too much fun !
One other thing I forgot to mention is for newbie travelers is to always take some kind of small portable snacks with you. Having some trail mix, peanuts, carton of milk, piece of bread/cake, or something edible is very handy. Sometimes you will have delays/changes/mixups, and it will throw your whole eating schedule off. I found this out the hard way as I had a long bus ride of 4 hours from Shanghai Railway Station to Yangzhou. I saw a couple of fast food places but I was a bit late and did not want to miss the last bus so I went directly to the ticket booth. People at the ticket booth were very nice and I got whisked off right to the last bus, I just made it, the bus waited for me !!! But once on the bus, I was starved, I could have eaten shoe leather....Hahaha ! Then, people in front of me started eating sunflower seeds, God ! I could have killed for some of those !! Next time I will ask, as people are usually friendly. There I was with a bad headache from not eating and hearing munching sunflower seed people in front !! Hahahaa ! Wow ! No need for Chinese Water Torture, that was torture enough !! Haha ! Luckily, the bus did make a stop halfway at a car/truck stop. I quickly got off and I found a restaurant, no English anywhere whatsoever ! But I managed with my poor Mandarin to get some chow. Just had time to go to the bathroom after that and then the bus driver was looking for me. Got onto the bus and a lot of the people started to laugh at me when they saw all of the stuff I bought to eat !! Wow ! I was in heaven scarfing down all the goodies !! I got some chicken, rice, vegetables with cabbage, and I was lapping it up like some kind of starved dog !! Hahaa ! Whoever cooked that food did a great job, it was really good ! But in all honesty folks, you will remember what I say here regarding food and I'll bet other members have their stories regarding this as well. I ain't going through that again, I assure you I'll be carrying my little bag of food goodies with me !! Haha !
Iceland or any other person, I am not trying to scare you but to give you some tips that can really make things much easier. As I said before, it is better to be aware of things like this, then you are better prepared mentally to deal with it.
Mac