Since the last post in May, I have traversed this wide country north to south and back again, first journeying with my parents and brother (who came to visit me in Beijing at the end of my spring term) to Hangzhou, Suzhou, Guilin, Hong Kong (via Guangzhou and Shenzhen), Macao, then back to the mainland with two of my best friends to Nanjing (via Shenzhen once again), and finally back to Beijing.
I have seen a lot in the last month, and endured a few hardships, mostly travel related. I thought, before blogging about the great things we saw, I would bitch about said hardships just a little bit and offer some advice for future travelers who might be in similar positions.
Advice Piece #1: Double Check the Departure Time on your Train Ticket
It was a balmy evening in Hangzhou when I arrived at the main train station with plenty of time to spare for our 8:55 departure, or so I thought. All was fine and good until I took a look at the departure board in the central hall, no sign of any trains to nearby Suzhou, our intended destination. Upon speaking with one of the clerks, I realized we were not actually one hour early, but eleven hours late. I seemed to have overlooked one small but important detail: 8:55 means 8:55...in the morning. Damnit military time!
My family, who not speaking any Chinese, were mostly dependent on me for the trip, were a little annoyed at first, but soon saw the situation very humorously. Those who know me are aware of my inability to get places on time. On this occasion, we were not just a few minutes late, like I usually was, but rather 11 hours.
In the end, we went downstairs and I negotiated (or rather had no choice but to accept) a 700 RMB cab ride to Suzhou, two hours away. The journey, after having to switch taxis (our first one broke down in Hangzhou) went smoothly. Our jovial driver played some Chinese music and laughed from time to time. We actually arrived in Suzhou earlier than our planned arrival by the train that actually never existed.
Nevertheless, next time I buy train tickets in China, or most countries for that matter, I'll make sure to double check the time.
Advice #2: Don't Use Expedia.com
We got to the airport in Guilin as early as we got to the train station in Suzhou, but upon trying to check in to our flight to Hong Kong (with a stopover in Guangzhou) we were told there was no record of our ticket on said flight. We had booked through expedia so we called their customer service hotline, and were given the usual customer service treatment, which is to say none at all. "Um sorry, we know you booked tickets through our website and are now stranded in a faraway place, but there is nothing we can do about it, please file a report later. thank you." Apparently, Expedia, who had earlier switched our nonstop flight from Guilin to Hong Kong because it was "cancelled" had actually failed to put us on a flight at all. We were stranded in the Guilin Airport...which brings us to our next point.
Advice # 3: Avoid the Guilin Airport
We spent a few lovely hours at beautiful Guilin's airport. By the time we left on our flight to Guangzhou aboard Shenzhen airlines, this airport and its amazingly helpful fuwuyuan had become a punching bag for all of our complaints and anger. First, the women at the airlines desks were either completely incompetent or unwilling to help. Second, I was forced to discard three Mao lighters from my CHECKED luggage. I had been able to pack these lighters on flights all around China, and finally at this airport I was stopped by an over-zealous bag handler. At this point we were all stressed, including myself, due to our cancelled flights and so I let loose the full arsenal of my Chinese curse words upon him, including a shabi here and there, and definitely some tamades. I'm sure by the time we left, with all of our massive American-sized luggage pieces on board, the people at the airport had all their stereotypes of Americans confirmed. Then, just as we were about to board our plane, we made the poor choice of dining at the overpriced airport restaurant that charged us 18 RMB for a sprite, about six times the normal cost.
Advice # 4 Don't try to Cross into Hong Kong on foot
After our direct flight to Hong Kong had been cancelled, and we were unable to board our rescheduled flight due to Expedia's fuck ups, we were forced to improvise a little:
Four tickets from Guilin to Guangzhou, Shenzhen Airlines: 2000RMB
One private bus trip from Guangzhou Airport to Shenzhen: 900 RMB
One bus from Shenzhen-Hong Kong border to Kowloon, Hong Kong: 36 HKD
Crossing the footbridge between HK and Shenzhen with 6 pieces of luggage in a monsoon, then going through customs twice, getting on a bus, being forced to get off again with all our luggage to be "checked" for swine flu, and then finally arriving: Priceless
Advice #5: Don't Stay in the Chungking Mansions
The first few nights in Hong Kong were spent in the comfortable Eaton Hotel with my family. When they returned to the US, I moved into the budget accommodations down Nathan Road at the infamous Chungking Mansions, a melting pot of Indians, Pakistanis, Africans, Asians, and white backpackers, a crumbling concrete warren infused with a lingering smell of curry. I stayed here for about a week, waiting for my friends to join me. I had been warned by Internet sites about the dangers of staying here but for most of the stay there were no problems. On the final night here, my friends and I sleeping in the same room, we were had.
My friend Matt at 8:00 AM: "Where's my iphone?"
Me, five minutes later: "Where's my wallet?"
My friend Bruce, five minutes later, "Where's my camera?"
In the middle of the night thieves had infiltrated our secure defenses and managed to grab an item of value from each of us. Luckily I still had my passport, computer, iphone, and computer, all of which were stored under my bed. Our stuff had been rearranged, our room rifled through...these people, whoever they were knew what they were doing. Point being: don't ever stay in the Chungking Mansions.
I have seen a lot in the last month, and endured a few hardships, mostly travel related. I thought, before blogging about the great things we saw, I would bitch about said hardships just a little bit and offer some advice for future travelers who might be in similar positions.
Advice Piece #1: Double Check the Departure Time on your Train Ticket
It was a balmy evening in Hangzhou when I arrived at the main train station with plenty of time to spare for our 8:55 departure, or so I thought. All was fine and good until I took a look at the departure board in the central hall, no sign of any trains to nearby Suzhou, our intended destination. Upon speaking with one of the clerks, I realized we were not actually one hour early, but eleven hours late. I seemed to have overlooked one small but important detail: 8:55 means 8:55...in the morning. Damnit military time!
My family, who not speaking any Chinese, were mostly dependent on me for the trip, were a little annoyed at first, but soon saw the situation very humorously. Those who know me are aware of my inability to get places on time. On this occasion, we were not just a few minutes late, like I usually was, but rather 11 hours.
In the end, we went downstairs and I negotiated (or rather had no choice but to accept) a 700 RMB cab ride to Suzhou, two hours away. The journey, after having to switch taxis (our first one broke down in Hangzhou) went smoothly. Our jovial driver played some Chinese music and laughed from time to time. We actually arrived in Suzhou earlier than our planned arrival by the train that actually never existed.
Nevertheless, next time I buy train tickets in China, or most countries for that matter, I'll make sure to double check the time.
Advice #2: Don't Use Expedia.com
We got to the airport in Guilin as early as we got to the train station in Suzhou, but upon trying to check in to our flight to Hong Kong (with a stopover in Guangzhou) we were told there was no record of our ticket on said flight. We had booked through expedia so we called their customer service hotline, and were given the usual customer service treatment, which is to say none at all. "Um sorry, we know you booked tickets through our website and are now stranded in a faraway place, but there is nothing we can do about it, please file a report later. thank you." Apparently, Expedia, who had earlier switched our nonstop flight from Guilin to Hong Kong because it was "cancelled" had actually failed to put us on a flight at all. We were stranded in the Guilin Airport...which brings us to our next point.
Advice # 3: Avoid the Guilin Airport
We spent a few lovely hours at beautiful Guilin's airport. By the time we left on our flight to Guangzhou aboard Shenzhen airlines, this airport and its amazingly helpful fuwuyuan had become a punching bag for all of our complaints and anger. First, the women at the airlines desks were either completely incompetent or unwilling to help. Second, I was forced to discard three Mao lighters from my CHECKED luggage. I had been able to pack these lighters on flights all around China, and finally at this airport I was stopped by an over-zealous bag handler. At this point we were all stressed, including myself, due to our cancelled flights and so I let loose the full arsenal of my Chinese curse words upon him, including a shabi here and there, and definitely some tamades. I'm sure by the time we left, with all of our massive American-sized luggage pieces on board, the people at the airport had all their stereotypes of Americans confirmed. Then, just as we were about to board our plane, we made the poor choice of dining at the overpriced airport restaurant that charged us 18 RMB for a sprite, about six times the normal cost.
Advice # 4 Don't try to Cross into Hong Kong on foot
After our direct flight to Hong Kong had been cancelled, and we were unable to board our rescheduled flight due to Expedia's fuck ups, we were forced to improvise a little:
Four tickets from Guilin to Guangzhou, Shenzhen Airlines: 2000RMB
One private bus trip from Guangzhou Airport to Shenzhen: 900 RMB
One bus from Shenzhen-Hong Kong border to Kowloon, Hong Kong: 36 HKD
Crossing the footbridge between HK and Shenzhen with 6 pieces of luggage in a monsoon, then going through customs twice, getting on a bus, being forced to get off again with all our luggage to be "checked" for swine flu, and then finally arriving: Priceless
Advice #5: Don't Stay in the Chungking Mansions
The first few nights in Hong Kong were spent in the comfortable Eaton Hotel with my family. When they returned to the US, I moved into the budget accommodations down Nathan Road at the infamous Chungking Mansions, a melting pot of Indians, Pakistanis, Africans, Asians, and white backpackers, a crumbling concrete warren infused with a lingering smell of curry. I stayed here for about a week, waiting for my friends to join me. I had been warned by Internet sites about the dangers of staying here but for most of the stay there were no problems. On the final night here, my friends and I sleeping in the same room, we were had.
My friend Matt at 8:00 AM: "Where's my iphone?"
Me, five minutes later: "Where's my wallet?"
My friend Bruce, five minutes later, "Where's my camera?"
In the middle of the night thieves had infiltrated our secure defenses and managed to grab an item of value from each of us. Luckily I still had my passport, computer, iphone, and computer, all of which were stored under my bed. Our stuff had been rearranged, our room rifled through...these people, whoever they were knew what they were doing. Point being: don't ever stay in the Chungking Mansions.
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