Hi all,
Well, I've been back from China now for a week after my first ever trip, so time to update this thread...
Firstly I got some great advice from you all before I left, and I even followed some of it
I did fly premium economy on China Southern and it was an excellent flight - I even managed a bit of sleep. The stopover for 24 hours in GZ was the right thing to do and the Pullman Hotel right at the airport was great. I was a bit tired after all the things I had to do before I left, so I spent that time in GZ mainly resting. I think I got ripped off when I asked someone for directions from the arrival area at the airport to the hotel, only to find he walked me there then demanded 50 RMB for his service.
I did walk around all the shops at the Airport and had a meal there. I figured out the airport free WIFI (the website was only in Chinese) and sat there for an hour working through emails, and a young Chinese man started chatting to me. He had just come from his English lesson after work and was also trying to figure out the WiFi while waiting to meet his friends for dinner, so I helped him with that. There was a confusing phone call from my gf who couldn't understand what I was doing back at the airport, so he helped translate that one back to her. Then I had an important email come in which had some documents attached that I needed to sign and fax back to New Zealand, so I told him (his English name was Went), and he kindly offered to help me. He works for China Southern airlines so we caught the bus to his offices, where we downloaded and printed the documents. They got signed (and witnessed), but his company fax wouldn't send international, so he kindly wrote out instructions in Chinese for me for either my hotel, or Anna the next day to organise the faxing. Anyway I was really pleased to run into such a helpful person in my first few hours in China.
Later that evening, I took a break in the hotel bar and used the WiFi there (not available in the rooms) so I could chat on QQ some more with Anna. I had 2 Heinekens and the bill was 104 RMB - another lesson learned.
The next morning I was up early for breakfast, and dressed all tidy ready to meet Anna in Chengdu for the first time. The temperature had already risen to 34 C, but the airport terminal was less humid than outside. I checked in my bag then had plenty of time to wander around before going through security. When I finally went through (after waiting in a really long queue) I was told that my duty free bag with a gift box of 2 bottles of NZ wine could not be carried on the plane, even though it was perfectly fine the day before on the flight (same airline) from NZ. They made me go back through the x-ray and queues and check it in. The check-in queue (miles back from the security) was even longer and I waited there for an age, then managed to grab an airline lady and explained the situation. She sent me to another counter for packaging it up (for a charge). Then they sent me across the airport to another counter for excess baggage check in, and yet another queue and the only person serving there was on the phone. Finally I got that accepted but he said there was another fee to pay and that I have to go back across the airport get it paid and receipted and bring it back to him. I said there was no time, my plane was boarding, but he said hurry. So I ran again, got it paid, ran back to him and another queue. This time I did the Chinese thing and pushed past everyone else and handed him my receipt, then ran the other way across the airport back to security. The guy on the desk was really confused because my boarding pass had already been stamped, but somehow made him understand I was coming through for the second time. This time the x-ray went mental and I had to take off my belt and shoes and go through again etc, then put them back on again. I'm getting really hot and sweaty, late for boarding and a bit irritable, but I stayed calm, there's no way I was missing this flight. Maybe I should have abandoned the wine, but it was a gift for her brother. Another long walk to the far end of the terminal (I'm sure they do this on purpose), and I'm the last person on the bus which is sitting on the tarmac in 35 degrees and high humidity. We wait another 20 minutes in this heat before finally driving out and boarding the plane. At this stage I wish I had packed a clean shirt in my backpack, but at least it cooled down a bit during the flight, and I was getting closer to Anna and could think of nothing else.
Well that's plenty for the first chapter...
Steve
