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| Deanne, Catriona and me ready to leave Oz |
This is my first visit to China and I was amazed at the organisation with pink ladies standing as we exited immigration, with my name on a board and personalised instructions to as to where to go, wait and proceed. She even put a sticker on me that stated where we were flying to. AND free hot coffee, water, coke and lemonade while you do the waiting bit. It was a 4.30 am landing - no curfew here. Hope they don't ever do this to Sydney airport especially while I'm staying at Matt and Kass's house in Lilyfield.
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| Ghangzhou |
There is a rushing sound coming from the ceiling - seems to be the lining dropped down a bit and we're getting a blast from the air conditioning.
We're an hour sitting on the tarmac wedged in our seats adding this much to an already anticipated long flight on to Urumqi. Of course, taking off we saw virtually nothing through the smog till three hours north west, when snowed capped mountain ridges and glaciers rose from the dessert. A rugged landscape in the middle of nowhere - and can't get a photo to do it justice through the dirty plane window. But vivid memories of Alaska.
Getting closer to Urumqi now, snow covering the entire ground and have just had an announcement that we've received advice to circle and delay landing a while because of unfavourable conditions!!!! Probably happens all the time......
We finally landed to more pea soup but not in Urumqi. The name is only written in Chinese and we can't understand the air hostess, but we understand we're 200 Km by road from Urumqi and will be taken there by bus. Armidale airport all over again!
No. Here we sit in an unknown outpost of north west China, still on the same plane two and a half hours later - we could have been in Urumqi by bus. Now they've decided the weather has improved and we'll fly back to Urumqi. But I'm sorry, every where looks like the middle of a snow storm to me. However we're off with zero visibility from the ground up, over the rugged mountains we know are close, and down - still zero visibility until we are about 20 metres off the ground !!!! And this is improved on what we were to land in three hours ago? Probably happens all the time...... I have to admit it was the scariest flight I've ever taken, and consequently accompanied by lots of prayer.
And the temperature is 1 degree.
Smartly dressed young boy meets us in a black Audi for swift transfer to Sheraton Hotel. My first real look at China. Don't know what I expected but typical contrasts of slum and high rise splendour amidst neon lights, mostly red.
Dinner is going to be down town as we're too ikey to pay for hotel food.
Lesson number 1. You can't tell the contents of a Chinese shop from the outside.
Finding a food venue is a difficult task when you can't read the signs and all of the shops seem to be deep in past their frontage so impossible to tell what goes on in there. There was a severe shortage of window display. There was one huge sign with pictures of food dishes all over it so we rushed in to find a jewellery shop! After trying perfumeries, electrical and department stores, banks we finally found noodles in a tiny cubby hole. Chilli noodles were thrown on plastic plates covered in plastic bags by a jolly little lady with her hands (she did have plastic gloves on). Stone cold but very tasty meal, 1 dollar Australian. They were doing a roaring trade with what looked like people on their way home from work. Had fun watching Deanne cope with her first meal ever where chopsticks were the only option.Back to the Sheraton for hot chocolate six times the price of the noodles, but very comforting after that first stage of culture shock that always accompanies me when I get to Asia.
AND NOW for a long sleep in a horizontal position, comfy mattress, big bed.
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