China Experience

So time for an update. A lot has happened since the first official post. We waved goodbye through the gates in Perth, and when straight on to experience for the first time customs. Soon we were sitting in the plane, ready for our first leg of the journey. For Hanna and Steven it was the first time flying, and I think they quite enjoyed it. Take-off was better than landing... towards the end of our 8-hour flight from Perth to Guangzhou we were getting restless. the descent was also a little bit nauseating but we got through it.

We didn't need to collect our baggage till Amsterdam so we had time to spare between our flight from Guangzhou to Beijing... 3 hours or so. We sat in the airport (which is quite a reasonable size compared to Perth :) ) and had a substitute dinner of crackers that we had brought along from home. It wasn't that filling, but we expected to have a meal or something on the next flight. It was quite a strange experience, being surrounded by Chinese people. We were often stared at as they walked by us... I guess its just the same as inAustralia when we see Chinese people walking by, or doing something strange that we have a look at them as well. It feels very strange to be the foreigner in another place, when you're so used to being 'normal'.

After our snack/lunch/ dinner we made our way to the terminal where our flight was supposed to take off from. That was about 6.30 or so. Our flight from Guangzhou to Beijing was scheduled to leave at 8.30 that evening (26th), but when we reached our terminal an announcement came over the loudspeaker that our plane had been delayed. This was a bit of a worry for us, as our next flight from Beijing to Amsterdam left 1.5 hours after our touchdown in Beijing. With nothing left to do but wait, we found a corner somewhere and settled down.

One thing we have to mention was that the airport was VERY warm. When we sat down to wait, we all took off our shoes because our feet were soo hot. It didn't help that we sat down in a corner with little airflow, but it was quieter there and out of the way. When it became apparent that nothing was going to happen soon, Mum lay down on the ground and used her jacket as a pillow. Hanna soon followed for a little doze, while Steve sat down and played on the pad and Dad and I sat guard. Each time the speakers came to life we listened for announcements relating to our flight, but it was a bit hard when they only spoke Chinese.

We did ask around what was happening, but as we came to learn later on in Beijing, there are a lot of Chinese people standing around, but none of them really know anything at all. In the end we found that our flight was delayed due to bad weather in Beijing. 3 hours later our plane landed, and we were able to board (and this was without anyone telling us what was happening). (Dad talked to a few guys who were also in the same situation as us... they later joined us in our crusade against China Southern in Bejing) We got onto the plane, all excited that we were finally leaving... but when we sat down we got told that we would still need to wait. So this was about 11pm on that Wednesday, and none of us had slept since that morning when we got up at 5.30am.

We waited an hour and a half or so before we were finally ready for take-off. The delay cost us our 10 hour flight to Amsterdam, so that meant we needed to organise another flight ASAP in Beijing to make it to Amsterdam in time for our Amsterdam-> London flight.

The plane ride was uneventful, but we were all very tired. In Beijing we had to collect our luggage, since the flight for Amsterdam had already left. We went to the China Southern help desk, to see what flights were available for Amsterdam. There we met Harry and the Spaniard who we had met in Gangzhou. We also crossed paths with a Dutch girl who was traveling by herself to Amsterdam. She had had problems in Gangzhou with her ticket, but was allowed on at the last minute (in Beijing we found out that her luggage had also been lost by China Southern). There was also a German who we met, who we later came to know as Vulcan. Two dutch guys were sitting in the lobby area when we reached the help desk, who also needed to reach Amsterdam. More were stuck in Beijing from other flights as we found out later.

We found out that the next flight for Amsterdam left 11.05 in the morning. in the mean time, they offered us some compensation by providing rooms in a hotel for us all, where we could refresh ourselves. By the time we reached our hotel (called the Golden Phoenix) it was about 3.30. We slept from about 4.30 till 7.30, and were in the lobby and had breakfast by 8.30 when the taxi/van/shuttle bus came for us to take us back to the airport.

There we met more people who came to be close acquaintances over the next 12 hours. There was Yadi, who was our Chinese interpreter, and Shong-hun (apologies on spelling) who also helped to translate. There was also Harry, the two dutch guys, Vulcan and the Spaniard from the night before, as well as a few new people that we met, like another Australian, and a couple from the UK. All together there were about 15-16 of us stuck in Beijing. When we reached the China Southern counter and asked about tickets for the 11.05 flight, we were most horrified to find out that there were "no seats left".

Our whole group was most upset - yet we were told 'don't worry, it will be fine... just go to hotel and come back at 9.30 for the 0:50 (10 to one in the morning) flight'. We stood at the counter from about 9-12, arguing and demanding tickets for the next flight. We asked for the manager, and insisted on having guaranteed seats.11.05 came and went, and our hope of leaving Beijing on that flight was gone. Apparently there were no seats left for anyone so we couldn't get on to it.... which was a lie, because the Dutch girl we met in Guangzhou came to the counter and told us that she was trying to get onto that 11.05 flight but her ticket was rejected. She said that people were on standby, and a number of them were able to board the plane after all the other passengers were boarded. This only added fuel to the fire, which didn't help us get anywhere any faster.

Hanna and Steve, as well as Dad, Mum and I, were getting sick from being tired. Dad began to get a woozy head while Hanna got a little nauseous. Steven just lay on the ground or played on the pad, just chilling. In the end, at about 12 we got the manager's guarantee that we would have seats on the flight that evening, and that we would be given rooms at a hotel again. It was the best we could do - our proof of seats was a piece of paper showing which flight we would be on which was not very promising. Shong-hun, Vulcan and the British couple got the same offer.

There was also another offer made, that you could fly back to Guangzhou (where we had just come from), and try and get the flight to Amsterdam from there. That flight from Beijing to Guangzhou left about 2.30 in the afternoon lasting 3 hours. Then in Guangzhou you would have to wait 5 hours and see if you could (not guaranteed but better chance of getting) a seat on the plane from Guangzhou to Amsterdam. Yadi, the Dutch girl and guys, Harry and Australian decided to do that, but we chose to stay in Beijing. We were taken back to a different hotel and were able to sleep 5-6 hours or so.

We caught the 8pm shuttle back to the airport, a little refreshed but eager to be on our way. When we got there we headed to the check-in line in good spirits. When the counters opened, we gave our papers over, but were told that we were actually on stand-by, and did not have seats on the plane. 'Don't worry', they told us. 'Just wait'. We had had enough of being told to wait and not worry. Dad got stuck into the guy, and told him to get the manager. Thankfully it was the same as we had in the morning (they do 24-hour shifts!). He looked quite nervous when he saw us there, but could not do much for us. We were joined shortly by Shong-hun, the UK couple and Vulcan. They told us there was nothing we could do because we were on stand-by. Again we were told to just wait and not worry. I was fed up with them, so both dad and I made a bit of a scene. We were told we had to wait till 10 to 12, an hour before departure before they knew whether or not there were seats (which was stupid because we were told there were definitely seats for us).

Anyway during the time we spent together with those in the same situation, we quickly developed friendships and we shared travel experiences and family circumstances. We laughed and joked and sat and talked together. Especially Shong-hun was invaluable since she was our interpreter and kept us informed of what the officials said. She didn't push for herself but very generously helped the others in our group. It was a very special sharing time with several totally random people from different backgrounds.

In the end 5 seats were 'released' for us and we were able board the plane with everybody else. We put our suitcases through and hurried through customs, just in time to board the plane with everybody else. The other four were able to get seats on a flight to Paris instead, but we were sorry to see them go a bit as we had been through the whole experience together; yet we were also glad that they were not to be left behind in China to stay another time in a hotel. We did not hear anything else from those that had flown to Guangzhou... however, Shong-hun said that they were in the same situation, that they were only on standby with no guarantee to fly out that night. We hope that they are now out of China at least, and on their way to their final destination.

Well that was our experience of China. As of yet we haven't been able to upload any photos yet. It is a bit of a struggle to try and find free wifi that is good enough to connect to the blog and upload things.

At the time of writing this we are in London, safe and sound, still recovering from our journey. We will try to update you on London and whatever we are up to next time we have internet.
Lots of love from the other side of the world,
Dad, Mum, Em, Han and Steve :)