Beijing at last!Jun 21, 2009
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After almost 24h, I made it to Beijing!! But let's start from the beginning...
Bye bye rainy luxembourg! No bus when I need it so I end up taking a taxi; reaally short on time for once! Time to pay: the taxi driver needs to call to get an authorization code for my card and time flies... I finally make it, second to last checking in for the Amsterdam flight. And there surprise... I don't have a boarding pass from Amsterdam to Beijing but I'm told I will get it in Amsterdam so I'm not too worried.
Amsterdam: I am told that the seats were oversold and I might not get on the plane! Being fifth on the waiting list I don't have too much hope to get on the plane, so I tell the nice lady that as I have a 3 weeks itinerary booked (hum...almost :D)I better be on it! And after the longest 30 min spent stressing and cursing KLM, I get the last ticket to board the plane, a Boeing 747-400.
Onboard: after manageing to sleep one hour I'm awoken by somebody kicking my seat and it turns out the passenger behind me is having some kind of attack: flight attendants running and so on, the traditional "is there a doctor onboard" (happened on my last 3 long haul flights...) and we get lucky, there is one and eventually the passenger gets better.
Once we have landed, we have to wait until chinese doctors have gone through the whole plane (400+ passengers)and measured everybody's temperature: nobody seems to have the flu so we can at last get off the plane.
Beijing: I finally manage to make myself understood and get on a bus to one of the 3 railway station. I use the opportunity to buy a train ticket to ChengDe: there is one "foreigner friendly" line but there's only 2 of us quewing, the rest being Chinese. Some people squeeze in front of me but at that point I am long past caring and when my turn comes I have to write down the date as there seems to be an understanding problem, but I finally get my ticket! Now time to get a taxi to the hotel... let the nightmare begin!
First of all nobody understands where I want to go (although I have it in writing) so I end up calling the hotel to have them explain. Result: they want me to pay 80Y (for reference the 4 hours train ticket cost 41Y...) and I refuse, saying that I won't pay over 20Y. They block at 50, won't go lower and pass the word around. Result, after half an hour standing in the sun with my bags, talking to several taxi drivers (and having the hotel receptionist talk to them as well) that see a dollar sign on my forehead, I'm close to a nervous breakdown and decide to go to the other side of the train station. There a taxi driver follows me as I cue for taxis and has the hotel on the phone. He says "it's ok I'll take you there3 but I still ask for the price and he wants... 150Y!!! Somebody shoot me... I eventually make it thanks to the taxi "handler" for lack of a better word: he oversees that all taxis leave in order,etc. He gets me a taxi and this one uses the meter. After calling once again the hotel as the info given to the taxi driver were not specific enough, I finally make it there for 19Y and give the driver a tip as I'm delirious to have finally arrived!! I make a triumphant entrance at the hotel where my bags are taken, I'm sat in front of the AC and they keep on exclaiming at the prices I was asked to pay.
Then comes the time to be fed! There's several restaurants around so I pick one randomly and it ends up to be a good choice. As the only foreigner I'm the star customer and waiters keep coming around, always being friendly. Then back to the hotel to crash for 2 hours as I can barely stand... and end up sleeping 8 hours straight! As it's half past midnight, I'm told that the only restaurants open are... KFC or MacDonals :( I walk 2 min to the main shopping street and find the McD where I ord; er a Big Mac Menu (roughly 2€...) and seat at the back of the hotel overlooking the street. I experience my first "hidden" photograph taken with a cell phone by a group of guys sitting accross from me, and another one keeps turning around to look at me. A bit unsettling but I was warned and in the end they're not harmful.
I almost am treated to a free shower on my way back to the hotel as they clean the street with a powerfull water jet, and that's it for the night.
There ends DAY #1 in Beijing!
