You may have noticed that it’s been longer than usual since the last time I authored a new blog post. While I apologize to those of you who have been eagerly waiting for some new reading material, I assure you that the tale I’m about to recount over the next few entries will have been well worth the suspense.
Last Wednesday, I excitedly began to pack my things for a long weekend trip to Shenzhen and Hong Kong. My current Chinese visa demands that I leave the country every 90 days, though there is no specific amount of time I am required to remain outside China. Conveniently, Hong Kong is not considered part of the Chinese mainland – going there, travelers are required to pass through customs and receive entry and exit stamps. Seeing as I’ve been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to travel to Hong Kong for quite some time now, the 90-day duration of stay limit on my Chinese visa seemed to provide just the right pretext.
While packing on Wednesday night, I took some dumplings out of the refrigerator and heated them up for dinner. In the morning, I woke up feeling slightly groggy and unrested. I taught a two hour-long class, and returned to my apartment with a splitting headache. After attempting to ward it off with a long nap, I woke up to an upset stomach and returned to the classroom to teach again. By then, it was 5pm and almost time to head to the airport. I ate a light dinner, took a shower, gathered my things, and hopped on the bus. Around 8:30pm, I found myself searching the departure board for my 11:45pm flight to Shenzhen.
This May Not Be My Photo, But It Does Sum Up the Chinese Airport Experience Rather Nicely
As I gazed up, I saw “Delayed” printed in red electronic text next to more than twenty flights. That might not sound too bad to you, but it’s a terrible sign when there are only 25 flights on the board altogether. I grabbed my backpack and shuffled heavily over to the ticket counter, and the attendant handed me my boarding pass. I examined the ticket – “Boarding Time 1:00am.” Sighing, I cleared security and went to the gate to wait.
11:45pm came along, and my flight didn’t leave. The clock struck 12:45am, and still no news. 1:45am, and the airline attendants said that they weren’t sure exactly what time we’d be flying. 2:45am, and bad weather in Shenzhen was keeping us on the ground. 3:30am, and our flight was finally cancelled. I arrived at a hotel to sleep around 4:30am. I had learned that I wouldn’t be flying out until 3:40pm the following day, but at that point, I was too tired to even care.
Eight hours in the Guilin airport had really taken their toll on me. Not only are the seats at the gates rock-hard, but the ratio of people to chairs is outrageously inadequate. Gates are often marked for multiple flights, meaning that throngs of passengers often sit on the cold floors or stand while waiting for their flights to be called. Flights rarely leave on time – I can only remember one occasion on which I actually left Guilin by plane on schedule. The restaurants are pretty shabby and ridiculously overpriced; as is to be expected, there are no English-language magazines or books to purchase. They don’t broadcast any interesting television shows, but rather the same advertisements and public service announcements for hours on end.
Most importantly, Chinese airports in general tend to be loud. When flights are delayed for too long, passengers usually get angry and excited mobs begin to form. In the case of my flight last Thursday, one man berated the airline desk representatives for four hours on end. The police came to make sure he didn’t turn too violent, but they didn’t do much of anything else. So much for sleeping in the waiting hall.
Try Getting Some Quality Sleep in This Place
Once I arrived at the hotel for the night, I realized that I wouldn’t be allowed to occupy a room by myself. Instead, I would have to share with another solo traveler. Before I knew it, I was bunked with a 40-something year-old Chinese woman who didn’t speak a word of English. She was talkative, and tried to make conversation every time I closed my eyes to sleep. Where do I work? Where am I from? How old am I? What’s my Chinese name? I wished I had pretended that I couldn’t speak Chinese. Finally, she began to get ready for bed. To my surprise, she decided to sleep completely naked except for her underwear. She was topless in bed, and throughout the night she would wake me up with her loud and continuous flatulence. In the morning, I would wake up to her cell phone ringing and her yelling casually to her husband on the other line.
That night, I broke out into cold sweats. I had a high fever and began to develop a severe stomach ache. On top of that, I experienced several bouts of extreme nausea. By the morning, I realized that I had developed full-blown food poisoning from Wednesday night’s dumplings. It would accompany me through the rest of the weekend’s travels, and has only today managed to go away completely.
The adventure doesn’t end here! There’s plenty, plenty more to tell. Want to find out what happens next? Be sure to check back soon for new posts on my trip to Shenzhen and Hong Kong. I’m also new to Twitter – follow me!
