Guangzhou....

I am back in Wuhan now.

It has been an interesting week back in Malaysia and Singapore....

I am finding linkages between Malaysia and China, but I am also finding major differences...

But more on that later....

I want to talk more about Guangzhou...and the lack of sights I saw there...hehe

There is no direct flight to Wuhan so I have had to do a domestic transit within China.

The airport has been an experience...

It is hell compared to Beijing (which I would compare as Heaven compared to the Guangzhou airport)...

Changi and KLIA are beyond heaven...

The domestic terminal and the international terminal are separate buildings.....

There is a lack of signage telling you how to proceed from the domestic terminal to the international terminal and vice versa...

Once I landed there, I had to trust my instincts in trying to get from one place to another....and in a hurry....since I have to catch a flight in less than 40 mins!

And of course when you are in a hurry, you will be faced with many an obstacle....
god knows how many baggage machines you have to pass through...

So the ignorent me just followed some foreigners blindly, figuring that since they are being led by a tour group with a bright flag, i can't go wrong and get lost...

On the way to the domestic terminal, you will be led through a row of counters tha flock everything....i mean everything...

You want a suitcase! You have it！
You want biscuits and sweats? You have it!
You want fresh fruits (aka lychees, mangos, apples)? You can have it according to the weight you prefer!
You want chinese medication (or chinese viagra?)? You got it!

It's like a supermarket with a vegetable/fruit market there!

Upon rushing to the domestic terminal, I was directed to counter 19, China Eastern Airlines (东方航空） to get my ticket changed (as I want to catch an earlier connecting flight compared to the one which I was booked on (I can save 5 hours this way!)). But when I rushed to counter 19, I was told it was the wrong one! I have to go to China Eastern (Wuhan) Airlines 东方航空（武汉） instead. And of course, the counter has to be at the opposite end (no. 2)! And on I go......

I did manage to get my ticket changed and rushed to check-in counter (which has to be at the end of the domestic terminal again!)....
Got myself in at the very last minute...

Onwards I rushed to the second floor to the customs.....
Once again, there is a baggage scanning machine...again...off comes the backpack and laptop....

Why is there a need for so many baggage machine? In the international terminal there are like 2-3?!?!

Going past it leads me into the domestic waiting area (of which there are 3 halls!) Hall 1 and 2 are pretty empty (why do they need 3 halls then??)
And mine was Hall 3, which of course is at the other end and downstairs...

Rushing again, I once again passed by fruit stalls (in the domestic terminal? you would expect duty free stuff)...hawking lychees, mangos, etc...and displayed like how you would find in Carrefour....

Chinese must love their fruits...

Reaching the counter, I rushed in....
only to have to wait.....for transport to the plane via a bus service(this is so 80s!)

Whilst waiting, I can't help but notice that my fellow passengers are all male and they find innovative places to spit....(a plastic pot plant with fake plastic plant next to the doors is the favourite place)

I think I can write an entire blog about spitting, the act and art of spitting...

let me know more thoughts into this....

The bus is interesting...(of course I took the bus earlier when I landed from the plane to the international terminal)...

Somehow there are proper bus routes on the tarmac, and for once (and I am glad for it...) the drivers kept strictly to their lanes and obeyed the speed limit!

The plane....well...it looked okay....
probably about 10-15 years old...but ok...

And they have the Far Eastern Economic Review in English...yeah!
I don't have to read chinese tabloids again!

Won't advise you to eat the nuts they offer though....it WILL make you sick even if you are not allegic to nuts...
Man....where did they get those....

It was easily the WORST thing I have had in China...and I have had plenty of funny tasting stuff already...

And after my bad experience with "fake" green tea and remembering how foul it really tasted, I decided to stick to water...
it's safe...(i don't think an airline will serve "fake" mineral water)

That's all now on my plane experience....

Didn't really offer that much insight and analysis...too tired to do so.....
need my beauty rest...

Will attempt more analysis later...hehe