So Long Shanghai....Hello Harbin
Loading Map
Harbin,
China
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Day Twenty-two - getting out of Shanghai was not pleasant. Could it have got worse?
I woke up this morning, still reeling from the commotion and chaos of yesterday, made entirely worse by the way Chinese behave. Their 'way' can be quite appalling, and I mean it literally!! It's also often difficult to find the comfort, companionship and solace of other travelers in these parts because, one, there are few of them, and two, there are so many Chinese with appalling tendencies.
It was still snowing steadily when I awoke, and the stuff that lay on the ground was wet, sludgy and mushy. Visibility wasn't up to much, either.
I was beginning to think that: "there are two flights to choose from, one at three pm; the other at four-forty," would fall by the wayside, if not to smithereens. I wasn't far wrong. I also made the mistake of choosing the three o' clock flight. So much for the so-called convenience of flying!
I thought it would be a good idea to get to Pudong Airport first by subway, then take the Maglev very high speed train to the airport compound. Apparently, it's the fastest train in the world, so would be good to try out. However, the female ticket clerk behind a glass panel was cold, unfriendly. I noticed that if you have a plane ticket, you can get a 20 per cent discount. The full price of a one-way ticket was 50 Yuan.
I handed my plane ticket over. She quickly stamped it and abruptly said, "forty!!"
I handed over a one hundred bill and received sixty change.
As for the experience on the Maglev; it went pretty fast but was too crowded with other passengers and their luggage to enjoy the experience. I could easily have caught the next train, but it seemed easier to go with the flow. A train assistant was ushering everyone on one which was about to go quickly.
I hate airports at the best of times, but the experience in the check-in hall at Pudong was one of the worst. So many people were catching flights, international and internal, and when I was directed to the internal section, I knew it would be chocka; an experience I wasn't looking forward to.
Standing, standing, and still standing, Chinese just pushed their way in front. When what I thought was my flight being called, I was told it was non-existent, or, in layman's terms, had been canceled. Another flight to Harbin was in operation; all seemed strange. Another check-in worker, this time a supervisor, seemed to corroborate the previous one's language:
"The only flight to Harbin is this one." She wrote the flight no on my ticket.
"Please come back later, and I'll see if there is a spare seat." She scribbled two times (13:00 and 14:00) on the ticket; very strange and very vague.
I tried to reassure myself. "At two o' clock?" She just gaped and glared at me.
I was left standing and wondering if I'd get to Harbin at all. Thoughts kept racing through my brain: ticket refund; head back to the Utels Hostel.
I went back to the counter: "I've booked on the three pm flight to Harbin, but I've been told it's canceled, and only this flight is available (pointing to the written flight no).
"No! This flight is OK."
"Then why was I told it was canceled!?" The attendant ignored that.
"It's been delayed, not canceled."
"Oh, I see!" Feeling somewhat relieved.
"Come this way. The boarding gate is along here, on that side"
The room where all the gates were to board the domestic flights was ludicrous. All the seats were taken. Chinese selfishly put their bags, other luggage, other things on vacant seats next to the one their sitting on to prevent others from taking it. I stood and stood; feet getting achier and achier.
At one stage, I also behaved territorially, sitting on the floor, legs stretched out. If any wanted to come this way, they'd have to walk around them or step over them, which they did.
The message or notification system in the room was exasperating to say the least. A voice behind a mega-loud speaker was blasting information loudly in Chinese, but very poor and inadequate in English. I could barely hear the information given slowly over the official announcement for all the noise and commotion in the room, not to mention a crowd of intermittent disputers and bickerers at the gate entrance.
Much later, I just caught the announcer saying that my flight to Harbin was about to board. Nothing showed up on the electronic screen:
"Yes, it's rubbish!!" a female Chinese confirmed.
The plane remained aground for another three hours due to heavy flight congestion. When it finally got going, It was told it would take a little over two hours, not four, the information I had previously been given.
While one can be forgiven for the adverse weather conditions; but for all the other misleading inefficiencies - no!
Chinese, now, have all the useful technology, can build efficiently, but their use, prioritizing, clear management of it, leaves a lot to be desired. Will they ever learn?
Just before the plane landed, the announcer said: "Welcome to ice city."
Harbin, the capital of Heliongiang Province is cold, sunny, between -17 to 20 degrees Celsius.
