China - never a dull moment!

[Cruiser Elite]

Cruiserette getting pissed off cause I keep using all her Lens Cleaner wipes:



20 wipes for about AD4.00 - so I got my number one girl in NKG to buy me some off Taobao - the Chinese equivalent of eBay:



And:



200pcs for RMB30 = A$6.48 - that's a tad better value huh?

 

[Fiches Mouser]

Finally here in Shanghai! What an amazing city.

Took a while though... had a more than 10 hour delay departing Hong Kong yesterday due to airspace congestion in China. Apparently it's really common? Crazy. Anyway, it meant a 15 hour tour of CX/QF's HKG lounges and a pretty coughpy arrival to my hotel at 4am this morning.

And the taxi into town! Oh boy... I don't think I've ever had a stranger more furious at me. He couldn't read my phone screen with the hotel's name. Rookie error. Next time I'll be writing it down. ¥300 later and we made it with lots of shouting and pointing. Fun!

Hoping to catch the maglev back to the airport on Sunday night though.

The adventure continues!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Finally here in Shanghai! What an amazing city.

Took a while though... had a more than 10 hour delay departing Hong Kong yesterday due to airspace congestion in China. Apparently it's really common? Crazy. Anyway, it meant a 15 hour tour of CX/QF's HKG lounges and a pretty coughpy arrival to my hotel at 4am this morning.

And the taxi into town! Oh boy... I don't think I've ever had a stranger more furious at me. He couldn't read my phone screen with the hotel's name. Rookie error. Next time I'll be writing it down. ¥300 later and we made it with lots of shouting and pointing. Fun!

Hoping to catch the maglev back to the airport on Sunday night though.

The adventure continues!

Wow! RMB300 is about 100 more than it should have been - not that it is any excuse, but I guess in the grand scheme of things at 4am, AUD18 isn't so bad. If you have the receipt you can check the price with the hotel concierge - if it's way out of line the concierge can follow through with the taxi company for you. (beware however that redress is usually swift, taken seriously, and penalties for the driver can be severe... anything from a full refund of the fare out of the driver's pocket, through to a suspension for the driver anywhere from days to weeks - meaning no income. Your call whether the driver was being deliberate or not.)

10 hour delays are uncommon. 2, 3 or 4 hours are usual, but there have been times in the last year or so where the delays have been getting up to 8 hours. Early morning flights are generally 'ok' in terms of on-time departures, and delays escalate through the day.

 

[Fiches Mouser]

Wow! RMB300 is about 100 more than it should have been - not that it is any excuse, but I guess in the grand scheme of things at 4am, AUD18 isn't so bad. If you have the receipt you can check the price with the hotel concierge - if it's way out of line the concierge can follow through with the taxi company for you. (Beware however that penalties for the driver can be severe... anything from a full refund of the fare out of the driver's pocket, through to a suspension for the driver anywhere from days to weeks - meaning no income. Your call whether the driver was being deliberate or not.)

Good tip – will definitely get a receipt next time. It was actually about ~RMB250, but I didn't have a smaller note and my driver was doing the whole 'no change' thing. At that time you just go with it...

Interesting about the repercussions on drivers. That seems way too consumer friendly?

10 hour delays are uncommon. 2, 3 or 4 hours are usual, but there have been times in the last year or so where the delays have been getting up to 8 hours. Early morning flights are generally 'ok' in terms of on-time departures, and delays escalate through the day.

There was a backlog of about 8 flights since the morning, and a number of flights after mine had been pushed back to the next day (i.e. today). Kind of annoying when it's only an hour or so in the air... I would've happily stayed in my J seat for the next six hours just so I could sleep.

 

[defurax]

(beware however that redress is usually swift, taken seriously, and penalties for the driver can be severe... anything from a full refund of the fare out of the driver's pocket, through to a suspension for the driver anywhere from days to weeks - meaning no income. Your call whether the driver was being deliberate or not.)

I remember 15 years ago complaining to one of our manufacturer in China about some bulk chemicals that were shipped in a corroded steel barrel without lining, while I was only expecting a replacement or credit, I instead received a letter saying that the responsible employee had been "punished"...I still wonder what they meant by that... :shock::shock:

 

[Fiches Mouser]

Thanks Cruiser! Looks good, even if not spectacular.

I feel like my lounge tastes might be different to many... recently went through some of the (supposedly) best lounges in the world – EY AUH lounge and TK IST lounge – and was so unimpressed. I definitely favour smaller, more intimate spaces with great service. So, TPR fit the bill nicely. Nothing makes me more frustrated that rows and rows of identical seating like some kind of massive event space (i.e. EY).

Nope, for me, simple is good. This looks like it might be just right.

This lounge also looks beautiful: China Airlines New Lounge Strengthens New ‘Designer’ Airline Status | TheDesignAir

Another good looking lounge. But haven't come across XiamenAir before: XiamenAir Open New Flagship Lounge In Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport Terminal 3 | TheDesignAir

 

[Foreigner]

Do AFFers who frequently travel to China speak local languages?

 

[sinophile888]

My husband has studied Mandarin at TAFE for a few years and eventually passed Cert. 2. Slow but steady progress. We find that he can manage quite well in many situations. Local people love to hear him speak Mandarin and are genuinely friendly and very forgiving of and amused by any mistakes. We often go to places where no English is spoken and so far, so good. For our trip next month, he has downloaded a dictionary onto his tablet.

When we sit for a while in a park, quite soon a group of people have gathered around for a chat. They usually want to know our ages, our children's ages and now our grandchildren's ages. Also what work we do, where we come from and why we are in China. He can usually manage all that. He really enjoys when groups of teenage girls come up for a chat, often to practice their English. Then we are asked to have our photos taken.

His ability to speak a little Mandarin really enhances our enjoyment of our visits to China, which by now easily numbers more than 20.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Do AFFers who frequently travel to China speak local languages?

Only the basics for me - counting, directions, simple one or two word phrases phrases for everyday transactions or interactions (etc).

IMO being able to pronounce correctly is the most important element... while in English whether you say 'Dew-Bai' or 'Doo-Bai' for Dubai is not going to make a difference (except the former being very annoying ), the same difference in pronunciation for a Chinese place or street will determine whether a taxi takes you where you want to go, or the driver looking at you blankly and asking you to get out of the car.

 

[Bolthead]

Another good looking lounge. But haven't come across XiamenAir before: XiamenAir Open New Flagship Lounge In Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport Terminal 3 | TheDesignAir

My son who lives in Shanghai flew home for Christmas on Xiamen Air on a 787 and said it was great. Luckily for him the plane was fairly empty and being 1,96m he had room to stretch. He never used their lounges as he was flying Y.

 

[Fiches Mouser]

IMO being able to pronounce correctly is the most important element... while in English whether you say 'Dew-Bai' or 'Doo-Bai' for Dubai is not going to make a difference (except the former being very annoying ), the same difference in pronunciation for a Chinese place or street will determine whether a taxi takes you where you want to go, or the driver looking at you blankly and asking you to get out of the car.

Yep, I would agree with that! Attempts at pronunciation are often laughed at

 

[Bolthead]

Finally here in Shanghai! What an amazing city.

Took a while though... had a more than 10 hour delay departing Hong Kong yesterday due to airspace congestion in China. Apparently it's really common? Crazy. Anyway, it meant a 15 hour tour of CX/QF's HKG lounges and a pretty coughpy arrival to my hotel at 4am this morning.

And the taxi into town! Oh boy... I don't think I've ever had a stranger more furious at me. He couldn't read my phone screen with the hotel's name. Rookie error. Next time I'll be writing it down. ¥300 later and we made it with lots of shouting and pointing. Fun!

Hoping to catch the maglev back to the airport on Sunday night though.

The adventure continues!

Not sure if you know however Cruiser Elite recommended a great app called 'Taxi Book' that translates the hotel and address into Mandarin as well as verbally saying the name. It has helped me numerous times however once in Xian the taxi driver could not read and he must has spoken a different dialect. I had to make an expensive phone call to the hotel and get them to give him directions. Also if travelling from the airport or hotel I find that the people there can normally give directions to the driver.

 

[Foreigner]

Illiterate taxi driver! You were fortunate he wasn't deaf.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Illiterate taxi driver! You were fortunate he wasn't deaf.

I hope you forgot to put a smiley there Foreigner.

ALL visitors to China need to be aware taxi drivers with English skills are extremely rare - have your hotel destination clearly written / printed on paper OR have the hotel number programmed into your phone and call hotel then hand phone to driver OR have an App such as Taxi Book installed - better still have ALL 3.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Having the hotel's telephone number is a good idea and solves the issue of the taxi driver not being able to read. You can get SIM cards at the airport - they're cheap and rates are just one mao or so a minute. Getting a SIM for china telecom is pretty straightforward - at least in Shanghai. If arriving at terminal 2 (the nice one ) there is a booth immediately as you exit customs and get into the arrivals hall. It's located on the right hand side.

 

[Foreigner]

World's biggest brand beer Snow to be sold in Australia through Woolies:

http://m.smh.com.au/business/woolworths-plans-to-heat-up-liquor-sales-with-snow-20160129-gmgucc.html

 

[Fiches Mouser]

I don't know if this happens with Chinese airlines too, but I was definitely having a DYKWIA moment in my head leaving Shanghai last week.

Couldn't believe the security line on departure at about 21:30. Stood in line for about an hour waiting to get through, along with all the J pax on my flight and, of course, everyone else. I was the only SQ F pax, so surely it wouldn't have been hard to give me an escort through security/immi and to the lounge. Am I being unreasonable?

Now, I was personally okay with it, as I was in no rush and wasn't itching to get to the lounge, but my goodness. If you're paying the kind of money you do for an F ticket on SQ and that was the experience on departure, I think that's completely unacceptable for such a premium product.

Other China regulars – is this just a PVG thing? I couldn't see any priority line so I imagine even airlines who use PVG as a hub have the same issue.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Mrsmart once you clear immig turn right and head to channel 26 - this is VIP / APEC channel - just flash your SQ R/F BP and you should be right to go. China is a different beast - standing in line for an eternity just normal - it's not airline specific its China!

And you will never get escort to Lounge so just go find it. Nothing in China makes sense - the Land of Complication and Contradiction!

 

[Fiches Mouser]

Mrsmart once you clear immig turn right and head to channel 26 - this is VIP / APEC channel - just flash your SQ R/F BP and you should be right to go. China is a different beast - standing in line for an eternity just normal - it's not airline specific its China!

And you will never get escort to Lounge so just go find it. Nothing in China makes sense - the Land of Complication and Contradiction!

You're kidding! I stared at that line for so long. I wish the check-in agent had have told me.

Oh well, the lounge was incredibly underwhelming – even though you did your very best to manage my expectations!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I don't know if this happens with Chinese airlines too, but I was definitely having a DYKWIA moment in my head leaving Shanghai last week.

Couldn't believe the security line on departure at about 21:30. Stood in line for about an hour waiting to get through, along with all the J pax on my flight and, of course, everyone else. I was the only SQ F pax, so surely it wouldn't have been hard to give me an escort through security/immi and to the lounge. Am I being unreasonable?

Now, I was personally okay with it, as I was in no rush and wasn't itching to get to the lounge, but my goodness. If you're paying the kind of money you do for an F ticket on SQ and that was the experience on departure, I think that's completely unacceptable for such a premium product.

Other China regulars – is this just a PVG thing? I couldn't see any priority line so I imagine even airlines who use PVG as a hub have the same issue.

I have never seen a long line for security.

Immigration yes, but the security channels at Shanghai are all individual booths - max I have seen is about 5 or 6 people for each one.

I'm not familiar with Channel 26 - but at T2 there is a security lane marked 'VIP' - has a red carpet. No need to show your boarding pass to gain entry and maybe only one person waiting. You just head right in and put your bag on the x-ray and your boarding pass is scanned by the checkpoint staff before heading through the metal detector.

Airlines have to pay for expedited immigration and security, but it's not common in China. There is priority domestic security at some airports, for first class.