Aviation Nightmare

The spirit of adventure strike again recently, I am determined to search for a cheaper way to get to Hong Kong from main land China. The flight in China going there went up tremendously in the past year. I suppose is the fuel cost or perhaps something else. Whatever the reason is the flight are getting a little expensive for frequent visitors.

My friends suggested that I should fly either with the discount airlines, you may be mistaken as cattle, or try fly to the last out post, in this case is the city of Shenzhen just a river away to separate the land from the Island. But going to that city for most mainlanders, they will need a permit just like a visa is needed for them to go to Hong Kong.

Yes booking flights, we have many choices back home, but it is entirely another taboo here, there is only one inter net booking site, and it is a monopoly, your other choice is to book directly from the airlines.

Secondly if you do not know Chinese and you are booking ticket on their English languages section, get ready for the big shock that the price quoted to you is more expensive than the same flight and schedule quoted on the Chinese language section. Deepen the insult, a lot of the domestic flights available in the Chinese language site may be blank on the English site, and flights were limited as well. Why didn’t that surprises me when I found out? Never mind.

Back to the story; check out the airfare it was less than half if I were fly to the Hong Kong international airport. No wonder so many of my friends chooses the Shenzhen route.

Logistically, flying to Hong Kong is consider as international flight, that means three hours before the flight schedule to take off you must check in at the airport and wait. There is always unspoken delay from 1-2 hours to 4 hours and up. Upon arrival of Hong Kong International airport, I need to either take an express bus directly to the hotel, public buses, the metro, or the airport express tram. In any case you will be about another hour before I can get to my destination on Hong Kong Island, and the cost is about the same as going from Shenzhen to Hong Kong.

If I flew to Shenzhen instead, right off the back I save two hours waiting time, because the flight is consider domestic flight. There is the usual delay like all the Chinese airlines, no matter what the situation is, I am still getting there with the two hours advantage, plus the flight is about 45 minutes shorter.

The transport at the Shenzhen airport cross border to HK is like a well oil machine, there are more just a couple of bus line, but an army is more like it. I purchase ticket and was hurry into the bus within 5 minutes they were on the highway speeding to ward the border crossing. There were no problem going thru security check and immigration, it is like just the formality for doing that, no one really care. Unless you are a Chinese passport holder than they want visa and documentation. For me that was a rather present experience for this first half of my adventure.

On my return flight 2 days later, we were told our flight was delay by the agent at the gate, no reason was given, just told us the flight had not arrive yet. I knew there was a storm up north. In the three hours we were waiting, it was quit a scene, the passengers were treated like a flock of chickens, we were told to go to the second level at a certain gate at some point, then an hour later everyone is picking up their luggage’s like a bunch of refugees hurry down the stairs again. Finally the flight arrives and we got on it. The plan started taxi on the runway. We are not home free yet, just yesterday, my friend call from her flight at the airport that they had been on board for two hours finally had to return to the terminal, the flight was cancelled, because of heavy frog. Really, I thought all flights were computerized, are they flying manually? Hard to believe… I do not know. I just found it strange.

We waited on the runway for another hours before we took off. Thanks god we finally lift off, no change of being grounded now, I should be home in an hour and a half after four long hours at the airport.

I have to give Chinese airlines a lot of credit, because they fly very high above the weather in general, therefore their flights are generally very smooth flights compare to the US domestic flights you can usually feel every air stream and bumps, especially when you flown west or up to the Rockies.

When we were approaching the destination of Shanghai, the plan start descending through the heavy storm, I thought for sure we were going to crash, we heard the thunder outside the plane, and the rain was pouring so hard I can’t even see out the window, once in a while you can make out the wings of the plane it was flopping like a birds. Is that wing going to break apart? I thought…

The noise of the plane sound like the plane was coming loose, the steward came on the intercom told us to remain clam, it is very safe when she can even standing still struggling to hold to the back of the seat. So that was really comforting. I gave her a lot of credit for telling us that, personally I am not sure if we were really save to land on violent storm condition. It is no danger of course and it is normal too, until the wings breaks apart. You be the judge.

I had experienced similar flying condition once in Texas, when I was in my 20’s and think it was cool, feels like a real life roller-coaster ride, When the flight finally landed in Dallas, everyone claps. Remember, I am not riding Russian airlines, they claps every time the flight landed. A clap for good luck, we live thru another flight is what they are thanking the Captain for. Never the less, someone on the flight did claps when we finally touch down in Shanghai.

It took us forever to taxi to the terminal; in the end we never reach there. There were no gates available, they were not allowed to take off in the heavy fog, but landing is another story. “SOS control tower, we are running out of fuel”. I suppose they do not want that to happen.

Our flight stop in the middle of the concourse, after another 45 minutes standing still, then they decided that we needed to be off the plane. I saw a bus came in close to the plane and let the first class passenger got on. It was pouring outside they were passing out newspaper for you to cover your head, that was really a joke. Come on can I have an umbrella instead?

The big bus came to get us was park about 30 feet away. I stood at the end of the stair hoping they will come closer, but that is not the case, they pushes me off the stair rail into the rain, left me no choice but dash to the bus, while down pour with thunder and lighting above.

Absolutely everyone was totally wet by the time they reach the bus, inside the air condition was in full blast over us. It was a ride from hell. I am thinking to myself, I am strong, I can get thru this just think good thought of a dry home will soon be reality, Until we went to luggage claim and see no moving part on the belt. They told us that it was raining too hard to unload any luggage. Come on, I am speechless.

No one was happy at that point, but then most Chinese were use to it, no one complains, just waited in silence. I think Chinese are resilience people, they really do take a lot of “CRAB” better than we are, we foreigner do not encounter this kind of horrible treatment in our own countries. If we were, you can be sure that some words will be exchange. Have you ever watch the TV series call airlines or airport? Not to sure, but if you have you know what I meant.

The Chinese aviation totally disregard of the waiting time (or wasted) time for their passengers at the airport is legendary, especially for foreign visitors, it is harder to get use.

The gate agent will give you no reasons for the delay just announced that you needed to wait because there was a delay. Come to understand from my friend later what causes the delay beside the weather is because the air traffic in China is controlled by military, every time when there is an official need to land some where, all commercial traffic had to wait. Secondly there are not enough flight paths to accommodate the demand of the commercial air traffic growth. Why aren’t they doing something about it, they may have, I do not know, but so far, you just wait. So make sure you have a lot of patient, water and snack while you are at the airport and I hope you downloaded movies to watch because you will need it, unless you like airport shopping, but that is only limited to International terminals, local terminals, you got nothing.

So is my adventure worth it. You may think I am a little crazy, but it is still worth it for me.

What do you think?

Chance Encounter Hong Kong, Shanghai