history began a.k.a C0 mM! e land. Started off as usual from "Better
C!ty B ett er L! FE". Hot, muggy and rainy. Then being a Better City,
we were subjected to roping off like herds to do explosive test. O
yeah, no announcement in English. Just an airport staff shouting,
this way to the counter. No signs. But hey I wouldn't complain
because I got a First class tix for Econo class price. A promotion by
China Eastern. How cool was that? I am so used to delay in the town
when flying. An hour and half easily. Can I get on an earlier
flight? Sure, but the check-in counter cannot do that. I had to go
somewhere else to get it changed and then headed back to the counter
to check-in. Never mind. Ticket in hand, I am ready!
Through security should be a breeze if EVERYONE f%&&*nking follow the
signs! When it said First Class and Biz Class ONLY, that means that!
Nope. I had bloody tour group going thru ignoring the signs. Then,
this idiot in sunglass (a local) arguing about boarding pass with the
security staff. Then he hold up the line by packing all the banned
substances as carry-on: bottles of big size liquids, knives, etc... I
was thru ... The security staff were so nice; handing me my boarding
pass and ID card back with both hands! Then the bag check person
reminded me softly about mobile phone and computers... Not so in the U
$ F^(&)(ning of A's T$ A and the TR@nsP0t CDN. Did I tell you I was
subjected to extra X-ray because I was not of the same colour in the U
$? Ridiculous! I digressed.
The lounge was nice and new for China Eastern. Carpet was so thick, I
couldn't roll my carry-on bag thru. Resistant is futile. Well,
better than worn out carpet and dirty floor at the old airport terminal.
The plane was late coming in as usual. My departure time was noon but
didn't board until 12: 15pm. It was a A330. I got to sit in a pod.
Slippers. Blankets. Young flight attendants smiling and taking me to
the seat. Service? Wow, Please I couldn't get use to "Service".
Please don't! The purser came by greeting every single one of us.
And then telling us we would be late taking off. Face cloths rolled
up and handed to us, one by one. Followed by dinner order and drink
order. Finally, 1:30pm we took off in the rain. Dinner served 25
minutes later; no rush, no hurry. Nothing like shove it in your
mouth! I need to eat too and sit and chat; you get no rights to be a
passenger. It was all so civilized. Could it be? Real China. OK, a
bit worn out but better than plastic shrink wrap. I could actually
tasted my steam fish. And not a piece of white dried out fish
imitation from the Golden Arches look alike.
Landed at the Captial. O... smog, fog or a combo? But at least 10
degrees cooler than Better C! ty.
People are just nicer all of a sudden..... My taxi driver, normally
would be one of those complaining and maniac driving type, was so nice
and collective; we chatted up NOT in English of course. He told me
the expected time of arrival to my hotel and the approximate cost
(less than RMB 100). And he said he would not cheat me or drive
longer route. I felt safe. I had the window down and just took in
the windy cool air. No rush hour traffic. Then suddenly.... He
said, here we go. Took the side street all the way toward the hotel.
We laughed; he said, see to the left; if I were to drive there, we
would have been back there. Yes, I agreed wholeheartedly as I needed
to have a biz meeting at 4pm. 3:30pm now. I told him 4pm arrival and
he said, "no problem". Took the side street. Hey, I walked down this
street couple months back. I didn't know... Cool. He explained, two
more traffic light and we are dead straight there. Yup. He was
right. And he commented on the distance, the time and the estimated
fare. Everything was within what he said. 27.some KM later from the
airport I was at the hotel. The fare was RMB 84.00 including the RMB
10.00 toll. I tipped him. He looked at the cash and couldn't
equate. Well, I gave him a total of RMB 120.00. It was well worth it
for my life and my time. At least one good careful driver that knew
the city street. Well, afterall, he grew up in Beijing. 100% Beijing
Ren.
The hotel, Grant Hyatt, was unusually busy. Buzzing with activities
and guests. Sorry for those who had stayed at this hotel before, I
got a cheaper rate thru a client. Iron-wife getting ready to teach
tomorrow, the rate was RMB 980+taxes. The receptionist was so
nice.... she kept apologizing taking such a long time to check me in.
Then Kinko printing... That's another story... All in all... I had
such a relaxing and "human" day.
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