Leaving Beijing
08:15 I said goodbye to Mike. He’s not quite awake yet but enough to say goodbye, have a good trip, and that he loves me. I feel a bit sappy and feel like crying a little. I suppose you can say that I’ve become attached to him. =)
08:50 Some website told me that my flight leaves from T1, but after arriving PEK I realize I can’t find my airline in T1. I call the PEK help line, but they are of no help. I find the info desk and at first she couldn’t find my flight in the system (what do you mean you can’t find my flight?!) but a second look confirmed that my flight is from T2. It’s about a 10 min walk between T1 and T2. (The signs said so.) Good thing it’s not at T3, the world’s largest terminal.
09:20 Helen Lu calls me from work to wish me a safe flight and a good trip. How sweet! I txt Mike that I’m @ gate. It’s weird how you much want to connect with loved ones when you’re at the airport. I wonder how airports can be redesigned to ease this anxiety.
09:30 There’s only like 1 place to eat after you pass immigrations inside T2. I’m always disappointed by the food, but end up eating there anyways.
10:00 I found a book I’ve been looking for since I saw it in a magazine! Without Borders and B&N in China, I’ve been desperate in my search for good quality books. It’s a tutorial on how to wear silk scarves. It’s kind of pricey since it’s translated over from Japanese, but I think I need it. I also left my soda on the bookstore’s shelf. Oops.
BEST STORY OF THE DAY
10:45 A Chinese kid yells “Hello!” to the westerners on the shuttle bus. They yell “Hello!” back to him with smiles on their faces. After some prodding from his mom, the kid says “My name is Jiang An.” One guy laughs “My name is John too!”
11:15 I whip out my Spanish book on the plane. I fall asleep before the flight leaves the ground. =p
12:00 Lunch is served. "Pork noodles or fish rice?" they asked. I didn’t feel like noodles, so I braved the fish rice. It’s surprisingly good! The fish is like fish paste nuggets in Gong Pao sauce. I think I got one of the last servings. It’s a popular choice.
12:30 The guy sitting next to me starts a conversation with me. My Spanish book was his opening. He says his wife (who is in the next aisle with their children) taught Spanish and French before becoming a school counselor. He’s from Hawaii and she’s from Mexico. They live in LA (which is the flight’s destination after Shanghai), 15 min away from Disney. He travels lots since he works for a cargo company, and his 3 favorite cities to possibly move to are HK, Shanghai, and Singapore. I ask him where he recommends to eat in Singapore and he says Newton Circle. I recommended soup dumplings at Old Town in Shanghai.
08:50 Some website told me that my flight leaves from T1, but after arriving PEK I realize I can’t find my airline in T1. I call the PEK help line, but they are of no help. I find the info desk and at first she couldn’t find my flight in the system (what do you mean you can’t find my flight?!) but a second look confirmed that my flight is from T2. It’s about a 10 min walk between T1 and T2. (The signs said so.) Good thing it’s not at T3, the world’s largest terminal.
09:20 Helen Lu calls me from work to wish me a safe flight and a good trip. How sweet! I txt Mike that I’m @ gate. It’s weird how you much want to connect with loved ones when you’re at the airport. I wonder how airports can be redesigned to ease this anxiety.
09:30 There’s only like 1 place to eat after you pass immigrations inside T2. I’m always disappointed by the food, but end up eating there anyways.
10:00 I found a book I’ve been looking for since I saw it in a magazine! Without Borders and B&N in China, I’ve been desperate in my search for good quality books. It’s a tutorial on how to wear silk scarves. It’s kind of pricey since it’s translated over from Japanese, but I think I need it. I also left my soda on the bookstore’s shelf. Oops.
BEST STORY OF THE DAY
10:45 A Chinese kid yells “Hello!” to the westerners on the shuttle bus. They yell “Hello!” back to him with smiles on their faces. After some prodding from his mom, the kid says “My name is Jiang An.” One guy laughs “My name is John too!”
11:15 I whip out my Spanish book on the plane. I fall asleep before the flight leaves the ground. =p
12:00 Lunch is served. "Pork noodles or fish rice?" they asked. I didn’t feel like noodles, so I braved the fish rice. It’s surprisingly good! The fish is like fish paste nuggets in Gong Pao sauce. I think I got one of the last servings. It’s a popular choice.
12:30 The guy sitting next to me starts a conversation with me. My Spanish book was his opening. He says his wife (who is in the next aisle with their children) taught Spanish and French before becoming a school counselor. He’s from Hawaii and she’s from Mexico. They live in LA (which is the flight’s destination after Shanghai), 15 min away from Disney. He travels lots since he works for a cargo company, and his 3 favorite cities to possibly move to are HK, Shanghai, and Singapore. I ask him where he recommends to eat in Singapore and he says Newton Circle. I recommended soup dumplings at Old Town in Shanghai.
Transfer in Shanghai
13:30 I’m lost in Shanghai’s Pu Dong airport. I didn’t quite understand what the transfer desk lady said, only that I had to exit customs and check in again. I assumed this go-around meant my transfer flight is at T2. During my walk I pass by KFC, Pizza Hut, and Lawsons which I believe is a Japanese 7-11. I walk back to T1 after I realize that I’m wrong since my airline isn’t at T2. I go 2 levels up to the departures level to get my boarding pass. After passing immigrations I realize that I should have gotten something to eat from KFC/Pizza Hut because they were much cheaper than the food at the gates. Prices are 2 to 3 times more than normal, so I settle on just having a coke from a vending machine. It was the only thing priced fairly.
14:15 Most of the above was written while I was waiting for this next flight. I always feel like writing when I’m traveling. Don't you?
16:15 I’m on the flight and I realize I left my coke at the terminal. Oops. I’m such a soda litter bug today.
18:30 The movie on flight is about this couple in Germany (I think). The couple made a move back to the husband’s hometown. She finds out that the husband wasn’t forthcoming on his reasons on moving back. He’s a soccer fanatic and leader of his hometown’s team. She hates soccer. She realizes threats of divorce is not enough to keep him away from his love of soccer, so she goes for his pride/ego: if the wives/girlfriends/partner of the soccer team beat them in a match of soccer, then they give up soccer forever. There is a lot of mind games going on in this film which keeps it interesting. Too bad I don’t know the name of the film. Have you watched it? What’s the film’s name?
Arriving Singapore
21:05 I arrive Singapore! Now I just got to find my mom. My flight was almost an hour late and I’ve only got 10 min before my mom’s flight lands. I’ve no clue which gate she arrives, but luckily Singapore airport has computers all over the place providing free internet! I find out that she will be arriving T1, but I’m in T3. It’s at least an 8 min walk to the shuttle, 3 min wait, 3 min transfer and… essentially I’ll be late to my mom’s gate. I hurriedly pass by all the pretty duty free shops and lovely cafes. The airport is HUGE, at least it seems so because I feel lost often. I ask the info desk about my mom’s fight and they tell me it’s at the gate. I reach my mom’s gate only to see that it’s quiet.
21:40 I search for her in the immigration lines but don’t find her. Has she made it to the luggage belts? So I stand in line, mentally hurrying the immigration officials so that I can find my poor lost mother.
21:55 After 15 minutes in line with only 2 people in front of me, I look back to find my mom in the back of the line. I leave my spot and join her. I guess it has been a long while since we’ve seen each other, because it took her a few seconds to realize it was her own daughter talking to her. She thought some stranger was starting a conversation with her.
22:30 We pass immigrations and pick up a few tourist brochures. We had to sift through different languages and found some in English or Chinese.
22:45 We’ve got my mom’s luggage and we’ve found the shuttle bus counter. We opted for a shuttle bus for $9 SGD each, which will drop us off at the door of the hostel.
23:05 We’re on the shuttle and pass by the East Coast Lagoon food village. It’s late at night but it still seems to be bustling with people. I wonder how we’ll be able to get there some other day from downtown.
23:35 We arrive Little India and our hostel. Stepping off the shuttle and into the street we’re disorientated for a few seconds. The sidewalk are narrow and there are shadows on the street. There’s a group of people drinking at an outdoor table of the pub next door, kind of loud. There’s this petite sized women wearing a short dress sitting on the curb shaking like she’s going through some kind of withdrawal, I think she’s pretty gone and I’m thinking to myself “Where am I?” I try to enter the hostel and when the doors won’t budge realize that I need to call to be let in. There’s even a pin pad. This is totally not what I had expected. But inside, the hostel is inviting and there are people on their laptops at the tables. The front desk guy is welcoming and checks us in. There is a shoe shelf next to the stairs to the rooms, and a sign asking people not to wear shoes in the rooms. I hadn’t expected that either even though I’m used to not wearing shoes in the house. The front desk guy tells us that our rooms are in their other building a block away where there are private rooms, and he leads us out onto the street and walks us there. We pass by more people sitting on the curb and a few drunk people. Shoes are to be taken off at the other building as well. Our room has bunk beds and a bathroom, but feels dreary and sparse. My mom and I both realize we’ve forgotten some toiletries and didn’t bring towels, but even knowing 7-11 is only a block away we decide not to venture out again. We get ready for bed and hope that the other hostel we’re staying with for the remainder of our stay will be much better.
14:15 Most of the above was written while I was waiting for this next flight. I always feel like writing when I’m traveling. Don't you?
16:15 I’m on the flight and I realize I left my coke at the terminal. Oops. I’m such a soda litter bug today.
18:30 The movie on flight is about this couple in Germany (I think). The couple made a move back to the husband’s hometown. She finds out that the husband wasn’t forthcoming on his reasons on moving back. He’s a soccer fanatic and leader of his hometown’s team. She hates soccer. She realizes threats of divorce is not enough to keep him away from his love of soccer, so she goes for his pride/ego: if the wives/girlfriends/partner of the soccer team beat them in a match of soccer, then they give up soccer forever. There is a lot of mind games going on in this film which keeps it interesting. Too bad I don’t know the name of the film. Have you watched it? What’s the film’s name?
Arriving Singapore
21:05 I arrive Singapore! Now I just got to find my mom. My flight was almost an hour late and I’ve only got 10 min before my mom’s flight lands. I’ve no clue which gate she arrives, but luckily Singapore airport has computers all over the place providing free internet! I find out that she will be arriving T1, but I’m in T3. It’s at least an 8 min walk to the shuttle, 3 min wait, 3 min transfer and… essentially I’ll be late to my mom’s gate. I hurriedly pass by all the pretty duty free shops and lovely cafes. The airport is HUGE, at least it seems so because I feel lost often. I ask the info desk about my mom’s fight and they tell me it’s at the gate. I reach my mom’s gate only to see that it’s quiet.
21:40 I search for her in the immigration lines but don’t find her. Has she made it to the luggage belts? So I stand in line, mentally hurrying the immigration officials so that I can find my poor lost mother.
21:55 After 15 minutes in line with only 2 people in front of me, I look back to find my mom in the back of the line. I leave my spot and join her. I guess it has been a long while since we’ve seen each other, because it took her a few seconds to realize it was her own daughter talking to her. She thought some stranger was starting a conversation with her.
22:30 We pass immigrations and pick up a few tourist brochures. We had to sift through different languages and found some in English or Chinese.
22:45 We’ve got my mom’s luggage and we’ve found the shuttle bus counter. We opted for a shuttle bus for $9 SGD each, which will drop us off at the door of the hostel.
23:05 We’re on the shuttle and pass by the East Coast Lagoon food village. It’s late at night but it still seems to be bustling with people. I wonder how we’ll be able to get there some other day from downtown.
23:35 We arrive Little India and our hostel. Stepping off the shuttle and into the street we’re disorientated for a few seconds. The sidewalk are narrow and there are shadows on the street. There’s a group of people drinking at an outdoor table of the pub next door, kind of loud. There’s this petite sized women wearing a short dress sitting on the curb shaking like she’s going through some kind of withdrawal, I think she’s pretty gone and I’m thinking to myself “Where am I?” I try to enter the hostel and when the doors won’t budge realize that I need to call to be let in. There’s even a pin pad. This is totally not what I had expected. But inside, the hostel is inviting and there are people on their laptops at the tables. The front desk guy is welcoming and checks us in. There is a shoe shelf next to the stairs to the rooms, and a sign asking people not to wear shoes in the rooms. I hadn’t expected that either even though I’m used to not wearing shoes in the house. The front desk guy tells us that our rooms are in their other building a block away where there are private rooms, and he leads us out onto the street and walks us there. We pass by more people sitting on the curb and a few drunk people. Shoes are to be taken off at the other building as well. Our room has bunk beds and a bathroom, but feels dreary and sparse. My mom and I both realize we’ve forgotten some toiletries and didn’t bring towels, but even knowing 7-11 is only a block away we decide not to venture out again. We get ready for bed and hope that the other hostel we’re staying with for the remainder of our stay will be much better.
