intro to china trip
was very hesitant about the china trip. first, i had no cash to spend, and second, it was just the beginning of the year and i didn't want to start it applying for leaves. in the end, i gave in to jub's request. mark booked us tickets and jub and i applied for our leaves.
on the night of our departure, jub and mark were already at the airport. i was still at the office printing out maps of beijing and shanghai and determining which locations are walking distance from the hostel (if you can find maps/locations written in chinese characters, the better. not much english in the area. the cab drivers sometimes can't understand the china map we had since it's text was in english characters). by 6:45pm, i arrived at the airport. mark and jub had already checked in and were having dinner at the airport's second floor dining area. standing at the check-in line, i sms jub requesting to order me a burger (dinner) in case i was not able to join them by 7:30pm. by 7:25, i was still standing at the check-in line when mark and jub approached me. jub didn't have any burger with him. he noted that it wasn't 7:30pm when they left the airport's dining area.
later, jub and mark left to check out the money changer within the airport (at this time, we still didn't have any yuan. jub said changing currencies wouldn't be an issue) and then headed on to immigration where they were to wait for me where i supposed i'd be boarding the plane with them. after checking in, one has to pay travel tax (php1620) which was 3 counters away and then return to the check-in counter. i then headed to buy myself a burger. standing in line at jollibee, i heard the announcement made for our plane's boarding. i called up jub and was informed he and mark already boarded the plane. at this point, i thought if the plane left, i wouldn't mind. hahahaha!!! the situation seemed telling. it seemed jub and mark preferred exploring in their two-some and i was their third wheel.
later on, while standing at the immigration line, i heard my name echoing from an airline's staff hand radio. he called out, 'bound for shanghai? who's bound for shanghai?' i raised my hand, the crew then stood beside me, spoke on his hand radio, and reported he found the last passenger. as the immigration officer had a couple of questions about our itinerary, i seriously thought that if he denied me exit, i wouldn't mind. eventually, he let me pass. the airline's staff then advised that we run towards the plane. escorted by 2 airline staff, we ran to the tarmac and i boarded the plane running after my breath.
the plane ride took nearly 3 hrs. i was seated apart from jub and mark who were seated beside each other towards the plane's tail end.
this is one long entry. i'd key in more notes on the next entry..
on the night of our departure, jub and mark were already at the airport. i was still at the office printing out maps of beijing and shanghai and determining which locations are walking distance from the hostel (if you can find maps/locations written in chinese characters, the better. not much english in the area. the cab drivers sometimes can't understand the china map we had since it's text was in english characters). by 6:45pm, i arrived at the airport. mark and jub had already checked in and were having dinner at the airport's second floor dining area. standing at the check-in line, i sms jub requesting to order me a burger (dinner) in case i was not able to join them by 7:30pm. by 7:25, i was still standing at the check-in line when mark and jub approached me. jub didn't have any burger with him. he noted that it wasn't 7:30pm when they left the airport's dining area.
later, jub and mark left to check out the money changer within the airport (at this time, we still didn't have any yuan. jub said changing currencies wouldn't be an issue) and then headed on to immigration where they were to wait for me where i supposed i'd be boarding the plane with them. after checking in, one has to pay travel tax (php1620) which was 3 counters away and then return to the check-in counter. i then headed to buy myself a burger. standing in line at jollibee, i heard the announcement made for our plane's boarding. i called up jub and was informed he and mark already boarded the plane. at this point, i thought if the plane left, i wouldn't mind. hahahaha!!! the situation seemed telling. it seemed jub and mark preferred exploring in their two-some and i was their third wheel.
later on, while standing at the immigration line, i heard my name echoing from an airline's staff hand radio. he called out, 'bound for shanghai? who's bound for shanghai?' i raised my hand, the crew then stood beside me, spoke on his hand radio, and reported he found the last passenger. as the immigration officer had a couple of questions about our itinerary, i seriously thought that if he denied me exit, i wouldn't mind. eventually, he let me pass. the airline's staff then advised that we run towards the plane. escorted by 2 airline staff, we ran to the tarmac and i boarded the plane running after my breath.
the plane ride took nearly 3 hrs. i was seated apart from jub and mark who were seated beside each other towards the plane's tail end.
this is one long entry. i'd key in more notes on the next entry..
Labels: blahs and blahs, momentary detours
posted by cath at 5:10 PM
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