This is what I've learned: China is whack. Like the daddy mac. If at all possible, I will never, EVER transfer through this whack place again.
Perhaps I've been fortunate during my travels and had never previously encountered flight problems before. But every flight I've had this trip to and from Singapore has been delayed. Coincidence? No, I think it's just whacky China.
First, I get up at the ass-crack o' dawn to catch my flight to Singapore via Shanghai. I had a 10 hour layover in Shanghai, so I was planning on exploring the city to pass the time. When I get to Inchon, the line to check in is horrendously long. No on-line check-in, no self check-in. After about 30 minutes (the line moved surprisingly fast considering), I get to the counter, only to be told my flight is delayed and to come back...and stand in line again...after 2 hours. WHY someone didn't think to tell the people in line that ALL flights to Shanghai were delayed because of military training at the Shanghai airport is beyond me. So after 2 hours, I'm back in line again. This time the line is moving much slower because the flights were no longer delayed. After going through security and making it to the gate, we're told that the flight is delayed AGAIN. After we finally board, (can you guess what I'm going to say?), we were delayed on the Tarmac for another bloody hour! For fuck's sake!!
So we finally made it to Shanghai after a 6 hour delay. Most of the folks on my flight who were transferring had already missed their connections. Lucky I had that 10 hour layover. Unlucky because my day exploring Shanghai was now shot.
Shanghai airport is shit. The signs are misleading and confusing, the workers unfriendly, and most of the time it looks like you're walking through a fucking underground bunker to get to your gate. AND ONCE AGAIN, my flight is bloody delayed! They finally called for boarding. As I'm standing in line, (5 minutes after calling first boarding) they call "final" boarding and start rushing everyone through...only to be DELAYED ON THE TARMAC AGAIN!!!! Aye yei yei!! Seriously, what the fuck?
I FINALLY made it to Singapore...which was completely lovely (I'll write proper blogs on Singy later...for now, let's keep talking about how shit China is to transfer through).
Leaving Singapore, I had no problems...but I was looking at 2 transfers through bloody China on my way back to Seoul (hey, the tickets were cheap and I'm a poor, wanderlusting lass). I get to my first transfer...of which we're NOT changing planes - 1 hour layover - you'd expect to just sit on the plane, right? That's what I thought because I've done that before. Nope. Get off the plane, go through immigration, security and the likes, then told the flight is delayed. Should I really be surprised at this point?
I finally make it to my second connection in Qingdao, where it's now 11am and they're shooting fireworks (or gunfire...) outside of the airport. Why?? There is no signage for international transfer anywhere. Information folks are a joke. I try to go for a coffee and when I walk in, one of the workers held her nose and went to the other end if the bar. Yeah, I probably smell a bit, but that's your fault China, for delaying every fucking flight to and from your country and ultimately delaying my well-needed after-travel shower. So lady in the coffee shop, go fuck yourself.
Also China, you need to figure out your pollution problem...cause damn! We were flying into a brown bubble of dirty China nastiness.
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| That blue-ish strip between land and sky is haze. Nasty haze. |
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| Haze and green sludge in the ocean (which I really hope is algae...) |
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| Hazy, brown Qingdao. |
Sorry if this blog is negative, but I had a negative experience transferring through China...so much that it put off any small desire I had to ever visit the country. Maybe I will one day, but China has dropped to the bottom of my list.
At least it wasn't enough to put a damper on my trip to Sunny Singapore. Blogs on that wonderful wee country coming soon!
Happy (but not in China) Trails!
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