Above: Chinese Opera performer on the street in Xiamen.
Leaving Singapore
Today I take Mum and step-dad to Xiamen for a little holiday. Despite booking the SilkAir ticket online, electronic ticketing wasn’t available and we had to collect the ticket from a counter before proceeding to check-in.
The flight 1120 flight left slightly late and once airborne we were served a meal similar to a Malaysia Airlines domestic meal (or similar to an Air New Zealand longhaul meal). There was no dessert on the tray but an ice-cream was offered afterwards.
The crew were very attentive and took their time to answer and explain questions by some passengers about their duty-free items. They were very warm, natural, friendly and genuine in their interactions unlike the crew at their parent company, Singapore Airlines, where they are more carefully polite.
In Xiamen
Landing a little after 1530, we cleared the arrival formalities pretty quickly and took a taxi to the Dong Hai Hotel near the city’s waterfront. We had to walk a little from the drop-off point as the road had been turned into a pedestrian mall.
It was already dark when we reached the hotel. The area was very busy and brightly lit up with neon lights for all sorts of advertising. We went out for a walk after checking in and also grab dinner.
On my previous visit, I noticed many traditional Chinese tea shops, medicine shops etc, many with open fronts. These are now less plentiful and boutiques selling branded apparel seem to dominate, eg. the Hong Kong brands such as Baleno, Giordano and also the French brand Printemps (two branches on Zhongshan Lu).
Mum was tired so we dropped her back to her room. Lawrence and I went for a second walk on the Esplanade before retiring.
Main street near our hotel.