Above: Chengdu’s pedestrian mall by night as we arrive.
Hedonistic morning
We had a lazy start to the day. I made muesli and yoghurt for breakfast before packing out and checking out at 1000. We could have kept the room for a couple more hours but we wanted to fit in a massage and lunch before taking the metro to Hongqiao Airport T1 for our Chengdu flight departing at 1655.
We walked to the blind massage place which the hotel had found for us. They could fit in 45 minutes for me as they had another customer at 1100. The man was super strong and it hurt everywhere he touched. As it was such an intense massage 45 minutes was just right.
Kim went to yesterday’s place around the corner for his pedicure and reflexology but had to wait as the masseurs were still asleep on the massage chairs. Life is hard for migrant workers. They come from afar for a better living but sometimes one really wonders.
I joined him after my massage for my first ever pedicure and 30 minutes of reflexology. It was a very hedonistic morning. We could have very easily wasted the day doing nothing but we put it to good use doing things that would have cost us a fortune at home.
After lunch of Sheng Jian Bao and another type, eaten kerbside, we headed back to the hotel. We collected our stuff and took the metro to Hongqiao Airport. Entering the metro station, the security staff picked up that I had a pocket knife in my checked luggage. I didn’t want to surrender it so pretended I couldn’t speak a word of Chinese and she let me go, just to make it easier for herself. The ride to the airport took 30 minutes but there was a bit of walking at both ends which one has to allow for.
Spring is in the Air
With no other passengers at Spring Airlines’ check-in, it was a breeze. We got some takeaways from Lawson’s in view of our light lunch and having to be “on the go” till around 2200 tonight. Having arrived at the airport 3h prior to the flight, we finally had some quiet time to read and recollect our experiences into my travel blog.
Unfortunately there was a delay of around 90 minutes which meant more waiting than we had bargained for. People came and went at the departure gate as their flights departed. Some left empty bottles and wrappers behind. The cleaner was working through collecting them when the supervisor came and shouted at the top of her voice to tidy up. Give the poor lady a chance! There is something really wrong with the cuture in this country. There appears t be no civility towards strangers and lower-ranked people at times.
After all the waiting, we boarded at a remote gate using a bus. The aircraft appeared to be a shiny brand new A320 Taking our seats, we realised they were non-reclinable. That’s a new experience even for budget-airline travellers like us. The crew were very obliging with parents with young children, even getting hot water for a baby bottle as the plane waited to get onto the runway.
Even though the plane was equipped with CFM (rather than IAE engines), it sounded nothing like what I’m very used to, know and love. It was far noisier as if they’ve done without the insulation! And the whisper-quiet ventilation that I’m used to was rather gushy. Perhaps it is a low-spec model or a locally-assembled version (yes, they do assemble them in China).
After the meal service, there was a very long PA. I didn’t understand it and wondered if it was story-time or poetry time. Then came the snake-oil sales. The crew turned the lights on high did a show-and-tell of various products eg. model aircraft and electric shaver. He was quite convincing telling of his personal experiences to illustrate the benefits. Finally, the crew led inflight exercises in the aisle!
Going to the toilet I realised there was 31 rows on the plane rather than the usual 30. To enable this, the galley had been compacted to one-third of the usual size and the two toilets jammed into the rear wall. Googling this later, I realised this was a new space-saving configuration.
Overall, Spring Airlines was OK. It wasn’t exactly cheap but the mainstream airlines were much more expensive. The mainstsream airlines did match Spring’s prices but these prices were few and far between and also at less attractive hours. I probably wouldn’t choose them again if I could find a mainstream airline for a similar fare at a decent time (which is exactly the reason I chose them this time).
Arriving in the Sichuan capital
The arrival hall at Chengdu domestic airport terminal (T2) was huge. I think there were 28 luggage carousels whereas many large airports often converge to far fewer belts.
The biggest single baggage claim hall I’ve ever seen at an airport. Seemingly endless number of baggage carousels.
Coming out around 2230, we had set our hearts on a taxi ride to town. Frustratingly, were met with the most horrendous queue for the taxi. It made sense to hop on to the bus which was bound to depart already.
The bus dropped us in town where no taxi would take us to our hotel. They kinda pushed us on to an overpriced electric tuktuk. This would turn out to be a regular feature of Chengdu taxis where they would refuse short fares (and that’s if one can find a taxi that’s not already taken up).