First explorations of Guangzhou

Arriving and transit in Haikou

We arrived 15 mins ahead of the scheduled time of 0500 into Haikou.  Immigration didn’t take too long and we were in the quiet landside area around 0530.

I had a note in Google Translate explaining to the immigration officer that I needed the 15 day “All China” visa exemption rather than the 30 day “Hainan Only” option.  She was nice and said that she would have asked me about my travel plans anyway.

We took the lift up to the departure check-in level and as the door opened, we were shocked by a horrific crowd queueing to check-in.  Fortunately, the queues were fast-moving as the staff were super-efficient.

Getting airside wasn’t much of a hassle either and we had 4h to kill until our 1025 flight to Guangzhou.  We could have made the earlier 0720 flight with 2h20 connection.  It would have been “just right” but there would be no room for error with delays or long queues.  It would be unnecessary stress, especially considering that the earlier flight would get us in to Guangzhou before hotel check-in.

We explored Haikou airport’s Terminal 2, which was shared between Hainan Airlines and China Southern.  The small airside baggage trolleys were equipped with a large advertising screen and a small navigation screen.  Hi-tech!

The small airside baggage trolleys were equipped with a large advertising screen and a small navigation screen. Hi-tech!

I excused myself from Swee, Chen and Dennis after a while to the lounge to grab some breakfast and continue the set-up of my new phone.  Fortunately, I was able to get my WeChat transferred and WhatsApp mirrored on my new phone.

Better still, the payment and Guangzhou public transport features appear to have been tied to my account rather than to my old phone.

Arriving in Guangzhou

The short flight from Haikou to Guangzhou was eventful, with a small bottle of water placed in the seat pocket waiting for us.  Guangzhou’s Baiyun airport lived up to its name (meaning White Cloud).

It was a long walk from baggage claim to the taxi rank where we said goodbye to Dennis and took a taxi to the Lan Yu (Lan Language) hotel near the Yongqingfang old area.

Getting there at 1230, we were fortunate enough to have rooms ready for us.  Hungry, we did a quick turnaround to head out around 1300 for lunch.

First explorations

To quell our hunger, we settled on a chasiu on rice on a street corner, where I confirmed that my WeChat Pay worked perfectly!  Unfortunately, the meal wasn’t as nice as what I would get in my neighbourhood place in Auckland.  Disappointing, considering I’m in the home of Cantonese food.

From here, I let Swee and Chen take the lead as they had been to Guangzhou a couple of times before.  We headed to three malls en route to the waterfront where would investigate the river cruise for tonight.

The route through our area took us through wholesale frozen seafood shops where products were being packed for delivery. The streets were pretty chaotic and we had to resort walking on the roads as the footpaths were taken up by the businesses.  We then ended up by the Sacred Heart cathedral area.

The malls didn’t turn out to be of interest to us, but it was an eye-opener to see that one of them sold parts for mobile phones on a wholesale basis (buy the parts by the hundreds).

It was around 1600 (or three hours since we started) when we got to the waterfront.  It would be another 3h before the cruises would start so we decided to head back to the hotel for a rest, taking the most direct route which was via Shamian Island.

Shamian is very picturesque and offers a different view of Guangzhou, having been leased by the British and the French after the Opium War.  There were many beautifully-restored Western buildings set on both sides of a tree-lined pedestrian area.

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Pearl River Cruise

We rested for about an hour from 1730 before heading out for a dumpling dinner at a small eatery called “Old Shanghai” near the hotel.  Continuing back to the waterfront, we made it onto the 2025 river cruise.

The 90 min ride took us on the Pearl River towards the east and back.  It was an impressive sight of the skyscrapers, some of them lit up in a synchronised fashion.

We walked back to the hotel through Shamian Island, enjoying the sight of the beautiful buildings illuminated.

It was around 2230 when we returned to our rooms, making an extremely long day.  I had “woken up” around 0200 on the longhaul flight this morning, after not really sleeping during the flight.