Flight and train to Hami

Flying to Urumqi

I had the alarm for 0445, time for a pre-arranged pick-up at 0530 by a taxi.  It was a fixed rate arrangement, with probably a 50% premium, as I was worried that taxis may not be available at this ungodly time, especially when people consider 0530 to be 0330.

Waiting on the kerb, I did see a few taxis go past.  So, I was too cautious, after all but I had peace of mind.

I got to Hotan airport a little before 0600 and was amongst the first to check in.  The kind staff offered to move me up a few rows from my pre-selected seat and was then directed to get my boarding pass checked and stamped, being a foreigner.

With no queues at security, I was airside around 0615.  I could have been 30 mins later but would have been stressful if transport didn’t turn up.

On board the B737-800, staff were polite and handed out newspapers.  Very old world, especially when China is so advanced in so many ways.  While everyone was on board way before the departure time of 0800, we didn’t leave any earlier.

For a small airport, we taxied a long way away before taking off.  Window shades were required to be pulled down until about 10 mins after take-off when we were over the desert.  With a security officer on board, I wouldn’t ignore the warning that photography of military installations was strictly prohibited!

A small bag of crackers (five triple packs) and cookies (one double pack) were handed out along with coffee, tea and water.  The crew noted on their tablet computer that I wasn’t part of their frequent flyer programme and invited me to sign up, to which I declined.

The descent gave us nice views of the Tian Shan mountains from the portside where I was seated.  This gave way to the urban sprawl of Urumqi before landing at 0945.

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With no luggage, I was out from Urumqi airport quickly despite a decent walk airside.  I made the mistake of asking if the metro served the railway station and was given the wrong answer of “Yes”.  At the station, I realised it didn’t and backtracked to the taxi pick-up area.

It was 10 mins lost but despite that, I was at Urumqi station an hour after landing.

Continuing to Hami by train

I had allowed over 4h between landing and my train to Hami at 1053.  With no delay, 2h would have been sufficient.

I had monitored the available trains that I could change to but dared not risk doing it in the taxi until I had entered the station.

Once inside the station, I had missed the cut-off for changing taking a train that was 2h20 earlier.  Apparently, changes must be made at least 50 mins before the departure of the new train.

The next train about 1h10 was full at first but when I tried again, it was available momentarily but the booking change failed later.  It appears that the availability has a slight lag or there are so many users that one may miss out on available seats easily.

The requested change took about 20 mins to process and it would have been stressful if I had been able to try for the train 2h20 earlier and then kept in limbo while boarding was about to commence.

So, I ended up waiting in the station for around 2h30, walking, drinking and lunching till boarding commenced.  That’s the price I paid for being over-cautious again.

To my surprise, boarding by scanning my passport worked today.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the train was a modern with reclining seats!  We reached a top speed of 244 km/h.  It was very smooth and quiet.

The service was bound to terminate at Hami even though the high-speed service does continue further afield to Lanzhou and beyond.

Arriving in Hami

Arriving at 1640, my exit from the station by scanning my passport worked as well.  But the staff handed my passport to a plainclothes officer who showed me his ID.  He passed my passport to another one plainclothes officer that showed his ID and then passed it to a woman that led me to an office in the square outside the station.  She took details of my travel plans and my hotel name.

It was a 5 min walk to the Tian Ma Hotel where the receptionist was also careful with collecting my arrival and departure train details.  Despite the humble reception, the room was very nice.  Not luxurious like the Vienna but nicer than an Ibis. The toilet came with a bidet seat, equipped with a sensor to open the lid everytime I walk into the bathroom and to flush when I stand up.

I finished the day with an early dinner of Xinjiang-style beef salad, mixed side dishes (including shredded potato salad) and fruit.  On the streets, I notice that signboards are not bilingual in Uyghur and Chinese and there are very few minority faces but largely Han Chinese.

Delicious dinner of beef salad and assortment of other salads.