After last flight mood is high. Not a perfect flight but far above my expectations. This is the kind of flying where time passes quickly and you just enjoy it without thinking too much about anything. That is also quality in my book.
The metro connects only to the domestic terminal and I decide to take the free transfer bus between the terminals. The bus is at the station but there is no driver. Onboard is another westerner anxious to get going. He leans out the open door and asks "kuài diǎn" ("hurry up" - my level of mandarin just about covers such phrases) a few times and the driver arrives and gets the bus going.
Between the terminals is just a few hundred meters as the crow flies, but the bus needs to take a really long detour because of the complicated road system. We are both aware of this, and this is how we start chatting. He's an American, flying on China for 15 years. We find some common ground and have a small conversation until we split up at domestic terminal - he is connecting and I'm going down town. Anyway, it is a nice chat and a welcome detour from the lonely traveller routine.
Metro downtown takes over one hour. Luckily it is easy to get a seat at the airport station. Soon the car fills up and I'm glad I am only brought a cabin bag on this trip.
Getting off at Lianglukuo station, I discover it has started to rain. I only have a short walk and I try to sneak up close to the buildings to shelter a bit from the rain, but it is the kind of rain that gets you wet anyhow.
ChongQing isn't my favourite place but getting a really nice room at Hilton for 73€/80USD helps. I get greeted by the door by a bellboy, who insists on carrying my small bag to the desk. I finally accept this offer, because I have a lot of items waiting for me the at the concierge (stuff bought online on Taobao to bring home with me, using my generous checked bag allowance)
The bellboy is a girl, and while she is not too experienced with the luggage cart, we and all my cardboard boxes arrive at the executive floor and she is very anxious to get me comfortably settled in. And just as she is leaving, she remembers one last thing - she comes back into my room, opens the closet and says
- And here is an umbrella for you, if you want to go out later!
I usually get quite annoyed at all "services" provided at finer hotels, but her interest in making my stay a perfect one feels very genuine.
Now, this is probably everyday stuff for most of you, but my personal travel policy says "fly business but stay cheaply" - I have no hotel memberships and usually just book something cheap at the most convenient location. So this is way above my regular stays.
Room at the executive floor, with some tacky cardboard boxes visible on the right. Apparently boxes have been arriving all week. Now I just need to figure out how to make them into three items, all within the size allowed for checked luggage. A kind of 3D-tetris!
Next morning
Nervous of missing the flight due to delays in the transport system I decide to get up really early, skip the metro and get a taxi. Naturally, this morning there is no traffic at all, the driver floors it up the hills to the airport and the same 26 km that took over an hour on the metro yesterday, now takes 22 minutes - arriving to the airport almost 3 hours before takeoff!
Even though I clearly asked for international terminal, he drops me off at domestic. I decide to make no fuss about it, the walk between terminals will actually help me kill some time. But I can't help but thinking how lost I would have been if this was my first visit to ChongQing.
I've done OLCI, so the visit to the check in desk is just a formality. CKG is one of the outstations that uses the landscape-branded boarding passes. I must have a million of theses, but I still think they are nice.
Winter landscape and Birch leaves, two varieties of Finnair paper boarding passes.
While I was passing thorough the domestic terminal, I made use of the packaging service. Of course they don't speak any english and we do a little mime theater to get my different cardboard boxes morph into something that nicely fits into the hold.
If you ever find yourself in the same situation (really at any chinese airport) there always are great packaging services - but usually only at the domestic terminal! I guess, for international travel most people pack in suitcases, but domestically, imagination is the only limit to what to bring with you to the airport.
Anyway, my now wrapped cardboard boxes are accepted as checked luggage without a flinch, and I proceed to the lounge for a relaxed breakfast.
The ChongQing interlude has come to an end. Mood still is high!
