Hong Kong>Beijing Overnight Train and a lil more...
Jul 3, 2014, 5:16 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Toronto-YYZ
Programs: Aeroplan, BA Executive- Blue, Lifemiles, AA Advantage, VIA Rail Preference, Iberia Plus
Posts: 565
Hong Kong>Beijing Overnight Train-Now with PEK>BRU on Hainan
This is my first travel review so please be nice 
But to put this into a better perspective, I’ll give a quick background on this trip beforehand.
So this trip review is part of a 3.5 week trip to Asia and Europe.
Before the HK to Beijing train ride, I took HK Express to and from Malaysia and then took Hainan Air to Brussels.
Also in my time in Beijing I stayed at a Novotel.
I think so that this review will have some of my own pictures, I’ll toss up about 3-4 pictures of each along with a quick blurb.
Disclaimer: they will be in coach/economy class. So no fancy stuff here. Sorry! I’m paying this all on my own and having to keep costs low.
As for the pictures of the train trip, I had originally taken a lot of pictures of the sleeper carriage, menu and dining car (although I was kicked out for taking pictures), but unfortunately the pictures went MIA and I wasn’t able to get them back.
I’ll link pictures from other sites (will link them as well) so that it’s not a purely text based story. In short, I’ll mention if I do use my own picture, but assume that it’s not unless said otherwise.
So without further delay, here we go!
But so that things are in some order, here are is a quick batch of pictures of HK Express.
The seats are nothing special and small with little pitch, in fact I don’t remember them reclining much of anything… but at least the flight was short.
As you can see my knees don’t have much space and I’m not very tall, at least by western standards (I’m 5’9”/1.75cm) and I’m not exactly wide. Lol
And trust me, when I see, it’ll get worst as far as seat space goes…
The Economy order menu. While I was hungry, since airplane food is usually not great, I decided to save my money. That and the flight attendants seemed annoyed to actually have to do any work. They disappeared after offering things for sale.
Anyways onto the main show..
So I decided to do things a bit differently when travelling to Beijing from Hong Kong, by taking the overnight train. I figured it would be a neat way to see some of the Chinese countryside since I was only going to be in China (well pretty much only Beijing) for 4 days.
So the basics to start. I took the 4 person soft sleeper (mid range and 4 bunks) on my trip. The luxury class (2 person/2 bunks) is a bit too much for my pocketbook (especially when you're taking unpaid time off but really not all that much when you consider it's including your transportation and accommodation for the evening), but there is also a 6 person hard sleeper for the budget minded traveller. Well unless if you really want to go budget minded and do the entire trip in a train seat... I'll post a link of the rail reseller the company I used at the end of the review.
The total trip time is 23hours and change starting at Hung Hom in Hong Kong and ending at Beijing Western station in well Beijing. No need to worry about taking a cab into the city here, I was staying at the Novotel by Tiannemen Square which is also right on the subway line.
So from HK, the train leaves out of Hung Hom station. In my case, I was staying at a hostel in Fortress Hill, which meant taking the MTR to Admiralty, transferring to Tsim Sha Sui, walking over to Tsim Sha Sui East with broken luggage (broke on my return trip from Kyoto back to Tokyo at the start of my trip), before taking the subway again to Hom Hung station.
Just follow the signs as shown and you'll be fine...
It should look like something like this:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...y_Red_Zone.jpg
What is the red zone? I mean I didn't notice any extra security... Anyways... keep going...
The best way in, is to get into the station directly from the subway after passing the exit gates at the customer service gate. You can also return the Octopus card here on your right hand side (same side as the McDonalds) as well if you're like me and not sure if you'll ever go back to HK. For the record I did enjoy my time in HK and hope to go back at some point, but I doubt it will be in the near future sadly. In any case, you can always get another Octopus card at that point. There is an admin fee of $9 HKD when you return it along with your deposit back.
If you're like me and come up the wrong exit, the station is across from this building. Hung Hom is the giant glass building. There will also be signs that say Intercity Trains, which threw me off at first because I keep thinking HK and China are 2 different counties...ok grey area, but we'll not get into that here...
I picked up my my tickets the day before because I wasn't sure where the ticket pickup area was in relation to security and such, but it's a 20second walk. This is one of the pictures I lost sadly, but it's really easy to find. The agents manning the intercity train lines were super helpful in pointing me to the right ticket desk.
It's recommended that you arrive a minimum of 45mins before the train departure to go through security and border control ouf of HK. Security is really just a bag check in the scanner. They didn't even make me take off my belt. Maybe HK security thinks “You're China's problem now!” j/k
Before security though, there are various shops and a few restaurants to eat at. Namely McD's, Starbucks and a Munchie Express.
Since I hadn't had much to eat except a yogurt in the morning, this was my last chance to have a real meal before boarding.
I decided to get the BBQ pork and roasted goose with steamed rice for $42 HKD. Wait time for the meal was under a minute. Wow. Sadly it's another lost picture
So after passing through security and after having your ticket checked and such you go down to the waiting area.
A few duty free shops, but since I'll be heading to Europe after, I plan on getting a bottle of wine in Spain and possibly a bottle of whiskey in Ireland before heading back to Canada. On a side note though: Does anyone know where to get whiskey late at night in the Temple Bar Area in Dublin?
Also, while I don't consider myself well travelled, yet (my friends seem to think otherwise), it seems like duty free shops are pretty much all the same no matter where you go around the world.
It's a pretty dark and dreary waiting area, with no WIFI, but you can get a signal with your mobile phone. Sadly the same story, no pictures But in all seriousness, it's nothing special.
There is a MTR Hom Hong souvenir stamp which was missing the ink pad. Lol
Usually I'm a big fan of corny stamps like this, but since I just got a new passport, I didn't want to use/waste an entire page for something like this.
The ticket:
http://charispy.files.wordpress.com/...0101206-10.jpg
Not mine, but well you get the idea...
Luckily a nice station attendant was able to point me in the right direction as to which car and bunk I would be staying in. I don't read/speak Chinese!
After going down to track level and finding my car, you trade in my ticket for what is a plastic card. Mine was so well loved the picture didn't survive...
As for the train itself I'll let the pictures do the talking...
The outside of the train:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shangha..._Through_Train
Not the Beijing train, but only difference is the sign on the train itself.
The main cabin:
Mine was blue, but had the same lace and layout.
The Man in Seat 61 actually has a lot of good pictures, to which I'll link to here: http://www.seat61.com/China.htm#.U7XbOrHRaXY
I'll just describe the seats and train from this point on.
The Dining Car “bar”
So in trying to take pictures of the dining car, I was actually told that pictures aren't allowed so I had to quickly and discreetly take pictures of the menu. In the event it's hard to read, the most expensive item I saw was 65 RMB. Not cheap, but also not going to break the bank either by any means.
The menu is listed in both Chinese and English, also it's gwai lo friendly
Unfortunately I lost those pictures too.
There were also people walking up and down the cars from time to time offering food for sale, but because I can't understand them when they're calling out, I can only assume it's the people with the blue baskets walking around. No one ever asked if we wanted to buy anything so you'll have to wave them down.
But back to the cabin itself, personally the amount of space is fine and in my case I lucked out because I only had to share the room with an older Chinese granny. I'm sure she's really nice and sweet but I don't speak Chinese and she doesn't speak English, but she did offer me some food.
The “bunks” are a bit hard, but I'm told that this is normal in Asia, in that the beds are “firmer” than North/South American and European beds. I suppose I could have just written western...
The bunks are a bit thin though, as they are a bit thinner in width than single bed but based on pictures, it seems normal for train travel.
The cabins also have 4 independent TV's with an audio port so you can plug in your earphones and not disturb the other travellers. You also have a reading light (which I couldn't figure out how to adjust) a net, which I used to store water bottles, 2 coat hangers, pair of slippers, 2 pillows and blanket/duvet.
Also about the TV's you have a whopping 2 channels in Chinese. I was lucky in that IceAge 2 (never seen it actually) was in English and only had Chinese subtitles. And no it's not HD and there's no train route journey so that you know where you are.
There are also 2 plugs per/cabin, but they are Chinese sockets so bring an adaptor. Across from cabin 8, which should be for bunks 25-28, there is what looks like a combo socket for mainland Europe/UK and Americas (I presume Japanese as well), which so long as your cord isn't too short, should let you charge your devices while you're in your cabin.
There are 2 toilets per car. One squat (which is the first one I saw) and a western toilet which I noticed on my way to the dinning car. The squat toilet is near the lower numbered car (example of you're in car 9, the squat toilet will be closer to car 8, whereas the western toilet is closer to car 10, if you're on car 9). There is also a mini sink room (2 sinks) as you can see. This is where the soap is, as I didn't see any in either of the other toilet rooms nor did I go looking in any other cars. Also near the western toilet, is what appears to be a fountain for hot water. Good if you bring your own noodles cup or if you want to make your own tea or coffee if you happen to have some instant coffee with you.
Smokers: you smoke in the bathroom and no the windows in the bathroom don't open.
Non-smokers: expect for the cigarette smell to make it's way into your cabin.
Speaking of bathrooms, they all had mobile phone nets to place your phone in while you do your thing. I'd like to see that catch on.
Anyways along the way you pass cities and do get to see some of the Chinese countryside like so... but at around 730-8 it gets too dark for any other photo's because of the reflection of the glass.
But here are a few of my pictures that did manage to make the cut... aka didn't disappear!
Luckily at least one Engrish sign survived.. hehe
The amount of construction was crazy. And it wasn't concentrated you see construction all the way along the route.
A tip and a few miscellaneous items : Bring ear plugs. There was a group of 4 teenage girls travelling in the room/cabin next door and while I wouldn't expect them to be totally silent, I can hear pretty much everything they're giggling about though, which would get a bit annoying if it continued on late into the night...
As far as I can tell, there is no Wifi available so you're offline, unless if you have a Chinese mobile SIM card of course... which in my case made me have to talk with Chinese granny. Short conversation though!
Garbage is collected a few times throughout the trip so no worry about it getting full before the trip is done.
There is background music playing in the cabins, which I think the volume can be controlled by the panel with the red lights on the left side of the door above the lights button. Not sure what the knob (above the lights as well) on right side of the door does though...
If anyone has any questions, I'll do my best to answer them. Like I said, this is my first review so I know it's anything but perfect, but I'm open to tips/suggestions for future reviews.
I'll add a short review of the Novotel in Beijing that I stayed at and a few pictures of the Beijing to Brussels flight within the next day or so. That has pictures!
I could also add a mini-review on the RENFE from Madrid to Granada if you guys really want another rail review. That was a 4-4.5 hour train ride so it would be MUCH shorter.
Again, this was my first review so I'm open to feedback but losing my pictures was the real killer with this review.
Also if anyone has pictures, let me know!
As for where I got my train tickets, I got them from this site: http://www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/
Anyways, until next time, happy travels!
But to put this into a better perspective, I’ll give a quick background on this trip beforehand.
So this trip review is part of a 3.5 week trip to Asia and Europe.
Before the HK to Beijing train ride, I took HK Express to and from Malaysia and then took Hainan Air to Brussels.
Also in my time in Beijing I stayed at a Novotel.
I think so that this review will have some of my own pictures, I’ll toss up about 3-4 pictures of each along with a quick blurb.
Disclaimer: they will be in coach/economy class. So no fancy stuff here. Sorry! I’m paying this all on my own and having to keep costs low.
As for the pictures of the train trip, I had originally taken a lot of pictures of the sleeper carriage, menu and dining car (although I was kicked out for taking pictures), but unfortunately the pictures went MIA and I wasn’t able to get them back.
I’ll link pictures from other sites (will link them as well) so that it’s not a purely text based story. In short, I’ll mention if I do use my own picture, but assume that it’s not unless said otherwise.
So without further delay, here we go!
But so that things are in some order, here are is a quick batch of pictures of HK Express.
The seats are nothing special and small with little pitch, in fact I don’t remember them reclining much of anything… but at least the flight was short.
As you can see my knees don’t have much space and I’m not very tall, at least by western standards (I’m 5’9”/1.75cm) and I’m not exactly wide. Lol
And trust me, when I see, it’ll get worst as far as seat space goes…
The Economy order menu. While I was hungry, since airplane food is usually not great, I decided to save my money. That and the flight attendants seemed annoyed to actually have to do any work. They disappeared after offering things for sale.
Anyways onto the main show..
So I decided to do things a bit differently when travelling to Beijing from Hong Kong, by taking the overnight train. I figured it would be a neat way to see some of the Chinese countryside since I was only going to be in China (well pretty much only Beijing) for 4 days.
So the basics to start. I took the 4 person soft sleeper (mid range and 4 bunks) on my trip. The luxury class (2 person/2 bunks) is a bit too much for my pocketbook (especially when you're taking unpaid time off but really not all that much when you consider it's including your transportation and accommodation for the evening), but there is also a 6 person hard sleeper for the budget minded traveller. Well unless if you really want to go budget minded and do the entire trip in a train seat... I'll post a link of the rail reseller the company I used at the end of the review.
The total trip time is 23hours and change starting at Hung Hom in Hong Kong and ending at Beijing Western station in well Beijing. No need to worry about taking a cab into the city here, I was staying at the Novotel by Tiannemen Square which is also right on the subway line.
So from HK, the train leaves out of Hung Hom station. In my case, I was staying at a hostel in Fortress Hill, which meant taking the MTR to Admiralty, transferring to Tsim Sha Sui, walking over to Tsim Sha Sui East with broken luggage (broke on my return trip from Kyoto back to Tokyo at the start of my trip), before taking the subway again to Hom Hung station.
Just follow the signs as shown and you'll be fine...
It should look like something like this:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...y_Red_Zone.jpg
What is the red zone? I mean I didn't notice any extra security... Anyways... keep going...
The best way in, is to get into the station directly from the subway after passing the exit gates at the customer service gate. You can also return the Octopus card here on your right hand side (same side as the McDonalds) as well if you're like me and not sure if you'll ever go back to HK. For the record I did enjoy my time in HK and hope to go back at some point, but I doubt it will be in the near future sadly. In any case, you can always get another Octopus card at that point. There is an admin fee of $9 HKD when you return it along with your deposit back.
If you're like me and come up the wrong exit, the station is across from this building. Hung Hom is the giant glass building. There will also be signs that say Intercity Trains, which threw me off at first because I keep thinking HK and China are 2 different counties...ok grey area, but we'll not get into that here...
I picked up my my tickets the day before because I wasn't sure where the ticket pickup area was in relation to security and such, but it's a 20second walk. This is one of the pictures I lost sadly, but it's really easy to find. The agents manning the intercity train lines were super helpful in pointing me to the right ticket desk.
It's recommended that you arrive a minimum of 45mins before the train departure to go through security and border control ouf of HK. Security is really just a bag check in the scanner. They didn't even make me take off my belt. Maybe HK security thinks “You're China's problem now!” j/k
Before security though, there are various shops and a few restaurants to eat at. Namely McD's, Starbucks and a Munchie Express.
Since I hadn't had much to eat except a yogurt in the morning, this was my last chance to have a real meal before boarding.
I decided to get the BBQ pork and roasted goose with steamed rice for $42 HKD. Wait time for the meal was under a minute. Wow. Sadly it's another lost picture
So after passing through security and after having your ticket checked and such you go down to the waiting area.
A few duty free shops, but since I'll be heading to Europe after, I plan on getting a bottle of wine in Spain and possibly a bottle of whiskey in Ireland before heading back to Canada. On a side note though: Does anyone know where to get whiskey late at night in the Temple Bar Area in Dublin?
Also, while I don't consider myself well travelled, yet (my friends seem to think otherwise), it seems like duty free shops are pretty much all the same no matter where you go around the world.
It's a pretty dark and dreary waiting area, with no WIFI, but you can get a signal with your mobile phone. Sadly the same story, no pictures
But in all seriousness, it's nothing special. There is a MTR Hom Hong souvenir stamp which was missing the ink pad. Lol
Usually I'm a big fan of corny stamps like this, but since I just got a new passport, I didn't want to use/waste an entire page for something like this.
The ticket:
http://charispy.files.wordpress.com/...0101206-10.jpg
Not mine, but well you get the idea...
Luckily a nice station attendant was able to point me in the right direction as to which car and bunk I would be staying in. I don't read/speak Chinese!
After going down to track level and finding my car, you trade in my ticket for what is a plastic card. Mine was so well loved the picture didn't survive...
As for the train itself I'll let the pictures do the talking...
The outside of the train:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shangha..._Through_Train
Not the Beijing train, but only difference is the sign on the train itself.
The main cabin:
Mine was blue, but had the same lace and layout.
The Man in Seat 61 actually has a lot of good pictures, to which I'll link to here: http://www.seat61.com/China.htm#.U7XbOrHRaXY
I'll just describe the seats and train from this point on.
The Dining Car “bar”
So in trying to take pictures of the dining car, I was actually told that pictures aren't allowed so I had to quickly and discreetly take pictures of the menu. In the event it's hard to read, the most expensive item I saw was 65 RMB. Not cheap, but also not going to break the bank either by any means.
The menu is listed in both Chinese and English, also it's gwai lo friendly
Unfortunately I lost those pictures too.
There were also people walking up and down the cars from time to time offering food for sale, but because I can't understand them when they're calling out, I can only assume it's the people with the blue baskets walking around. No one ever asked if we wanted to buy anything so you'll have to wave them down.
But back to the cabin itself, personally the amount of space is fine and in my case I lucked out because I only had to share the room with an older Chinese granny. I'm sure she's really nice and sweet but I don't speak Chinese and she doesn't speak English, but she did offer me some food.
The “bunks” are a bit hard, but I'm told that this is normal in Asia, in that the beds are “firmer” than North/South American and European beds. I suppose I could have just written western...
The bunks are a bit thin though, as they are a bit thinner in width than single bed but based on pictures, it seems normal for train travel.
The cabins also have 4 independent TV's with an audio port so you can plug in your earphones and not disturb the other travellers. You also have a reading light (which I couldn't figure out how to adjust) a net, which I used to store water bottles, 2 coat hangers, pair of slippers, 2 pillows and blanket/duvet.
Also about the TV's you have a whopping 2 channels in Chinese. I was lucky in that IceAge 2 (never seen it actually) was in English and only had Chinese subtitles. And no it's not HD and there's no train route journey so that you know where you are.
There are also 2 plugs per/cabin, but they are Chinese sockets so bring an adaptor. Across from cabin 8, which should be for bunks 25-28, there is what looks like a combo socket for mainland Europe/UK and Americas (I presume Japanese as well), which so long as your cord isn't too short, should let you charge your devices while you're in your cabin.
There are 2 toilets per car. One squat (which is the first one I saw) and a western toilet which I noticed on my way to the dinning car. The squat toilet is near the lower numbered car (example of you're in car 9, the squat toilet will be closer to car 8, whereas the western toilet is closer to car 10, if you're on car 9). There is also a mini sink room (2 sinks) as you can see. This is where the soap is, as I didn't see any in either of the other toilet rooms nor did I go looking in any other cars. Also near the western toilet, is what appears to be a fountain for hot water. Good if you bring your own noodles cup or if you want to make your own tea or coffee if you happen to have some instant coffee with you.
Smokers: you smoke in the bathroom and no the windows in the bathroom don't open.
Non-smokers: expect for the cigarette smell to make it's way into your cabin.
Speaking of bathrooms, they all had mobile phone nets to place your phone in while you do your thing. I'd like to see that catch on.
Anyways along the way you pass cities and do get to see some of the Chinese countryside like so... but at around 730-8 it gets too dark for any other photo's because of the reflection of the glass.
But here are a few of my pictures that did manage to make the cut... aka didn't disappear!
Luckily at least one Engrish sign survived.. hehe
The amount of construction was crazy. And it wasn't concentrated you see construction all the way along the route.
A tip and a few miscellaneous items : Bring ear plugs. There was a group of 4 teenage girls travelling in the room/cabin next door and while I wouldn't expect them to be totally silent, I can hear pretty much everything they're giggling about though, which would get a bit annoying if it continued on late into the night...
As far as I can tell, there is no Wifi available so you're offline, unless if you have a Chinese mobile SIM card of course... which in my case made me have to talk with Chinese granny. Short conversation though!
Garbage is collected a few times throughout the trip so no worry about it getting full before the trip is done.
There is background music playing in the cabins, which I think the volume can be controlled by the panel with the red lights on the left side of the door above the lights button. Not sure what the knob (above the lights as well) on right side of the door does though...
If anyone has any questions, I'll do my best to answer them. Like I said, this is my first review so I know it's anything but perfect, but I'm open to tips/suggestions for future reviews.
I'll add a short review of the Novotel in Beijing that I stayed at and a few pictures of the Beijing to Brussels flight within the next day or so. That has pictures!
I could also add a mini-review on the RENFE from Madrid to Granada if you guys really want another rail review. That was a 4-4.5 hour train ride so it would be MUCH shorter.
Again, this was my first review so I'm open to feedback but losing my pictures was the real killer with this review.
Also if anyone has pictures, let me know!
As for where I got my train tickets, I got them from this site: http://www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/
Anyways, until next time, happy travels!
Last edited by iceblueshoes; Jul 19, 2014 at 2:34 pm
Jul 4, 2014, 4:47 am
#2
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, *A Silver
Posts: 4,896
Thanks for the trip report! I looked on the website you posted, but there doesn't seem to be a Hong Kong stop... How much do tickets usually go for?
And it's weird to see that on the website, business class seats cost more than first class seats.
And it's weird to see that on the website, business class seats cost more than first class seats.
Jul 4, 2014, 7:28 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Toronto-YYZ
Programs: Aeroplan, BA Executive- Blue, Lifemiles, AA Advantage, VIA Rail Preference, Iberia Plus
Posts: 565
I actually only saw 3 other westerners before I boarded the train. Until I got kicked out of the dining car, I was originally hoping to stay there a little while to hopefully meet other travellers but well that didn't happen.
I saw a few other westerners in the customs line, but didn't get a chance to really talk to any though. By far though, the train was full of Chinese travellers.
So in a way, yes, it's easy to get around if you don't speak Chinese, assuming you don't need anything while you're on the train. I would assume that you're pretty much on your own (for better or for worst) if that's the case.
Jul 11, 2014, 3:26 pm
#6
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: YWG
Programs: Aeroplan, MileagePlus, Marriott Rewards
Posts: 2,159
Great trip report. I've taken trains between Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xi'an and thereabouts, but never south of Shanghai. At 23 hours, the thought of a train trip from HK to Beijing becomes a compelling proposition!
Jul 14, 2014, 10:54 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Toronto-YYZ
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Posts: 565
I've also taken a long train ride from Moncton > Toronto about7yrs ago. That was 24hours door to door... but I was in a seat, not a bed.
Jul 19, 2014, 2:31 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Toronto-YYZ
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Posts: 565
PEK > Brussels - with Hainan Air - Economy
So here is the (not so) exciting conclusion about my flight from Beijing to Brussels with Hainan Air.
Instead of coming back to YYZ directly from Asia, I decided to take the scenic route and go through Europe since this was my chance to finally visit some friends in Granada and Zurich.
My original plan was to go right to Zurich from Beijing but the flights ended up skyrocketing to $5,200 with AC and $4,800 on BA. Did I mention that this was one way IN Economy?
So I got a bit creative and ended up booking a flight with Hainan since it was a lot less than either BA or AC. Little did I know what I was getting myself into...
Now before I post the rest, I'll try to explain that I realize that Economy is more or less cattle class and I don't expect the world or anything, just that the flight arrive safely, so my standards are pretty low and I'm an easy going guy.
Here we go...
My flight was at around 1am so I didn't pay for the night at a hotel (I was staying at a Novotel which was actually pretty good) so after checking out the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven, I walked around Beijing in the evening before picking up my luggage at the hotel and going to the airport via the subway. One thing I had was time to kill. I was in no rush.
In case anyone is wondering, there are shower facilities in the basement level (south end) for rent. There wasn't a time limit from what I remember, and it was reasonable priced at under $10CDN (after the exchange of course). There is storage space available for the luggage (on left side of picture) and unless you have a massive suitcase should easily fit:
Slippers and sandals are provided as was a hair dryer. Overall it was clean and I would suggest it to anyone in a bind.
I only managed to snap one picture, because well it's a shower and I thought I was running late. Go figure that I go from having too much time, to not enough...
At PEK, you go through 2 security check points. The first is to get to the airline check in line, then another for real security.
Unfortunately the check in line was a mess. Anyone that's been to China knows that personal space doesn't really exist there so people were trying to cut in all the time. But this was nothing compared to security... Unfortunately those photos (and the gate waiting area( went MIA along with my HK > Beijing train pics.
So let's just get on with the plane.
The flight was pretty full and luckily I was one of the first to board somehow.
The seat:
The seats are red, it's just the flash on my camera that washed it out.
Newspapers (In Chinese) and a blanket were given out at amenities, and the FA, did come around with warm towels which was something I'd never had before on a flight.
So like I mentioned before, I'm used to smaller seats, but this was pretty tight...
Ya, I had about an inch and a half or so between my knees and the seat infront. When the person behind me reclined, my knees just barely didn't touch the front seat. At least the seat configuration was 2-3-2.
Now here is something I found VERY strange...
Look ma! No vents!
Now I know the smell coming from the vents isn't always the greatest, but I like the cool air so I don't get too hot during a flight.
When I asked an FA about it, they said that the air vents are only for First Class/Business Class... Weird... and I don't even think ryanair cuts costs to this degree...
There was IFE but I didn't get to try it much since I was chatting to a girl next to me who was coming back from an exchange in Beijing. She had a lot of cool stories.
Her screen didn't work so I let her use mine, but again we chatted and then had a nap so I didn't get to see much of what was available. Not very many recent Hollywood movies is one thing I remember clearly and I watched a movie about soccer being introduced to Germany.
(Sorry not a movie screen shot)
I also didn't see any USB or power plugs let alone WIFI on this flight.
Well moving on, let's check the menu:
Dinner
and Breakfast:
And Drinks:
What is Snow Beer? The FA's didn't exactly seem very helpful and didn't speak much English so I wasn't able to find out what it was...
Well on this flight, being near the front was not a good idea... when they got to me, they had run out of food! So I just had the sides of fruit and bread and some wine.
Luckily I'd saved some leftovers of soy marinated duck from the night before and made a sandwich out of it before leaving. My mom's idea and one I'm thankful that she suggested.
So I think, no big deal, I can eat at breakfast...
Surprise they ran out of omlettes... At this point I'm thinking it's some sort of joke, but noodles at 5am are too early for me... so more fruit sides...
But it wasn't all bad, because it's not everyday you get to see this:
But overall the flight was uneventful. The FA's only came around when someone called and if they were delivering food, etc. They were chatting amongst themselves and the drinks were self-serve for the most part.
By the time we landed in Brussels with a 7hr layover (luckily!), I was famished and decided to treat myself a bit before continuing onto Granada, Spain.
Well that's it for this trip report.
Hope you're still awake and sorry for the delay in getting part 2 up. As I said before if anyone has anyone questions, I'll do my best to answer, but if anyone is wondering if I would fly Hainan again, I would try to avoid it. Not that anyone was outright rude, but that the staff didn't seem to care/were indifferent.
Anyways life goes on.
Happy Travels!
Instead of coming back to YYZ directly from Asia, I decided to take the scenic route and go through Europe since this was my chance to finally visit some friends in Granada and Zurich.
My original plan was to go right to Zurich from Beijing but the flights ended up skyrocketing to $5,200 with AC and $4,800 on BA. Did I mention that this was one way IN Economy?
So I got a bit creative and ended up booking a flight with Hainan since it was a lot less than either BA or AC. Little did I know what I was getting myself into...
Now before I post the rest, I'll try to explain that I realize that Economy is more or less cattle class and I don't expect the world or anything, just that the flight arrive safely, so my standards are pretty low and I'm an easy going guy.
Here we go...
My flight was at around 1am so I didn't pay for the night at a hotel (I was staying at a Novotel which was actually pretty good) so after checking out the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven, I walked around Beijing in the evening before picking up my luggage at the hotel and going to the airport via the subway. One thing I had was time to kill. I was in no rush.
In case anyone is wondering, there are shower facilities in the basement level (south end) for rent. There wasn't a time limit from what I remember, and it was reasonable priced at under $10CDN (after the exchange of course). There is storage space available for the luggage (on left side of picture) and unless you have a massive suitcase should easily fit:
Slippers and sandals are provided as was a hair dryer. Overall it was clean and I would suggest it to anyone in a bind.
I only managed to snap one picture, because well it's a shower and I thought I was running late. Go figure that I go from having too much time, to not enough...
At PEK, you go through 2 security check points. The first is to get to the airline check in line, then another for real security.
Unfortunately the check in line was a mess. Anyone that's been to China knows that personal space doesn't really exist there so people were trying to cut in all the time. But this was nothing compared to security... Unfortunately those photos (and the gate waiting area( went MIA along with my HK > Beijing train pics.
So let's just get on with the plane.
The flight was pretty full and luckily I was one of the first to board somehow.
The seat:
The seats are red, it's just the flash on my camera that washed it out.
Newspapers (In Chinese) and a blanket were given out at amenities, and the FA, did come around with warm towels which was something I'd never had before on a flight.
So like I mentioned before, I'm used to smaller seats, but this was pretty tight...
Ya, I had about an inch and a half or so between my knees and the seat infront. When the person behind me reclined, my knees just barely didn't touch the front seat. At least the seat configuration was 2-3-2.
Now here is something I found VERY strange...
Look ma! No vents!
Now I know the smell coming from the vents isn't always the greatest, but I like the cool air so I don't get too hot during a flight.
When I asked an FA about it, they said that the air vents are only for First Class/Business Class... Weird... and I don't even think ryanair cuts costs to this degree...
There was IFE but I didn't get to try it much since I was chatting to a girl next to me who was coming back from an exchange in Beijing. She had a lot of cool stories.
Her screen didn't work so I let her use mine, but again we chatted and then had a nap so I didn't get to see much of what was available. Not very many recent Hollywood movies is one thing I remember clearly and I watched a movie about soccer being introduced to Germany.
(Sorry not a movie screen shot)
I also didn't see any USB or power plugs let alone WIFI on this flight.
Well moving on, let's check the menu:
Dinner
and Breakfast:
And Drinks:
What is Snow Beer? The FA's didn't exactly seem very helpful and didn't speak much English so I wasn't able to find out what it was...
Well on this flight, being near the front was not a good idea... when they got to me, they had run out of food! So I just had the sides of fruit and bread and some wine.
Luckily I'd saved some leftovers of soy marinated duck from the night before and made a sandwich out of it before leaving. My mom's idea and one I'm thankful that she suggested.
So I think, no big deal, I can eat at breakfast...
Surprise they ran out of omlettes...
At this point I'm thinking it's some sort of joke, but noodles at 5am are too early for me... so more fruit sides...But it wasn't all bad, because it's not everyday you get to see this:
But overall the flight was uneventful. The FA's only came around when someone called and if they were delivering food, etc. They were chatting amongst themselves and the drinks were self-serve for the most part.
By the time we landed in Brussels with a 7hr layover (luckily!), I was famished and decided to treat myself a bit before continuing onto Granada, Spain.
Well that's it for this trip report.
Hope you're still awake and sorry for the delay in getting part 2 up. As I said before if anyone has anyone questions, I'll do my best to answer, but if anyone is wondering if I would fly Hainan again, I would try to avoid it. Not that anyone was outright rude, but that the staff didn't seem to care/were indifferent.
Anyways life goes on.
Happy Travels!
Jul 20, 2014, 8:07 pm
#12
Join Date: Dec 2011
Programs: CX MPC GO; Golden Circle nobody!
Posts: 249
Thank you for this report! Until today, I still find train travel the most romantic way to visit places.
All the fond memories of dining on the Bar Car. We thought it was so luxurious and extravagant to have someone cooking for us on a moving train!
All the fond memories of dining on the Bar Car. We thought it was so luxurious and extravagant to have someone cooking for us on a moving train!
Jul 21, 2014, 5:48 am
#14
Join Date: May 2009
Location: SIN (with a bit of ZRH sprinkled in)
Posts: 9,451
PS: Nice TR
Jul 23, 2014, 2:30 am
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Toronto-YYZ
Programs: Aeroplan, BA Executive- Blue, Lifemiles, AA Advantage, VIA Rail Preference, Iberia Plus
Posts: 565
It's a beer I'd drink ice cold happily on a hot day, though. Given it's low on alcohol, one (westerner) could drink almost unlimited from it, without getting drunk. Better than some (strong) European beers if you don't want get hammered to go with street food when outside etc.
PS: Nice TR
PS: Nice TR
And thank you for explaining snow beer to me.
Sadly I'm a wine drinker, but I hope to one day try out snow beer.
I'm open, just haven't met the right beer yet!