Another lucky seating arrangement on final flight back

Well I woke up at 9am as planned but by the time I checked my phone it was 10.30am. Shit, I'd better make a move. I didn't really want to think about it but the hotel in Hong Kong when I came here cost £30 after knocking off £60 due to points I had, and I'd spent £47 on the flight to Shenzhen, £30+ on the hotel in Shenzhen and now £46 for this Beijing hotel. Not to mention around £50 on trains to get to Pingguo. So the £398 flight to Hong Kong was looking like a bit of a false economy. But hey, doing it this way had enabled me to step down day by day. But after this last month it's going to be so tough getting back...however at least this time I'll have family to see at home.

I was out by 11am and it was but a three minute journey to International Departures on the 4th floor. There was nearly no queue again for baggage drop-off and once again I had a 100% Mandarin conversation with the lady at the desk. I explained that if possible I'd like a seat with no people next to me but she showed me the map and said there weren't any but let me choose, so I took 37C as it was an aisle seat and so far it didn't look like the other two were filled. I explained how I was lucky coming over and that having three seats to oneself made all the difference. She smiled throughout the conversation and that made me smile too. This time my luggage didn't set off any alarms so it was to the departure queue, which took about 15 minutes and I was a bit worried as in the foreigners queue it said to have passport, boarding pass, and departure card ready. Departure card? I didn't have one. But maybe they are a thing of the past as I had no problem receiving my third exit stamp in the last few months, and by 11.40am I was back in the same "Pay lounge" I'd been in a month ago. Oh, and no need for a health declaration form either.

Six stamps in as many months...I hope there will be more

I found "Kick bottom" more amusing than I should have after three glasses...

I didn't dare use this though

I had no qualms about eating lunch before midday. Why would they have hot food if it wasn't for consumption? And I applied similar logic to the bottle of red wine too, knowing that I didn't have all the time in the world here. Indeed, soon after 1.15pm it would be time to board. I went for a last glass of rouge and noticed on the bottle that it was 14%! Shit, no wonder I was feeling tipsy again. I did remember to go to duty-free to look for Esse cigarettes for Awl though. Once again, and maybe for the last time, I got a conversation in Mandarin, asking the difference between the various varieties, and finally picking a mint pack and one with three flavours including red and white wine flavours. It's almost like this brand is a hybrid between normal fags and vapes.

Once again I was one of the last to board, and slightly disappointed that there were a mother and child on the seats to my left, and the child was coughing a lot. Oh well, I was resigned to an uncomfortable flight, but I'd brought along some beers from the lounge should I need them. Then a quite lovely thing happened. The two blokes sitting in the row in front moved a couple of rows forward. Why, I'll never know, but one of them gave me a nod when they left and that was all I needed. I pounced onto seat 36A and prayed no-one would join me. Boarding was complete, we were having the safety announcement, the plane started moving. It couldn't be could it? Well no-one joined me and I thought about spreading out now to ensure they didn't get the chance. But I opted for optimism and food first. The cocktail of melatonin and Phenergan did the trick again and I had nearly as much sleep as on the way over here, waking up with 2h30 to go, and finishing off Bladerunner 2049 for the second or third time.

It couldn't be true, could it? I didn't see any other rows with just one person

The flight was as turbulent-free as I can remember, though I may have slept through some, and the landing gentle too. The only real pisser was waiting an age for my luggage, trying to watch the City match and seeing Spurs get a late equaliser. And then finding when it finally arrived, that one of the wheels had sheered off, making it a pain to roll. I guess I'll write to Samsonite and see if they're willing to send a replacement...or maybe Amex insurance will cover it...I live in hope as I love that suitcase.

Probably the worst event of the sojourn happened right at the end...it was a bugger to roll back after that

And that was it...home to see the family so a much nicer ending that it usually is. Tan and Xixi were happy with the clothes, and Leilei accepted a hug!

But this break has been important for me in many ways. I was properly independent, forced to speak Mandarin 95% of the time, and had so many special moments. Despite the banal nature of so much of it, it really feels like watching a film but also being in it. A dream that you can control. But I'm aware it's a combination of being foreign, speaking the language, having the time, and Pingguo being Tan's home town. This last bit lends a significant amount of legitimacy I feel. I don't know if I'll get to do it again by myself, but I really hope I can find a job where I'm able to come back with the family next year - it would be a deal-breaker in an interview if I couldn't.

Ferry to Hong Kong, flight to Beijing, and a "problem"

I'd planned to get up at 8am to review my option of taking the boat and maybe make a plan B. It may have been easier to do the train to Kowloon than the metro to the airport, and certainly cheaper, but given I was on the other side of one of the largest cities in the world I guessed the tube alone would have taken 90 minutes and I was literally in the building where the ferry left from so forced myself out at 8.30am.

I had no idea how long the process would take, but I knew it would involve passports so that could mean queues and health declarations. A woman came up to me to ask in English if she could help and I rudely answered her in Mandarin, then caught myself and quickly said in English I wanted to buy a ticket to Hong Kong airport, and she pointed to a queue 20 metres away. I was about five back in the queue and the people at the front were involved in a conversation with the ticket seller so I didn't know how long it would take. It was already nearly 9am. Then the teller to the left finished selling a ticket but no-one went up to her so I motioned with my hands that I wanted to buy a ticket and she beckoned me over. Well that was reasonably simple and paid for with Weixin again, then it was over to drop off the luggage.

I explained to the woman that I knew China Southern didn't accept check-in luggage here, unlike most of the others, so I'd have to pick it up at the airport, but she looked a bit worried and called the other woman over who had spoken English to me a few minutes ago. This time maybe because she'd heard me speaking with the other woman she didn't utter a word of English and said she feared that in Hong Kong they wouldn't let me go to Beijing. I told her it would be fine as I had a multi-entry visa, but she then said a few quick sentences to me really quickly and I was too embarrassed to ask what exactly she meant other than "他们不给你走", "they will not let you go". One of these days my pride is really going to cause me to have a big fall, but I insisted that it would be fine. Why? Why didn't I try to find out what the problem was?

But anyway, the first woman took my luggage and put a sticker on my ticket so I would be able to identify it. Then I walked around the corner to leave mainland China and get my passport stamped. Then over to the waiting hall. It was only 9.10am and boarding wasn't until 9.50am, but given the previous conversation it was better to be early just in case. The ferry was pretty empty, as was my stomach, and I was slightly annoyed when two westerners came and sat next to me given there were plenty of empty rows. It was only much later on I noticed we have been delegated seats and I'd just been delegated unluckily.

At the airport I realised I was once again in no-man's land, as I was neither in mainland China nor Hong Kong. But China Mobile sent me a text to say I could use up to RMB30 worth per day so I quickly turned off data; I could wait for wifi. My bag was duly waiting for me, so that wasn't the problem the lady mentioned, and I went to drop it off in a small hall where each of the desks catered for multiple airlines. With no queue it was quick, but I did check about whether I needed to pick up the suitcase in Beijing and indeed I did, plus sort out getting a boarding pass. But at least this time it was all in Mandarin and this time I understood what she was saying. But where was this problem? This could have been the sticky point, but now I had to do security. But security was quick and fine, and I went to check the flight details. Oh, it wasn't there...There was another flight at 2.15pm but it wasn't mine, at least it wasn't going to Beijing. Could this be the problem? I double-checked and then checked the boarding pass. 1.45pm! They'd only gone and changed the time sometime in the last four weeks, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't told about it. And there it was on the board, at gate 49, only 11 away from the lounges.

From memory, Hong Kong lounges only served beer before, but this time I went to the Centurion lounge (avoiding the queues outside the Plaza Premium). It was 11.15am and I was told breakfast was being served, but lunch would be at 11.30am. I decided to wait it out till lunch then looked at the bar. This was definitely a good level or two above typical lounges, and I was asked politely what I would like to drink. "Good morning, may I have a gin and tonic please?", were the words that came out of my mouth, probably for the first time in my life. Divine (for that was her name) asked if Botanist gin would be ok. Err...yeah, though I kept my poise and nodded that that would be fine, and she continued to pour the largest measure I've seen by a bar person. I normally can't tell the difference between gins but this definitely had some kick, though I've since checked and at 46% it bloody would!

Morning Botanist and tonic...

The food was cracking too, putting Nanning's China Southern lounge to shame. Two more G&Ts later it was getting time to go, so I had one for the air and said goodbye to Divine. I didn't need duty-free but I still had HKD47 in coins from years ago plus some cash plus the 120 they give you when you get past security. I didn't really follow the logic of it but I wasn't going to argue. So, feeling slightly tipsy, I went to the duty free and appropriately picked up a bottle of Bombay Sapphire export strength. The lady at the counter was more than happy to speak Mandarin with me as I asked her to help out with the coinage, so I had another little dopamine hit again.

I didn't get a row to myself this time, but at least it was a 2-4-2 formation on the A330-300, which meant I only had to disturb one person when I went to the loo. Once again I was one of the last ones on the flight but there was no problem with cabin space again. Three hours later, after a fairly nondescript flight and landing, I was filling in my landing card again, though it took a fraction of the time as I didn't have to write the address in Chinese (but I did put my Chinese name in the optional box). And a few minutes later I had my third entry stamp for this visa in my passport. I really really hope it's not the last. And the problem I was told about when getting the boat tickets? Nothing at all...unless there is some surprise tomorrow.

I had thought about getting a hotel outside the airport but realised I pretty much only had summer clothes and Beijing isn't known for its warm weather in December so I'd jibbed out a bit and taken the easy route of a hotel within the airport, not even a shuttle bus away. And at £46 I was glad that I did. The bloke at reception didn't breathe a word of English after I greeted him with "wanshang hao!", and it felt like I was on a roll from a Mandarin perspective. Again, a convenience store within the airport was to be my tea, and after that and a couple of Budweiser Magnum 5.5%ers I fell asleep for an hour or so, waking up at midnight. Hmm...what to do? I would aim to leave 9.30am tomorrow so would need more sleep. Maybe a couple more Buds? But that store had closed now. But this is China and that should not be a problem and someone told me there was another one by the carpark and indeed it was but two minutes away. So a couple more beers, my last hit of Mandarin, and indeed I was asleep again by 3am.

No chance...even though Andge and Awl would have

Leaving time again...why do I fly?

It wasn't too hard to get up at 8.30am despite waking up during the night. For once I'd pretty much sorted out stuff, so for the first time this trip went out to get breakfast. Where else than the jiaozi place? This time for definitely my last portion. I had a couple of cups of tea at Lu zong's water shop next door then said my goodbyes. I did a last spin of the place on the dian dong che, but knew my time was nearly up. It was much cooler than the last couple of weeks have been, and was drizzling, so I guess this is another step closer to being in the UK.

Starting to build up a collection again

I pinged Li Kun at 11am to ask if he could help me book a didi che, and whether 11.15am would be too early for a 12.09pm train. No it wouldn't be too early at all, and he would order one to pick me up outside the bank by the second main gate. 11.20am came but the car didn't. I called Li Kun and he just said to wait a bit longer. Hmm...I shouldn't have worried but after another 5 minutes it still wasn't there. Then Li Kun pinged me the details of the car and just like that it turned up. The driver helped me with my luggage then asked me a question I didn't understand. I apologised but then Li Kun rang to see my situation. The driver was pointing to a number pad on his phone and I worked out he wanted the last 4 digits of my phone number. But I had the presence of mind to check with Li Kun which phone number to use and indeed it was his, so 5-5-5-1 was typed into the software and only then was the map and route displayed. The driver explained it was different software from didi che. Ah, so this was an alternative one then, but I was rather disappointed I hadn't understood him. One of the main reasons for this sojourn was to improve my spoken Chinese, and although it hasn't got worse I'm not sure how I can quantify any improvement.

Goodbye Yu Jing Hua Ting

Annoyingly, the taxi had to stop at the bottom of the access road to the station due to ongoing repairs (of the station, not the taxi), so I had to walk up 100 yards or so. This could have been a real sweat-fest another time but as my backpack was attached to the hand luggage it really made a difference (not to mention it wasn't 30+ degrees. Security was pretty straightforward with the expected examination of my powerbank. Both the train to Nanning and the train to Wuxu airport were busy, but I found space for the large suitcase. It's great now the train stops at the airport but it was still a good 10 minutes' walk to baggage drop-off. And the lady at the counter didn't even attempt to speak to me in English, which I really appreciated, and when she told me my large suitcase hadn't passed security I was almost glad to have the social intercourse with the security people. They looked at the plastic drink bottles, one of which had the remains of some gin in it, and shook it to check it wasn't...well I don't know, but I was glad they didn't ask me to take a sip, then they put the bottles back and this time it passed ok.

So it was off to the landside lounge we've been to so many times before. It's got the crappiest selection of snacks and sugary drinks, but it does have a fast stream security, so after finishing my sugar-free lemonade that might have been spiked with something I did security and went to find the China Southern lounge. My app had said that there were two of them, of the six lounges at Nanning airport, and these were the only ones with wine and beer. Ha! I wish, not a drop of the stuff and I had two hours to wait. However, the hostesses were very nice and didn't speak English to me. I made do with a bowl of pao mian, which was the only hot food I could find. When the time finally came I was about to leave but was told my flight was "yan wu le", and this time I did appreciate it when she added "delayed" in English. Ah, I should have known this term. So I left my stuff in the lounge and went for a walk anyway. Surely I should be able to find a beer in this international airport.

I walked the length and breadth of the place, checking each shop and even restaurant, but it seems it is a dry as Jeddah. Not even local white alcohol in the tourist shops (not that I would have). So I'd have to be content with my little carry-on in the flight. Apparently the delay was due to air traffic control, which doesn't explain much, and that we'd leave in one to two hours. Well I guess a dry lounge is better than no lounge. Finally around 6pm we were called to board. The first half an hour was bumpier than I would have liked, but it smoothed out after that and even the landing was manageable. I think it was the longest flight (1h20) I've managed without going to the loo.

I admit to using one of the cans of sweet shuibi to make myself a drink before making my way to the tube entrance. I didn't quite understand the ticket machines - it looked like you needed to use a special card (ID card?) to buy tickets so I had to ask the woman at the desk who told me it was 6 kuai to go to Shekou. In the end it took an hour and when I finally made it upstairs into the Shekou night I was pretty sweaty. I'd worked out it should be about 800 metre walk but I saw a sign saying "B601 shuttle bus" that ran till 11pm. By now it was 10pm but the place was deserted and I wasn't sure about waiting. But I'm glad I did as 5 minutes later the said bus did turn up. I'd searched it up online and found it was 1 kuai, so got on and asked the driver if I could pay with Weixin. Well yes and no; I couldn't scan a QR code and he couldn't scan me, but he was motioning to do something else. He started driving anyway and when we got there 5 minutes later we spent a couple of minutes searching for the mini-app but it wouldn't download and in the end he just let me go. It's hardly worth arguing over 1 kuai.

Slightly amusing warnings at the Shekou Cruise Center

The hotel was fine and yet again the bloke at reception didn't attempt a word of English, so that was another tiny buzz (although I guess it's more like dopamine). I didn't fancy dining there and anyway it was 11pm, so I went for a walk outside and found a 7-11-like shop where I bought four hot sausages and a packet of cucumber flavoured crisps. And three beers. I expected the sausages to cover this evening and breakfast tomorrow but I ended up wolfing everything down as it was my first bite to eat since the lounge. I was awake enough to grab a shower but not for much longer than that.