Travel diary of my first day in China - Landing in Beijing and traveling to Changchun
On 1st Dec 2011, i boarded my first international flight to China from the city of my birth New Delhi. On an international assignment that work is taking me to, i was scheduled to fly toBeijing, the capital of China and then further continue to Changchun. Changchun is going to be my home city for the months to come till i am in China.
As i drove from home to the Delhi airport i was mentally prepared to reach the land of Dragons and Emperors. Loaded with mixed emotions leaving my country and the perceptions we carry about China and the Chinese i took off.the best thing about an Indian traveling abroad for the first time is the enthusiasm it gets in his family. Couple of relatives coming home to help me pack my bags, Items coming from different cities to find space in your bag for your good stay, loads of bon voyage and goodwill calls, near and dear ones visiting you and the last omen is scores of relatives coming to see you off. All set for a super travel, my journey commenced no different than these. I think, we Indians develop certain pre-conceived notions about China from the Chinese fast food we eat to the Chinese goods we buy back home. I had a belief i will be pleasantly surprised once i land in China, an experience that should be much more beyond those notions that come along with our baggage.
Very smoothly i passed through baggage transfers, Emigration, and check in and was just minutes away from boarding. As i seated myself into the Boeing, i could see that indeed Beijing is a cosmopolitan city as my flight had Chinese, Europeans, Americans and of course lots of fellow Indians. Respite. Still that china felling has not sunk in yet. Within 6 hours, i was landed in Beijing and the first thing that struck me was the chilly wind that was characteristic of the Chinese winter i have read of. But still having seen winters back home, it was not much different. And the cars and tarmac buses were no different either. So that china feeling was yet to come. Since i was on a transit flight to Beijing for reaching Changchun, i had to drop in at the humongous Beijing 3 E terminal, do the immigration and take the train to the domestic terminal. Pretty easy it seamed. Now since both my journeys were Air China flights, i wished to confirm if i had to check in my cargo bags again or could directly collect at Changchun. I went to the inquiry counter and here is where the feeling sunk in. None of the staff knew English too well and even with their broken language i found it hard to get to know about my baggage. When you do not know Chinese in china, you consider yourself as well as as sign language trainee and push your best with all the facial and hand gimmicks. Welcome to china where very clearly Chinese is the first language and any alternative to that is a rare advantage. Welcome to china. I greeted myself.
On to my second flight after all the formalities, in less than 2 hours, i was hovering over Changchun city. Time was 17:00 local time and it was pitch dark like midnight. If Beijing was chilly, Changchun was bloody freezing. I was greeted with -11 degree C in the city and the only consolation was a placard i saw at the airport gate with my name on it. Yes i was given an airport escort and that felt good. Very good. In no time i was into the city that i will spend my next few months and days with my work. The snow along the roads gave me an impression it could be a work and go home city but will find my best bet to extract the best out of this sleeping cold city.
Bon voyage and xie xie China.
On 1st Dec 2011, i boarded my first international flight to China from the city of my birth New Delhi. On an international assignment that work is taking me to, i was scheduled to fly toBeijing, the capital of China and then further continue to Changchun. Changchun is going to be my home city for the months to come till i am in China.
As i drove from home to the Delhi airport i was mentally prepared to reach the land of Dragons and Emperors. Loaded with mixed emotions leaving my country and the perceptions we carry about China and the Chinese i took off.the best thing about an Indian traveling abroad for the first time is the enthusiasm it gets in his family. Couple of relatives coming home to help me pack my bags, Items coming from different cities to find space in your bag for your good stay, loads of bon voyage and goodwill calls, near and dear ones visiting you and the last omen is scores of relatives coming to see you off. All set for a super travel, my journey commenced no different than these. I think, we Indians develop certain pre-conceived notions about China from the Chinese fast food we eat to the Chinese goods we buy back home. I had a belief i will be pleasantly surprised once i land in China, an experience that should be much more beyond those notions that come along with our baggage.
Very smoothly i passed through baggage transfers, Emigration, and check in and was just minutes away from boarding. As i seated myself into the Boeing, i could see that indeed Beijing is a cosmopolitan city as my flight had Chinese, Europeans, Americans and of course lots of fellow Indians. Respite. Still that china felling has not sunk in yet. Within 6 hours, i was landed in Beijing and the first thing that struck me was the chilly wind that was characteristic of the Chinese winter i have read of. But still having seen winters back home, it was not much different. And the cars and tarmac buses were no different either. So that china feeling was yet to come. Since i was on a transit flight to Beijing for reaching Changchun, i had to drop in at the humongous Beijing 3 E terminal, do the immigration and take the train to the domestic terminal. Pretty easy it seamed. Now since both my journeys were Air China flights, i wished to confirm if i had to check in my cargo bags again or could directly collect at Changchun. I went to the inquiry counter and here is where the feeling sunk in. None of the staff knew English too well and even with their broken language i found it hard to get to know about my baggage. When you do not know Chinese in china, you consider yourself as well as as sign language trainee and push your best with all the facial and hand gimmicks. Welcome to china where very clearly Chinese is the first language and any alternative to that is a rare advantage. Welcome to china. I greeted myself.
On to my second flight after all the formalities, in less than 2 hours, i was hovering over Changchun city. Time was 17:00 local time and it was pitch dark like midnight. If Beijing was chilly, Changchun was bloody freezing. I was greeted with -11 degree C in the city and the only consolation was a placard i saw at the airport gate with my name on it. Yes i was given an airport escort and that felt good. Very good. In no time i was into the city that i will spend my next few months and days with my work. The snow along the roads gave me an impression it could be a work and go home city but will find my best bet to extract the best out of this sleeping cold city.
Bon voyage and xie xie China.
