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Published: February 9th 2008
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PROLOGUE
I've been pining for Harbin for the past 2 years. As a Southeast Asian, the thought of seeing that much snow and experiencing "freezer-like" weather is quite...alluring!
So when a friend suggested the idea of quick get-away to Harbin, I gave it some serious thought. It would cost me a lot for a weekend but then again, Harbin is one of those destinations you only need to see once (although, now, I'm thinking, I could go back). So...think, think, think. After much prodding and an enthusiastic push from my father, the genetic source of my wanderlust, I decided to go for it. I could wear everything I own just to survive the cold and money spent traveling is money well-spent!
The day after I paid for my ticket and tour, it started snowing in Shanghai. Honest-to-goodness, covers the ground and stays, white fluffy snow. There had been persistent snowfall a few weeks back. But this time, it was of stuff I only saw in movies (Southeast Asian...remember?). Shanghai is not used to snow. The heaviest snowfall they had was 17 years ago. This was of freakish proportions. And right smack on the Chinese New Year travel rush.
The next day...
view from my window The local Chinese were all shuttling between cities and all modes of transportation were booked to the hilt. Add a bit of snow, and it was c-r-a-z-y! Railroad tracks derailed, people stranded in stations, flights canceled, buses stuck in traffic and the usual disappearing taxis in Shanghai (I seriously believe that the cab to person ration is 1:1,000,000). And this was in cosmopolitan Shanghai. In other cities, the seemingly catastrophic turn of events were magnified. So you can just imagine how CNN painted this picture: CHINA IN CHAOS!
So now everyone's asking me if I'm going on my trip. For one, the snow I so longed for has come to me in Shanghai and two, would it be safe? I e-mailed the tour company to check safety and possible re-booking options and was "reassured" with this email:
I checked the weather forecast for Shanghai tomorrow, it said will be snow. But from our part we are not sure if the weather will affect the departure of your flight or not. You will need to arrive at the airport one hour in advance and then if it's ok you board the plane.
If anything unexpected happened, just give me a call at-----. I will help you to finger out the solution.
I also heard the heavy snow greatly affected the southern part of China but not north. We are ok and Harbin is also ok. From the end of Dec.2007 till now, we have Harbin tour every weekend, it's a fantastic trip and safe enough though temperature is freezing, we
suggest you wear warm. And the weather in Harbin is sunny on Feb.1-3, there should be no worries. I'd like to help you if you meet any trouble just give me a call.
I called some friends and they made a very good point: Harbin is used to snow. Only Shanghai is in a state of panic with the smallest sign of snow.
All fears brushed away, I set off to buy lined tights, wool socks, body warming stickers (like patches you could stick to your clothes), hand warmers, ear muffs,
face masks, etc. I had to explain to shopkeepers that I was off to Harbin and not just someone who went panic-shopping because of the snow. (Haha!)
THE AMAZING RACE
Our flight was set for 6:25 p.m. on a Friday night. Considering Shanghai rush hour on a weekend evening and the forecast of snow (yet again), I asked fro Mr. Li, our trusty driver, to come and pick us up at 3:15 p.m. We had to start from my house, pick up Maries at the Mandarin and Carol at her office before we could make our way to the airport. We had to be in Pudong an hour before our flight (see email above).
Mr. Li came a tad late. And true to the photo finish nature of this whole trip, Chinky and I managed a quick trip to the shop across the street to grab a pair of ski pants each. After bargaining the price down to an acceptable figure, we paid, grabbed our goods, ran out to the van and rushed off to pick up Carol. Maries didn't seem to be ready to leave the office as she had an impromptu meeting with the
boss. Good thing we had her luggage with us and she could take the MagLev (Magnetic Levitation train that takes you from the Longyang subway stop in Pudong to the airport in less than 8 minutes).
As we crawled our way through the snow-ridden-Friday-before-Chinese New year traffic, we kept getting SMS updates on the weather situation and the delayed flights at the airport. At 5 p.m., the news of delayed flights was a welcome hassle as we were still in traffic and there was no word from Maries!
At around 5:30, we finally made it to the airport, we ran in to check the flight status of our China Southern flight and heaved a sigh of relief to note that the plane we were supposed to leave in has yet to arrive. We made our way to the check-in line and called Maries to tell her that her prayers worked...she'll make it in time.
And she did! She came rushing in at about 6:15, weaving through the maze of travelers and trolleys in queues. After a quick check-in at the common check-in counter of China Southern, we were off to our gate...we could finally breathe again!
Amazing Race
the start of the race from Shanghai to Haerbin The wait at the boarding gate was not too bad. We only had enough time to discover that the gift shop's drinks were cheaper than the vending machine before we were making our way to the shuttle that would bring us to the plane. If any of you have flown from the Pudong airport, you should know that the shuttling from the gate to the plane is often longer than the wait at the gate. In the vast expanse of that airport, planes are often parked in what seems to me is an annex, or another piece of land separate from the actual airport!
In spite of and despite of our exhilarating trip from downtown to the airport, once we stood at the foot of the stairs leading to the plane, with snowflakes grazing our faces, we got excited. HARBIN...HERE WE COME! Oh...and since we evidently didn't say that out loud, the guy beside me at the line, marveled at what language we were speaking. And instead of asking the usual, “你们是那里人?” or "where are you from?," he got a BIT creative and asked, in English, "So where are you going?" Nice one!
Up next: WAITING FOR GODOT
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chinky
non-member comment
to harbin...
hahaha...i really love that one about the guy who was about to board the plane with us to harbin...asking you "so where are you going?"...it actually made me "panicky" for a while (what? is this not the plane to Harbin??? are we not going to harbin???? is it another sign???)