We were picked up at 6 not by Mr Mok or his pal but another friend with no name who drove like the wind in a battered and ageing Proton (but then most of the taxis in KL are). Just to give you some sort of idea as to how quickly, it’s supposed to take an hour to reach the airport but he got us there in less than 40 minutes. Still, the roads were clear as it was very early on a Saturday morning.
The check-in with Malaysian Airlines was easy and straightforward but we had to pass through 3 security checks before we got to the departure lounge. This is perhaps understandable until we know what happened to MH370 (and much of our flight, which was MH388, followed the same route or, at least, the intended flight path).
The flight took 5 hours, which seemed like a short hop after the outward journey from the UK, but the entertainment (films etc..) was exactly the same. What am I going to do for the 18 hour return flights?! I may have to take up knitting or the playing the lute.
It was a good flight (with chicken and noodles or prawns and rice for brunch, if you’re interested) but as we approached Shanghai, a thick haze seemed to develop beneath the flight path. We descended through the haze to land at Pudong Airport, which seemed to be enveloped in a murky smog - fairly standard at this time of the year I gather.
We were met by one Mr Wu’s drivers at arrivals and he whisked us off for the 3 (not 2) hour drive from Shanghai to Ningbo. The drive took us through the coastal plain, which consists of a curious mix of rice paddies, poly tunnels (thousands of them), 3 storey dwellings, canals and tower blocks on the edge of the cities. The first hour of the journey involved a game of pot hole dodging (or not on occasions) but this improved when we reached the newer road. Incidentally, there doesn’t seem to be a concept of slow and fast lanes here – you just use whichever one is the clearest.
The most interesting part of the journey was Hangzhou Bay Bridge which crosses the bay between Shanghai and Ningbo. This stretches for 22 miles and has shortened the distance between Shanghai and Ningbo by 75 miles. This seems to be typical of the types of ambitious and large-scale engineering projects with which China has become associated in recent years. To put this into context, the Humber Bridge extends for 1.38 miles.
We finally arrived in Ningbo (population 1.8 million) and were deposited at the hotel. Then came our first experience of the fact that very few people seem to speak English but then why should they. Chris and I checked in successfully and made our way to what can only be described as lavishly decorated rooms (pic below).
After 15 minutes, it was time to head off and explore the local area. The bar opposite was showing the Holland vs Spain match on a big screen so we called in and, lo and behold, they had (a) Tiger beer on draught. It wasn’t the same however and, to be frank, had an after taste that resembled moth balls, which took me back to my childhood!
After a couple of pints of moth balls, we went in search of food, which is quite challenging when little or no English is spoken. After much deliberation, we settled on a nice looking bar/restaurant located next door to the hotel because it had a menu with pictures. The equivalent of less than £7 each secured us a huge dish of beef and vegetables with rice and a Budweiser, which tasted of beer.
We finished the day by joining the locals who had gathered to watch a repeat of the Cameroon vs Mexico match in front of an open air screen. A beer called Harpin was on offer at 60p per large bottle – well, it would have been rude not to. I’ll be honest, I haven’t found a Tiger equivalent yet but will keep looking.
As expected, I cannot access the blog directly now I’m in China and am having to use Citrix to access via the UK. This is proving to be painfully slow I’m afraid and Remote Desktop is a non-starter.
Jon you are a born travel writer, excellent stuff. Quite fancy a chinese for tea!
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