The Trip
Welcome to The Trip!
So far, I have discussed the Beginning and the Preparation. I am now moving on to our experience in the airports and the new country. Our first flight was from Dallas Love Field to LAX.
In the last post, the Preparation, the family was busy preparing for the move. We spent our last night, which also happened to be New Year's Eve (December 31, 2017), at a hotel to be closer to the airport in case of icy roads. At 6:00 a.m. on New Year’s (January 1, 2018) the girls and I rolled our luggage down to the lobby of the hotel. After checking out, the person at the front desk called an Uber for us. Suffice to say; everything went downhill. The first problem was that Uber driver went to the wrong hotel and a five-minute trip to the airport took twenty because the driver didn't know where she was going. We got the airport around 6:30 a.m. and checked in our bags. One of the bags was over the weight limit, so we had to shift items from that suitcase to one of the others. No biggie. The clerk asked to see our onward ticket. I politely provided him with a printout of our flight to Thailand after our three-month layover in Malaysia. Anyway, I was surprised that we were able to check in two bags each. We kept the backpack which contained two laptops. Now it was time to head toward the long security line.
Two out of four of us had to be patted down, but it wasn't enough. Security went through my daughter's backpack and confiscated her toiletries and to add insult to injury they had to take my fifteen-year-old to a private room to do another pat down. The only saving grace is that they were women. What we learned during the security check is that laptops need to go in separate bins. Shoes, coats, hats, jackets, and scarves were also required to be in containers. I had my reading glasses hanging around my neck on a string and had to place them on my face. It didn't make sense to me. After they finished, we had five minutes to get to correct gate. He had to hustle if we were going to make that flight. We had these oversized coats that were slowing us down and made us hot. In the end, we barely made that flight. Once we got on, they closed the doors. Talk about being tired. All we got on the plane was a drink!
I assumed that if we arrived at the airport early enough, we would have time to sit and enjoy the scenery, but that delay in the security room almost costs us our flight.
When we arrived at LAX, we had a two-hour layover. I thought we'd have time to do a little sightseeing in the airport, but I was wrong again.
I asked a staff member if our luggage would transfer to our connected flight, but they didn’t know. So, my girls and I went to the baggage claim area looking for our luggage. When it didn’t show up, I went to one of the offices in the area and asked about the bags. I presented her with our airline tickets, and she verified that our luggage would be on our flight. Relieved that we didn’t have to drag around baggage, we searched out which gate our flight was departing and did not see it on the flight screen. I asked the security guard who was sitting at the information counter where could we find the gate for our flight and was instructed to go through security located behind his desk. So, we got into the long security line and waited our turn. What a big mistake! After spending twenty minutes in the security line and three of us being patted down, they confiscated the backpack again because of freaking fingernail polish. After which, security informed us that we were in the wrong line and that international flights were on the other side of the airport.
I was pissed and hot! It took us another fifteen minutes to get to our destination. We handed our tickets to the clerk, and she informed us that we needed a different boarding pass. What! He pointed us where we needed to retrieve our ‘new’ boarding passes. Now, take in consideration that we only had about thirty minutes before our flight was scheduled to depart. The people who gave us our new boarding tickets saw our distress and knew that we were dangerously close to missing the plane, especially since we needed to go through security check.
We were running late. It was time for the flight to depart. One of the staff members called the pilot asking them to hold the plane. The problem was they wanted to go through the backpack again. There were already four other bags that needed to be checked by a security guy, and he wasn't in a hurry. While we were waiting for our bags, the co-pilot and two flight attendants showed up and remained with us for our bags. The co-pilot insisted that I sit down and rest while we waited. After ten minutes, the co-pilot became impatient at how slow the process was going. He kept calling the pilot asking to not leave without us. The co-pilot returns to the plane, but the two flight attendants stayed with us until the security checked our bags. Five minutes later, we ran through the airport to the gate with the two flight attendants leading the way. We gave our boarding passes to the staff. When we were on the ramp leading to the plane, we heard the pilot say 'Come on its New Years. There's a family of four. We can wait a little longer." When we got to the door of the plane, both pilots and all the flight attendants were clapping at our arrival. After getting settled in our seats, they immediately closed the doors. Again, we barely made a flight. The good thing is that it was going to be a long flight and we had time to rest. We received two meals and unlimited drinks. Overall, it was a pleasant flight.
After landing in Shanghai, we had to depart the plane from outdoors (like you see on TV). Buses were available to transport you to the main airport where you could pick up your luggage. These are not regular buses. There were only a couple of seats, and the rest of us had to stand. I would not recommend this for the elderly because the step up into the bus is very steep. Getting off the bus isn’t any better. I want my mom to visit, but I don’t think she’ll be able to get on and off the bus.
Things just seemed to get worse for this traveling family of four.
After we arrived in Shanghai, we had to go through customs before collecting our luggage. We had to fill out this card with our names and passport information. We then had to stand in a long line which took about twenty minutes. I guess twenty-minutes isn’t considered long unless you’re tired while carrying oversized winter gear, walking all over the airport, and can’t find a cold drink of water to save your life. In their defense, they did have water cooler which wasn’t plugged in. If you were thirsty, you'd have to drink tepid water.
Anyway, the guard asked for our passports, put some stamps in it, and then took our picture before we allowed to collect our luggage. After that, I needed to call the hotel to see if they could provide transportation. When I booked the hotel initially, I called the hotel and tried to schedule a shuttle, but the lady informed me that I had to call twenty-four hours before arriving. Well, when I got to Shanghai my phone did not pick up a signal so I ‘tried’ to ask employees if there was a phone I could use but no one spoke English. Now, I’m frustrated again. Not only did no one speak English, the locals, tourist, and employees were also RUDE. They would intentionally run you over to get where the needed to go. So, I followed their lead. I am not a rude person, but I didn’t have a choice. I tried to get on the elevator, and this lady decided to move in front of my daughter, but I cut her off. I told her she had to wait. I wasn't sure if she understood English, but I bet she couldn't mistake my reactions, the tone of my voice, and the look on my face. Sometimes you have to be rude to get respect.
We had a twelve-hour layover but didn’t have transportation to the hotel. After asking a few more people, to no avail, I saw a group of ‘important’ looking employees; about five. I walked up and ask if anyone spoke English. And, bless her heart, this one lady came to my rescue. She listened to my distress and called the hotel while the rest of the group looked on. It’s a good thing too because the people at the hotel did not speak English. After talking with the hotel, she directed us to where we needed to wait.
Whew! I was beginning to hate Shanghai but thank God for this woman’s act of kindness.
About fifteen minutes later we were on our way to the hotel. Now, let me warn you - people in Asia are very aggressive drivers. I kept praying that we make it to the hotel without any mishaps. People on mopeds were driving between cars on the highway. It was every man for himself. The driver got us to the hotel safe and sound.
When we arrived at the hotel, a man had just parked his car in front the hotel. Apparently, the parking space was for the hotel shuttles only. The driver aggressively got out of the shuttle van and began yelling at the man. The one-sided argument went on for about a couple of minutes before the man finally moved his car. I couldn’t understand what the shuttle driver was saying, but I’m sure there were some expletives included in the conversation.
Well, after all the commotion, two women rushed out with the luggage cart to assist us with our luggage. There was one lady behind the counter who attempted to speak English. It took a while to get past the language barrier, but we eventually got to our beautiful room. The name of the hotel is Vienna Hotel Shanghai PVG Heqing. I liked the hotel the moment we drove up. We wanted to explore the area, but it was late, and we needed to get some rest. We needed to be up and ready by 6:00 a.m. to get to the airport and through security before our 9:00 a.m. flight. Hopefully, we will be able to revisit without rushing.
Before I move on, I would like to inform you that the room key not only opens the door, it also serves as the primary electricity source. Inside the room, next to the door, there is a slot where you place the key. The key controls the electricity and air conditioning. If you remove the card key, there will not be any power.
Now back to the story.
The next morning, the hotel had the shuttle ready for us with a different driver but as aggressive in his driving skills. Going through customs was a breeze. We were patted down by the security lady with one of those scanners, and then we checked in our luggage. We had to go through another, thorough, security check and didn’t have any problems. Whew! We were all settled and at the gate an hour and a half early and had time to explore the airport. Boarding the plane was different. A shuttle bus transported us to the airplane where we boarded from the outside. People were still rude. They don’t seem to have a problem pushing past you to get where they needed to go. I just had to mention that again. Anyway, after showing our boarding passes, we were free to board the plane. It was a good thing too because it was beginning to rain. It felt good not being the last person on a flight.
The flight to Malaysia was only five hours. When we arrived in Malaysia, we exited the plane at the main airport (no exiting from the outside), but we had to take a train to the baggage claim. The train was like an indoor monorail. Once again, we had to go through customs before we could retrieve our luggage. It was the same routine as before. We fill out a card for each of us, get in a long line and wait until it was our turn to approach the guard who took our passport to make sure the passport matches the person who is present and then he takes our pictures before sending us on our merry way.
Whew! To sum up our traveling experience, I would say that it was hot, tiresome, and confusing. To add insult to injury, two of my daughters end up with swollen feet and hands. Not a great way to start off a new year.
Please join me on the next blog, 'The Arrival,' to see if things got any better.
Don’t forget to check out the 'Sources’ page for more details on the links above.
In the last post, the Preparation, the family was busy preparing for the move. We spent our last night, which also happened to be New Year's Eve (December 31, 2017), at a hotel to be closer to the airport in case of icy roads. At 6:00 a.m. on New Year’s (January 1, 2018) the girls and I rolled our luggage down to the lobby of the hotel. After checking out, the person at the front desk called an Uber for us. Suffice to say; everything went downhill. The first problem was that Uber driver went to the wrong hotel and a five-minute trip to the airport took twenty because the driver didn't know where she was going. We got the airport around 6:30 a.m. and checked in our bags. One of the bags was over the weight limit, so we had to shift items from that suitcase to one of the others. No biggie. The clerk asked to see our onward ticket. I politely provided him with a printout of our flight to Thailand after our three-month layover in Malaysia. Anyway, I was surprised that we were able to check in two bags each. We kept the backpack which contained two laptops. Now it was time to head toward the long security line.
Two out of four of us had to be patted down, but it wasn't enough. Security went through my daughter's backpack and confiscated her toiletries and to add insult to injury they had to take my fifteen-year-old to a private room to do another pat down. The only saving grace is that they were women. What we learned during the security check is that laptops need to go in separate bins. Shoes, coats, hats, jackets, and scarves were also required to be in containers. I had my reading glasses hanging around my neck on a string and had to place them on my face. It didn't make sense to me. After they finished, we had five minutes to get to correct gate. He had to hustle if we were going to make that flight. We had these oversized coats that were slowing us down and made us hot. In the end, we barely made that flight. Once we got on, they closed the doors. Talk about being tired. All we got on the plane was a drink!
I assumed that if we arrived at the airport early enough, we would have time to sit and enjoy the scenery, but that delay in the security room almost costs us our flight.
When we arrived at LAX, we had a two-hour layover. I thought we'd have time to do a little sightseeing in the airport, but I was wrong again.
I asked a staff member if our luggage would transfer to our connected flight, but they didn’t know. So, my girls and I went to the baggage claim area looking for our luggage. When it didn’t show up, I went to one of the offices in the area and asked about the bags. I presented her with our airline tickets, and she verified that our luggage would be on our flight. Relieved that we didn’t have to drag around baggage, we searched out which gate our flight was departing and did not see it on the flight screen. I asked the security guard who was sitting at the information counter where could we find the gate for our flight and was instructed to go through security located behind his desk. So, we got into the long security line and waited our turn. What a big mistake! After spending twenty minutes in the security line and three of us being patted down, they confiscated the backpack again because of freaking fingernail polish. After which, security informed us that we were in the wrong line and that international flights were on the other side of the airport.
I was pissed and hot! It took us another fifteen minutes to get to our destination. We handed our tickets to the clerk, and she informed us that we needed a different boarding pass. What! He pointed us where we needed to retrieve our ‘new’ boarding passes. Now, take in consideration that we only had about thirty minutes before our flight was scheduled to depart. The people who gave us our new boarding tickets saw our distress and knew that we were dangerously close to missing the plane, especially since we needed to go through security check.
We were running late. It was time for the flight to depart. One of the staff members called the pilot asking them to hold the plane. The problem was they wanted to go through the backpack again. There were already four other bags that needed to be checked by a security guy, and he wasn't in a hurry. While we were waiting for our bags, the co-pilot and two flight attendants showed up and remained with us for our bags. The co-pilot insisted that I sit down and rest while we waited. After ten minutes, the co-pilot became impatient at how slow the process was going. He kept calling the pilot asking to not leave without us. The co-pilot returns to the plane, but the two flight attendants stayed with us until the security checked our bags. Five minutes later, we ran through the airport to the gate with the two flight attendants leading the way. We gave our boarding passes to the staff. When we were on the ramp leading to the plane, we heard the pilot say 'Come on its New Years. There's a family of four. We can wait a little longer." When we got to the door of the plane, both pilots and all the flight attendants were clapping at our arrival. After getting settled in our seats, they immediately closed the doors. Again, we barely made a flight. The good thing is that it was going to be a long flight and we had time to rest. We received two meals and unlimited drinks. Overall, it was a pleasant flight.
After landing in Shanghai, we had to depart the plane from outdoors (like you see on TV). Buses were available to transport you to the main airport where you could pick up your luggage. These are not regular buses. There were only a couple of seats, and the rest of us had to stand. I would not recommend this for the elderly because the step up into the bus is very steep. Getting off the bus isn’t any better. I want my mom to visit, but I don’t think she’ll be able to get on and off the bus.
Things just seemed to get worse for this traveling family of four.
After we arrived in Shanghai, we had to go through customs before collecting our luggage. We had to fill out this card with our names and passport information. We then had to stand in a long line which took about twenty minutes. I guess twenty-minutes isn’t considered long unless you’re tired while carrying oversized winter gear, walking all over the airport, and can’t find a cold drink of water to save your life. In their defense, they did have water cooler which wasn’t plugged in. If you were thirsty, you'd have to drink tepid water.
Anyway, the guard asked for our passports, put some stamps in it, and then took our picture before we allowed to collect our luggage. After that, I needed to call the hotel to see if they could provide transportation. When I booked the hotel initially, I called the hotel and tried to schedule a shuttle, but the lady informed me that I had to call twenty-four hours before arriving. Well, when I got to Shanghai my phone did not pick up a signal so I ‘tried’ to ask employees if there was a phone I could use but no one spoke English. Now, I’m frustrated again. Not only did no one speak English, the locals, tourist, and employees were also RUDE. They would intentionally run you over to get where the needed to go. So, I followed their lead. I am not a rude person, but I didn’t have a choice. I tried to get on the elevator, and this lady decided to move in front of my daughter, but I cut her off. I told her she had to wait. I wasn't sure if she understood English, but I bet she couldn't mistake my reactions, the tone of my voice, and the look on my face. Sometimes you have to be rude to get respect.
We had a twelve-hour layover but didn’t have transportation to the hotel. After asking a few more people, to no avail, I saw a group of ‘important’ looking employees; about five. I walked up and ask if anyone spoke English. And, bless her heart, this one lady came to my rescue. She listened to my distress and called the hotel while the rest of the group looked on. It’s a good thing too because the people at the hotel did not speak English. After talking with the hotel, she directed us to where we needed to wait.
Whew! I was beginning to hate Shanghai but thank God for this woman’s act of kindness.
About fifteen minutes later we were on our way to the hotel. Now, let me warn you - people in Asia are very aggressive drivers. I kept praying that we make it to the hotel without any mishaps. People on mopeds were driving between cars on the highway. It was every man for himself. The driver got us to the hotel safe and sound.
When we arrived at the hotel, a man had just parked his car in front the hotel. Apparently, the parking space was for the hotel shuttles only. The driver aggressively got out of the shuttle van and began yelling at the man. The one-sided argument went on for about a couple of minutes before the man finally moved his car. I couldn’t understand what the shuttle driver was saying, but I’m sure there were some expletives included in the conversation.
Well, after all the commotion, two women rushed out with the luggage cart to assist us with our luggage. There was one lady behind the counter who attempted to speak English. It took a while to get past the language barrier, but we eventually got to our beautiful room. The name of the hotel is Vienna Hotel Shanghai PVG Heqing. I liked the hotel the moment we drove up. We wanted to explore the area, but it was late, and we needed to get some rest. We needed to be up and ready by 6:00 a.m. to get to the airport and through security before our 9:00 a.m. flight. Hopefully, we will be able to revisit without rushing.
Before I move on, I would like to inform you that the room key not only opens the door, it also serves as the primary electricity source. Inside the room, next to the door, there is a slot where you place the key. The key controls the electricity and air conditioning. If you remove the card key, there will not be any power.
Now back to the story.
The next morning, the hotel had the shuttle ready for us with a different driver but as aggressive in his driving skills. Going through customs was a breeze. We were patted down by the security lady with one of those scanners, and then we checked in our luggage. We had to go through another, thorough, security check and didn’t have any problems. Whew! We were all settled and at the gate an hour and a half early and had time to explore the airport. Boarding the plane was different. A shuttle bus transported us to the airplane where we boarded from the outside. People were still rude. They don’t seem to have a problem pushing past you to get where they needed to go. I just had to mention that again. Anyway, after showing our boarding passes, we were free to board the plane. It was a good thing too because it was beginning to rain. It felt good not being the last person on a flight.
The flight to Malaysia was only five hours. When we arrived in Malaysia, we exited the plane at the main airport (no exiting from the outside), but we had to take a train to the baggage claim. The train was like an indoor monorail. Once again, we had to go through customs before we could retrieve our luggage. It was the same routine as before. We fill out a card for each of us, get in a long line and wait until it was our turn to approach the guard who took our passport to make sure the passport matches the person who is present and then he takes our pictures before sending us on our merry way.
Whew! To sum up our traveling experience, I would say that it was hot, tiresome, and confusing. To add insult to injury, two of my daughters end up with swollen feet and hands. Not a great way to start off a new year.
Please join me on the next blog, 'The Arrival,' to see if things got any better.
Don’t forget to check out the 'Sources’ page for more details on the links above.
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