Plane Spotting At PEK

As we were waiting to depart for Zhangjiajie, in Hunan province, Terminal 2 of Beijing Capital International Airport gave me some excellent plane spotting opportunities.

A China Southern A320 and behind that a China Southern A380

In comes a China Southern A320 and behind that is a Shanghai Airlines A320.

Airbus is big here in China. Boeings are rare and few...

That's probably because Airbus has a manufacturing base in Tianjin!

A China Southern A330 in the SkyTeam livery!

A Shanghai Airlines Boeing 767

A Xiamen Airlines Boeing 737 just arrived...

Pushing back.... There's a Hainan Airlines A330 parked in the distance...

Another Xiamen Airlines Boeing 737

That's clearer view of the China Southern A380!

The heavies here - A330s, Boring 767s and the A380 all were on domestic service

Imagine putting A380s in service between Delhi and Mumbai - capacity on the route will be up, fares will dive southward and the economy benefits!

We just don't have that vision!

An Orient Thai Boeing 747-400 in the background...

Off To Zhangjiajie (张家界) -- The Heart Of China!!!!

Afterall, despite all our apprehensions, our cab did turn up on time at 4 AM. There were those teary goodbyes as we loaded our bags on to the cab. And we started the second leg of our Chinese trip (and I hope the most enthralling) to the heart of China - the town of Zhangjiajie in Hunan province.

The ride to Beijing Capital International Airport's Terminal 2 was smooth. Despite the distance of about 28-30 kilometers from Shuangjing to the airport, we got there in under 30 minutes, at about 5AM.

Terminal 2 is mainly used for domestic flights as well as flights with the Greater China area - Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan and a few flights to South East Asia, Russia, Korea, Japan and CIScountries. The newer Terminal 3, where we landed on Saturday, was built before the 2008 Olympics and is usually used intercontinental operations and premium carriers flying to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Our flight was at 6.40AM, but the airport was teeming with people headed to all over China - Kunming, Lhasa, Urumqi, Wuhan, Ningbo, Changsha and many other places.

We tried to access the lounge facilities but unfortunately Priority Pass cards are not accepted on Terminal 2. But I was not complaining - while Neeti relaxed in front of gate 27, I gallivanted all over the terminal, planespotting! After feverish clicking all over, we had a sandwich each that Neelima had packed for us, warning us that if at all we get any grub on board, it would be unappetizing!

We were to fly China Southern Airlines's flight CZ6600 on an Airbus A320 to Zhangjiajie's Hehua Airport, which incidentally was previously known as Dayong.

At about 6.15AM we boarded. The China Southern A320 looked fresh and spotlessly clean. Unlike India, Chinese airlines have a 3-class configuration on their narrow-bodies - first, business and economy! We settled into our seats, which were quite comfortable. Bored by now, I "inspected" the contents of seat pocket and China Southern's inflight magazine boldly said Ni Hao to us!

The cabin crew was smart and efficient. The cabin was prepared for take-off within 10 minutes of boarding - no nonsense, no pussyfooting. However, since the cabin was a bit cold, we asked for blankets. The cabin crew's English was limited. When they did understand, we got a "sorry" for an answer.

We taxiied towards Runway 36L-18R, crossing the bridge over the interterminal 6-lane road and headed full  throttle to take off from PEK.

The flight itself was uneventful thereafter - we were both a bit exhausted after just 3 hours of sleep the previous night. About 30 minutes into the flight, we were woken up - the meal service had started. We were served a bowl of salad, noodles with pork cubes, a muffin with Chinese green tea. Neeti chose not to have anything and dozed off again. The meal was basic, okay and met the objective of filling in my tummy. 

After breakfast, I dozed off again only to be woken when were on the final approach to the Hehua Airport. It was quite cloudy but from whatever was visible, the place looked pristine - green was everywhere - paddy fields and hilly grasslands.

We were led by a "Follow Me" vehiclefrom Runway 08-26 to our parking bay, next to a China Southern Airbus A319. 

Neeti took a few moments to wake up and we were among the last few passengers to disembark and get onto the bus to the terminal, where our guide Sam was waiting to pick us up.

Now look forward to the adventures that await us in Zhangjiajie!!!!

The Last Evening at Beijing....

After finding heaven at Tian Tan, we ended the Beijing trip with an evening at Sanlitun, sitting by the fountains, and watching Beijingers having a great evening!

Everyone, babies, kids, young adults and the elderly ("oldsters" - as Beijing Subway calls the elderly!) seemed to get a thrill from seeing the fountains!

This cafe reminded me of Mecanese delights - egg tarts and cold flat noodles!

After a good hour spent enjoying the lively atmosphere at Sanlitun, we headed to Yashow Market again for some last minute bargain shopping and man, I was bored to death as the ladies shopped away to glory! And I did say Hallelujah when got into a cab to head back to Shuangjing!
Back at Shuangjing, I had to visit my "temple", the abode of great food I saw earlier on Sunday - Guo Shu Hao - an exciting supermarket in Shuangjing! We passed by the 7-Eleven store, where I picked up two small bottles of caviar for RMB 50 each! Wow! I was impressed and excited to be able to have this exciting gourmet delight when I get back to Mumbai, which is "infested" with vegetarians and beings ranking low on the food chain - I mean those lesser mortals who absolutely adore "just" chicken and fish!

I came across this Ramen restaurant - Dang Dang Yummie! The exciting cuts on displayed menu brought back my appetite!

Finally we reached Guo Shu Hao!!!!

Exciting! Durian -  it emits a distinctive odour that is strong and penetrating. Some people regard the durian as pleasantly fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and revolting. That has led to the fruit's banishment from public transport in southeast Asia!

Dragon fruit! We had this exciting fruit during our stay here - looks like bulbous cacti. It's white on the inside with a mild sweetness and seeds like those of kiwifruit!

Guo Shu Hao is a paradise for mushroom lovers! I was amazed to see so many varieties of mushrooms - oyster mushrooms, shitake mushrooms and what not! It's not surprising to see so many varieties on display - its evident that China is the world's biggest mushroom grower at 46% of the world's output!

Button mushrooms are infra dig here!

But in Mumbai we get only button mushrooms! Sigh! 

And that's a display of wood fungus - wild edible mushrooms - those that grow on trees!

That's the meat section! And my heart beat went up seeing this in excitement!

Cuts of pork!

Dried seafood!

Pork belly, bacon cuts, ham, sliced rump! Wow! This is indeed paradise!

Duck eggs or quail eggs or partridge eggs? 

Or how about preserved eggs?

Luscious, juicy pork hock or trotters! Ain't seen anything as beautiful as this! 

Which fish is on the menu tonight?

The lady was doing her last pancake of the evening and we missed having it! Probably next time!

Man! What a pity I wasn't able to have all this due to the short time we had here! And a bigger pity - I can't carry these delights back home! Why wasn't I born a Chinese to be able to have all these delights day in and day out without putting weight? Probably that's how I would feel after visiting each and every place on our earth!

Seeing so much great food left me with a massive appetite! And so we headed to Sabai Sabai, a Thai restaurant for our last dinner in Beijing. Despite being barely 9PM, it was nearly closing time - Beijingers leave for work early and return early followed by an early dinner, giving them time for their family! And here in India, we barely are able to achieve whatever that shit, work-life balance, is!

With these thoughts I ended the last evening in Beijing.....