HOWEVER, our flight from Zhuhai to Shanghai was NOT on a Star Alliance flight…at first they didn’t want me to check that many items… then they didn’t want to accept them for being too heavy (limit is 20 kg = 44 lbs per bag…ALL were over 44 lbs)… This was a 20 minute discussion, entirely in Mandarin (btw, I don’t speak Mandarin particularly yet, other than numbers… the “overweight by XX kg part” I understood)… BUT, I convinced the ticket guy (who didn’t speak English) to let us go through with it – for a fee…. Only ~$330 USD in total… so not too much really (9 bags x $30 normal bag fee at continental would’ve been $270, plus “overweight” fees….) So they took everything….and scanned everything. Their scanners concluded that 4 of our 9 bags needed to be searched. Bag-searching in China is different than back home – they pull you aside and have you open the bags for them to search. Mind you, everything that was checked had been re-checked in Shanghai on the way to Zhuhai only a week earlier… There were batteries they didn’t like (needed to be in carry on), a router (only found one of the two) that needed to be in carry on because it was like a ‘laptop.’ 2 cans of Danielle’s hairspray got pitched because they were aerosol cans (maybe? – they threw them out anyhow). They checked my shaving cream, smelled it, and decided it was ok to go.
Then, my ticket was issued to Joe Morris (not my full name on my passport) so security didn’t let me though… it was a MESS…. Eventually got it all straightened out, got back to security, then onto the plane. Gate-side checked the stroller (per normal) but in China, your stroller doesn’t get put on the jetway when you land, it comes out with the bags… Turns out our gate as ~3/4 of a mile from the baggage claim… My poor wife carried our giant-of-a-child, backpack, and diaper bag while I managed the 3 roller bags, other backpack, and our coats. We got to baggage claim, and were amazed (again) that everything arrived intact!!! Again, two carts piled a mile high with bags, 20’ at a time. Baggage claim at PVG is a secured area (I like this actually). As we were the last ones from our flight to leave our driver could recognize us. He tried vehemently to convince the security officer to let him through to help us with our mountain of bags. The officer refused, so we kept alternating pushes until we got to him.
The driver was quite worried that we had too many bags to fit in the van. I tried to assure him that they would fit (they all fit in the previous 2 vans we rode in of the same size or smaller!!!) but he remained worried. After some creative van-packing we got everything in, Savannah strapped in, and we were off to our new house. It was a beautiful site arriving at our new house – with multiple rooms, and a kitchen! We did our initial check out in the frigid establishment (the heat wassupposed to be turned on 2 days before we got there… it didn’t…) Parts of the house are heated by hydronic underfloor heating (I highly recommend this for colder climates!), other parts by forced air. BUT, it takes a while for the system to heat up… Both systems really (took almost a day and a half before most of the house was “warm enough”)
After check in, it was off to the grocery store for some necessities… 2 grocery baskets full of basic appliances (toaster, blow dryer, iron, vacuum cleaner), cleaners, bedding, pillows, oh yeah, and FOOD later we found ourselves in a rather heated debate with the checkout clerk and a clerk from the bedding area. Well, we really weren’t in the debate, they were mostly debating amongst themselves in very rapid Mandarin, with the occasional glance at us for agreement or disagreement (a totally useless gesture as we hadn’t the slightest clue what was going on). Then they called a manger over who spoke limited English (but more than the clerks) – she explained that the two comforters we bought (supposedly King size, but not, btw) were evidently buy one get one free (which was why we bought them actually). Except, to get the second one free you needed to produce the receipt of the first one to get the deal. Well, that’s what I think she told us anyhow. I THINK they wanted me to pay for the first, then turn in the receipt, to get the second…which was fine to me except they wouldn’t let me do that. Eventually, he just let us take them both, only charged us for one, and ripped (literally ripped) the one line-item out of our receipt as proof that we had purchased the one… Amusing, and time consuming… It’d have been funnier if it wasn’t nearly 2 hours after Vannah should’ve eaten something (she was pretty good in the store because she had lots of new things to look at – the second we were in the van she was screaming for food!).
But...after all that.. we are very grateful to be out of the hotel and into our new house!
Sounds like a crazy trip! But glad you guys made it to your new house and I hope you get settled in quickly! Happy House Warming!
ReplyDelete