My night in the slums of Guangzhou.....

13.05.2015

It was 10 p.m. when we flew out of Auckland, but I didn't manage to sleep at all on the 12 hour flight to Guangzhou. I was given a couple of halved sleeping pills to help me cope, but didn't want to try them incase they were too strong and made me feel dopey after the flight. China Southern airlines have had mixed reviews on internet sites, but I was nicely surprised when they matched the experiences I've had on long haul flights with Qantas and KLM. The cabin crew were friendly and helpful, the plane had all the bells and whistles, and they served two meals and drinks on the 12 hour flight. The best airline I've used in the past is definitely Air New Zealand, who just seem to give a better quality experience. The same happened when we arrived at Guangzhou airport. Once again my expectations were surpassed and the bad experiences that others had written about did not eventuate. Quick and friendly service was the order of the day. The biggest shock of all was after a half hour drive in a rickety old bus at 6.30 in the morning we stopped outside what other people have referred to as their backpacker-type free accommodation for the 18 hour layover. We were billeted at a 5 star hotel in the Guangzhou Convention Centre. You have to remember that my return flight only cost about $1450, so this was a real bonus. They also threw in a complementary breakfast buffet, which had a very eclectic selection of foods on it since they were trying to cater for all tastes on the Asian/ European spectrum. I didn't mind at all, and tried a bit of everything, although I didn't always finish what was on the plate. Eventually I closed the blinds in my luxury room and set the alarm to wake me up in 9 hours, but because I hadn't slept for 30 hours it took a while to fall asleep, it was hard to turn my mind off and get into the zone. It was good to wake up at 7pm feeling normal again, and with lots of coffee and a long hot shower I was ready to hit the airport for another twelve hour flight to Amsterdam. This leg of the trip I managed to doze off for a few times during the night. We landed in Amsterdam at 6 a.m. and I felt that waiting around and staying awake for another 12 hours until I could move into my accommodation was doable. My next blog will talk about the fun I had wheeling my suitcases around the cobbled streets of Amsterdam and where I holed up for a few hours while waiting for my airbnb host to finish work and let me move in....

Reception area of my cheap accommodation...