Sugah's Trip to China

The tarmac is pretty....

Off to Wuxi. Let's go back, way back, back to the beginning of the day. We loaded up at the hotel in Beijing on a chartered bus to the airport. Each person is only allowed to check 35kgs of luggage before you have to pay. I am happy to say that I was below this (even with two bags), I was at 27.5. One of the lower in the group. We checked in as a group and was below the weight limit for our luggage so no one had to pay extra (it all evened out).

We found out that our flight was delayed an hour (supposed to leave at 13:10). We had a lovely cafeteria style chinese lunch and chilled out waiting for our flight. I decided to give the Asian Red Bull a try (I'm going through RB sugah free withdrawls). It wasn't bad, tasted pretty much the same - but it wasn't carbonated. (That's my pretty new Prada purse in the picture - at least the straps.)


We took a bus out to the tarmac and loaded our plan, it was a full house today to Wuxi. We got word that because of military reasons (whatever that means) we were going to be delayed. So we sat for an hour, then two hours, then we were approaching three hours. Finally nearing the three hour mark I suggested we do a pool for when we'd actually take off. 20 RMB to get in, 15 minute intervals, winner takes all. Only I would find a way to gamble on a plane in China. MBA students gambling to make the time go faster, even Professor Lyles threw down 20 RMB for a slot. I even created an excel spreadsheet to show the slots. Erin ended up taking 160RMB as we took off at 5:35 (both wheels had to be off the tarmac).

We landed in Wuxi at the smallest airport I've ever seen. It is even smaller than Westchester - before the remodel. It has two gates. You walk off the plane (tons of military planes and soldiers everywhere) and walk directly into the baggage claim.
We came in the doors to the left and picked up our luggage on the right:


This picture is of the drop-off curb:


Literally right next door is domestic arrivals (you can see a little of the departure building roof)


We took a chartered bus to the hotel. You start off by driving through a very rural, farm type land. Then you get into a nicer industrial part of town where there is all the manufacturing plants. There wasn't anyone on the streets and we were all getting a little concerned that this town was going to be dull. Then we get into what we think is downtown, a small little strip of life. Then we hit downtown. It's very new, very clean and really cool. It's amazing that a city of 5 million people has such a tiny airport. I only wish we would have come here Saturday so we could have had another day here. We're staying at a Marriott Courtyard, it feels very familiar and almost like home.

We took a walk out to find dinner. We walked through an outdoor shopping mall:


A group of people watching soccer on the big screen in the middle of the outdoor mall:


We found one of the few restaurants still open at 21:00 on a Sunday night. Luckily our translator has joined us - Fay, as no one in this restaurant spoke English. They serve dog, we could have been in a world of trouble without her. Bt the way, it seems like people in Wuxi aren't used to Americans here as people watched our group like hawks in amazement. We had an amazing meal with beer, appetizers and a main course. For 8 people it was 400RMB which was about $6 a person! What a bargain! Here's Sean and his meal:


We decided to call it a night to head back to our hotel. We're staying in the tallest building in Wuxi.


I'm getting a lot of bug bites all the sudden. I didn't think to bring anything to stop the itching, but it is driving me CRAZY! Good thing I've been taking my Malaria pills!

We're taking some plant tours tomorrow and then heading off to Suzhou (about 2 hour drive by bus). I'm planning on meeting Christina, a 2002 Academy Fellow (Alpha Kappa Psi) tomorrow night for drinks. She is in Suzhou teaching English with her Fiance.

One more thing before I go:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! (7/3) Have a great day and I love you! I'll be thinking about you.

Okay off to bed for me. Night!

posted by Chrissy @ 11:15 AM