13 September 2010
415 p.m. SST
I arrive in Beijing after a relaxing and uneventful flight from Singapore, and the first thing I think: Man, it is hot. Like, hotter than Singapore. A colleague told me that while Beijing is further north than Singapore, the smog and pollution in Beijing trap the heat and increase the heat. Great.
The airport looks like any other major airport – no immediate, “Wow, I’m in Beijing!” feeling. My company has arranged for a guide to meet me and escort me to my car service. Thank goodness. A nice young boy greets me with a sign that has my name and Westin on it, then walks me to Immigration Control.
This boy earned his worth with his valuable tip: go to the lines on the left. See, when you walk to the Immigration Hall, it’s massive. There are maybe 15 queues and the right 12 say Foreigners. They have really long lines, and I feared I was in for a long wait. However, he guides me to two queues on the very left that just say Immigration Control, I believe. There are about 15 people waiting total…I ask him if I am in the right line, fearing they’ll throw me out and I’ll never be allowed back. He replies, “Yes. This way is much shorter.” Sure enough, it only takes me about 10 minutes to get through … remember this tip.
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| Ug. A normal drive in Beijing. |
We then proceed to the hottest airport shuttle train I’ve ever experienced. Fortunately, it’s only a five minute ride to baggage claim. Baggage collected, he shows me to my car and driver and we’re off. Traffic of course is awful coming out of airport and again I fear a long wait. But miraculously things open up after 25 min of bumper to bumper…not sure why. I manage to successfully call my hotel and let them know I’ll be a bit later than expected (apparently they don’t hold rooms after 4 p.m.) and catch up on work email.
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