(2) ARRIVING IN CHINA

SECOND DAY, JANUARY 25^TH, 2009

Akhirnya jam 02.00 WITA pesawat berangkat juga. Satu pesawat full sama orang Indonesia semua dan terbagi dalam beberapa group. Tadinya gue pikir semuanya dari Bali, ternyata sebagian besar dari Jawa. Bahkan ada rombongan 2 bus dari Yogya. Sedangkan Group gue yang paketnya sampai kota Beijing terdiri dari 42 orang yang berasal dari Bali dan Surabaya.

Finally the fiscal tax finished and we take of on 02.00 am. All passengers in the flight are Indonesian and they are deviding in some groups. Before I was thinking that all passengers are coming from Bali but more than half are coming from Java island. Moreover 2 there are 2 bus member of tour from Yogyakarta. Member of my group is 42 persons from Bali and Surabaya city plus 1 tour leader from Medan.

Pu Dong

Perjalanan dari Denpasar ke Shanghai ditempuh selama dengan 5.5 jam. Jam 07.30 pagi kita mendarat di Bandar Udara International Pu Dong. Denpasar dan Shanghai nggak ada perbedaan waktu. Jadi gue nggak perlu ngeganti angka penunjuk waktu di jam tangan gue. Gue perhatiin Pu Dong airport ini keliatan suram dan kelabu, seperti kalau lagi mendung. Matahari juga nggak keliatan sama sekali. Para petugas airport keliatan pucat, hidung dan pipinya kemerah-merahan. Suasana sunyi banget rasanya, padahal banyak petugas lalu lalang jalan cepat-cepat menghindari udara dingin.

Denpasar to Shanghai it’s take about 5.5 hours. We arrived at Pu Dong International Airport on 07.30 am. Denpasar and Shanghai has a same time. So I don’t need to change my watch time. Pu Dong airport looks so gloomy and ashen. I couldn’t see The Sun. The airport staff looks pale. Their nose and chick looks reddish. The situation so quiet even many airport staffs going around in the airport.

Saat ini kalo nggak salah, Pu Dong merupakan International Airport terbesar di dunia. Airport ini terdiri dari 2 terminal yang sudah operasional dengan luas 40 kilometer persegi. Kebayang guedenya kayak apa :-) Pu Dong airport dibangun selama 2 tahun dari October 1997 dan mulai beroperasi menggantikan Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport tanggal 01 October 1999 dengan biaya RMB 12 milyar. Ini sama dengan USD 1,67 milyar. Ffuuuiiihhh….duit semua tuh!! Sedangkan terminal 2 yang terletak di belakang terminal 1 mulai beroperasi 26 Maret 2008 . Sebenernya proses pembangunan terminal 2 lebih cepat daripada terminal 1 untk persiapan menyambut Olympiade di Beijing tahun 2008.

If I am not mistake, at the moment Pu Dong is the biggest International Airport in the world. The airport has 2 terminals with 40 square kilometers. You can imagine how’s big it. The terminal 1 Pu Dong airport build in 2 years since October 1997 and start operate to change Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on October 01^st, 1999 with cost RMB 12 billion. It’s same about USD 1.67 billion. Ffuuuiiihhh….a lot of money!! Whereas the terminal 2 where are behind of terminal 1 was starting operate on March 26^th, 2008. Actually building process of terminal 2 more faster than Terminal 1 to prepared The Olympic Event at Beijing on 2008.

Bbrrrrrrrbbbb…..wow….. So Cold!!

Begitu keluar dari pesawat, semua orang panik karena tiba-tiba diterpa hawa yang dinginnya luar biasa. Semua langsung bongkar tas ngeluarin segala macem sweater, syall, jaket maupun kaos tangan. Padahal masih di area lorong belalai gajah. Gue sendiri sempet kaget, dinginnya minta ampun serasa masuk ke dalam kulkas. Kebayang temperature udara di Shanghai saat itu minus 4 derajat. Untung gue punya jimat dari Kakiuchi-san. Jadi meskipun gue cuma pake sweater and jaket kulit, badan gue tetep hangat. Kemaren sebelum berangkat ke China, gue nitip boss gue yang lagi di Jepang untuk beliin Hokairu. Ternyata bener kata Irene, nih jimat bener-bener ampuh buat ngalahin rasa dingin. Pantesan aja, orang-orang Jepang masih tetep gaya tanpa berjaket ria meskipun lagi musim dingin. Ternyata mereka punya jimat yang ampuh…he he he he he…

Everybody was panic when we went out from the plane. The weather suddenly changed with very cold weather. Everybody open their bags and take warm cloths such as sweater, muffler, hat, and glove even though still in the corridor area from flight to terminal airport. I was little bit shock too. The weather so cold looks like we come in the freezer. Lucky me, I have amulet from Kakiuchi-san. So even I just wear sweater and skin leather jacket, my body still warm. A week before I go this trip, I asked my boss to buy some hokkairu. He is Japanese and was in business trip to Japan. Apparently Irene was right. This amulet very works to protect from cold. No wonder, Japanese people still fashion and no need to wear many winter clothes. They have very potent amulet to protect from the cold weather …. He he he he he he….

Bebek Bali (Bali Duck)

Selesai semua dari Toilet, kita jalan ngikutin tour leader kita Koh Ian untuk ambil bagasi. Gue geli waktu Ibu Neka, salah satu anggota group nyeletuk, kok kita kayak bebek ya… Huahahhahahha….emang bener… ngeliatin kita jalan berbaris ngikutin koh Ian yang bawa Bendera merah bertuliskan “Bali Wisata Tour”, persis kayak bebek-bebek yang lagi di-angon sama koh Ian. So akhirnya “Bebek Bali” jadi julukan paten nama group kita.

Finished from toilet, we are walking follow Mr. Tian, our tour leader, to take our baggage. I am laughing when Mrs. Neka, one of our member group said, “Hey..we look like ducks”. Huahahahhaha….she’s right. We are walking follow Mr. Tian and he bring a red flag with sign “Bali Wisata Tour”. He is looks like our shepherd. So then … Bebek Bali (Bali Duck) to be our group name. He he he he he…..

Di luar airport kita udah ditunggu sama guide local yang imut-imut kayak Barby. Karena susah namanya so gue lebih seneng panggil dia Miss Barby. Naaahhh…yang gue nggak abis pikir, jadi guide disini very easy nggak perlu bisa bahasanya orang yang di-guide-tin. Malah bahasa Inggris pun nggak bisa sama sekali. So selama tour miss Barby ini ngomong sendiri and ketawa sendiri setiap kali ngasih penjelasan ke kita. Abis nggak ada satupun yang ngerti apa yang dia omongin…hi hi hi hi….

A local guide like an innocent barby doll is waiting us in front of arrival terminal. I like to call her Miss Barby due to her name very difficult to say. Well…something I couldn’t think that she couldn’t speak Indonesia or English as international language. So in the bus, she always speaks Mandarin language. Sometimes she makes a joke and laughs but nobody understand… hi hi hi hi hi hi…. Funny ya….but she is lucky! No need to learn another language to do her job.

Dari airport kita pergi ke hotel dekat airport untuk sarapan. Gue lupa nama hotelnya. Kita makan bareng-bareng jadi satu ama tamu hotel. Menu sarapannya American breakfast tapi makanannya nggak banyak pilihan. Gue sendiri nggak terlalu banyak makan soalnya memang nggak biasa sarapan di rumah dan cuma minum segelas susu coklat doang. Apalagi masih jet leg semaleman di pesawat dan nggak cukup tidur. Gue duduk bareng sama Joceylin dan dua orang asing tamu hotel. Selesai breakfast kita langsung masuk bis dan melanjutkan perjalanan ke kota Hangzou.

From airport we go to a hotel near airport for breakfast. I forget the name of the hotel. We are taking breakfast with inside hotel guests. The breakfast is a simple American breakfast, not so many choice kind of food. I don’t eat much because usually I just drink chocolate milk in the morning and still jet leg with flight, not enough sleep in the flight. I sit at the same table with Joceylin and 2 foreigners inside hotel guest. Finished breakfast we back to the bus to go to Hangzou city.

First Chinese Food

Waaaahhh….akhirnya kita makan yang beneran juga nih…he he he he he Setelah semaleman di perjalanan dan cuma dapet snack doang di pesawat, serta breakfast yang kurang menarik. Lunch kita siang ini juga di restaurant sebuah hotel. Setiap table terdiri dari 10 orang. Gue satu table dengan Joceylin dari Surabaya, Bapak & ibu Neka dari Ubud, Bapak dan ibu Agus Pande dari Ubud juga, Bapak dan ibu Gusti dari Gianyar, Tante Merry dan anaknya Robby dari Denpasar. Tadinya gue pikir makanan di sini hambar nggak ada rasa. Banyak temen-temen yang sudah pernah pergi ke China bilang begitu. So sebelum berangkat gue udah bawa bekel kecap manis dan sambal botol. Tapi ternyata nih bekel gue nggak pernah gue sentuh sama sekali. Malah ngeberat-beratin tas ransel gue aja :-)

Waaaahhh….Finally we eat real foods. After a night on the flight and only got some snack on the flight, then un-interested breakfast. On the way Hangzou, we take a lunch at restaurant in the hotel. Every table consists of 10 persons. I am one table with Joceylin from Surabaya, Mr. & Mrs. Neka from Ubud, Mr. & Mrs. Agus Pande from Ubud too, Mr. & Mrs. Gusti from Gianyar, Aunty Merry and her son Robby from Denpasar. Before I was thinking that foods in here not good and tasteless. Same friends who have been China told me like that. So I bring a bottle of ketchup and a bottle of sweet soy sauce. But apparently I never touch the ketchup and soy sauce, very useless and make my backpack more heavy :-)

Makanan di sini lumayan enak, apalagi dimakan bareng-bareng, plus cuaca dingin gini bikin cepet laper dan makin seru dimakan panas-panas. Lagian gue juga memang kedemenannya makan Chinese food, klop deh ama lidah gue. So gue nggak perlu kuatir mikirin stock makanan buat bekel selama di perjalanan maupun di hotel. Selesai lunch kita foto-foto sebentar, trus langsung kembali ke bus melanjutkan perjalanan ke kota Hangzou.

Food in here very good, moreover we eat together plus cold weather makes us easy to get hungry. More fun we eat when the food still hot….hmmm…yummi!! Off course, I love Chinese food. It’s exactly same with my tongue taste. So I don’t need to worry about food in here. Finished lunch we take a picture at the hotel garden then back to the bus to continue our trip to Hangzou city.

To Be Continue ………..