Connectivity

Had a meeting in Beihai, in the south of Guangxi Province in southern China. Getting there wasn’t very enjoyable – it involved a 4 hour transit in Guangzhou Baiyun Airport for a total flight time of slightly more than 5 hours. It also meant flying on China Southern Airlines – which I don’t really like due to the many people who tried to shove their asses into my side as they squeeze (rudely) past each other on the aisle.

There isn’t much in Guangzhou Baiyun Airport either. The food options are somewhat limited and the shopping was mainly specialty shops (food, cigarettes, tea) and clothes (mainly what I think are local brands as few were familiar).

Interestingly, I was in seat 39C on 3 out of 4 flights – too bad I was placed in seat 42 on the last leg back.

Imagine my surprise when I learnt of the transit time involved when flying from other countries in the region. From Hanoi, there was a 7hr transit. From Manila, a 9hr transit on the way there, and on the way back I think a 12hr transit was required. 12 hours! – one can fly to London from Singapore direct in 13hrs!

And from Bandar Seri Bengawan, one would have to go via Singapore on the same route as I did, but with a 4hr transit in Singapore as well. Guess how much it would cost to get from Bandar Seri Bengawan to Beihai? A whopping 3000USD!! Holy moly. One can buy many many things with that amount of money. Royal Brunei does fly to China cities like Shanghai, but not every day. Makes me so glad that Singapore is well connected – imagine how much time I’d have to spend just travelling if that weren’t the case. And I already felt that the travel time was too long!