Checking in Juneyao Airline at Singapore Changi Airport, T4 was a breeze and we went to Blossoms Lounge with our free Priority Pass access to grab a bite and a quick rest before boarding the plane. The flight was on a smaller Airbus A320 with a 3x3 seat configuration and it lacked any in-flight entertainment. Nevertheless, the flight was rather uneventful and given its red-eye nature, spanning a tolerable 5-hour duration, we weren't particularly inclined towards movies anyway. Considering the price of our tickets, the journey remained quite worthwhile.
We arrived at Shanghai Pudong Airport at the scheduled time at 4:40AM. the customs clearance process unfolded smoothly, with our luggage retrieval taking no more than an hour. Once outside, we tried to make payment using WeChat pay for the first time and managed to purchase successfully 2 bottles of water from the Convenient store. However, I think we still need to figure out how to get around this for our future trips as there are restrictions for transactions exceeding 2,000 RMB.
Transitioning to the next leg of our journey required navigating the metro system from Pudong to Hongqiao train station, a journey spanning approximately an hour. . I think once they linked up the railway to Pudong, the whole journey will be more bearable. As it was early in the morning and we were at the terminal station, we were able to get seats on the metro. Otherwise, I think the 1-hr journey will be quite painful, especially since we were travelling with 2 big bags and didn’t really manage to sleep during the flight.
Once we arrived at Hong Qiao Train Station, we headed straight to purchase our high-speed train tickets bound for Nantong. Our original intention was to disembark at Nantong Station, considering its proximity to our hotel. However, to our surprise, the next available train to Nantong Station wasn't until 11 am. We had assumed that all trains departing from Shanghai would naturally make a stop at Nantong Station, but it turned out that wasn't the case. Without much choice, we opted for tickets to Nantong West Station instead.
Pausing for breakfast at the train station due to the early hour and chilly weather, we stumbled upon a restaurant offering piping hot dumpling soup, a comforting start to our day.
The ensuing train journey spanned approximately 2 hours, depositing us in Nantong around 10 am. Opting for a taxi to reach our hotel, we contemplated utilizing DiDi but ultimately decided on the convenience of the taxi stand. We arrived at the hotel at around 11 am. Despite the official check-in time being 2 pm, we took a chance and were pleasantly surprised to receive our room keys before noon.
We chose to stay at the Orange Crystal Hotel (桔子水晶酒店). Although it wasn't situated in the city center or adjacent to a metro station, we found convenience in the bus stop just outside the hotel. Within a mere 20 minutes, the bus transported us to the heart of the city center.
View from the Hotel Room
We have checked in!!
No comments:
Post a Comment