My first experience flying from Bangkok to Xiamen

[bkkboy213]

I must say I was a little nervous travelling to China, I had never been before and didn’t know what to expect. If I wasn’t visiting a family member who moved out to Xiamen for business, the trip would never have happened. I’m not one of those travel enthusiasts who enjoys visiting places they’ve never heard of or going where people don’t speak English, and I was especially worried about this as I might have to change planes. Although I have been in Thailand for many years, I never worry about my trips here because English is so widely spoken.

 

To make things a little easier I decided to look for a direct flight from Bangkok, even though the cost would probably be higher, and because this was my first experience of travelling with a Chinese airline I chose a business class seat to give myself the best chance of a comfortable flight.  On the day I travelled from Suvarnabhumi Airport at 10 am, there are direct flights from Thailand twice a day and this time suited me.  I arrived at the airport a little late, so I had to get a move on on my way to check in. I was pleased to find the airline had several check-in desks, and English speaking staff who were always smiling, there was no queue at the business check-in counter so the process went really smoothly. I was starting to relax.

 

Business class included lounge entrance and premium lane, so I headed there immediately. Although it was the furthest away of all the lounges, it was conveniently close to my gate.  The food and the wait  were pleasant, the staff courteous, and the place was quiet even though it is shared with another airline.   I usually like to have at least a drink or two when I fly, but, as it was still the morning, I decided to refrain, I was just grateful not having to walk around to find a place to eat.

 

When it came to boarding I was able to get on the plane first, another perk of flying business class, and I got a seat right at the front. I was glad to find a comfortable seat with plenty of legroom, unlike some of my other experiences, and a well-equipped cabin-business class had their own tablets for in-flight entertainment. I also found a pair of slip-on shoes, but they looked too small for me and I felt I could survive with my shoes on for a 3-hour flight.

       

During the flight, the staff were really attentive, always checking if I wanted anything. Business class passengers were able to choose the time of their meal, and they were very helpful in getting me everything I wanted. The food was of good quality and although I usually prefer bread to rice, it was actually delicious and the portion was so generous I wasn’t left feeling hungry.

As we came in to land over Xiamen, my first impression was that it is much bigger than I had expected and the surrounding sea was dotted with small islands I started to wonder if 3 days would be enough. I organised the trip at the last-minute, so I hadn’t really planned anything about what to do when I get there. I had briefly read about the Zhongshan Road and a couple of other attractions which I was struggling to remember the details of. I knew I was going to try some new and exotic food, and find out more about Chinese culture, but beyond that what was still a mystery

.

The airport is not very large and because the flight attendants had spoken such good English I was surprised by the airport staff and people around not knowing much English. Fortunately, I saw my relatives who had been waiting for me, and immediately felt the relief of knowing I wouldn’t have to try getting to the city without them.

 

On this first day with my relatives driving me around the city I noticed how prosperous it was, with clean streets, a pleasant climate, and locals who were well-groomed and friendly looking. I suppose I had imagined something considerably more primitive. The transport system seems to flow much better than in Bangkok, if it weren’t for the language barrier the trip here would all be plain sailing. When we went past the port my relatives kindly offered to take me on a trip to Piano Island the next day.

    

In the evening I took a stroll to the Zhongshan Road, I was met by the sound of cars honking their horns and bustling crowd of people spending their time and money in the thousands of shops in this area. As I merged with the sea of people my nose led me to some of the street food that was on sale. You can find everything here from familiar grilled meat and seafood, through to the wildly obscure jungle sea hedgehog-which I passed on trying. Generally speaking the food is inexpensive and delicious, I couldn’t get enough of the Chinese BBQ skewers, a symbol of the city. Yum!  The next day was spent a short boat journey away from the city on Piano Island.  It is a very large and diverse island, both modern and traditional.

 

There are many cafes, and shops-mostly with souvenirs on sale. A lot of people travel here, both from China and overseas, but the majority of them are Chinese people here for the weekend, attracted by the scenic cliffs, beaches and places to visit like the piano museum.  I noticed so many wedding photographers here on the island, so I suppose it must be a popular place for newlyweds. Personally, I found the trip worthwhile because it's easily reached by ferry in about 30 minutes, for only 50 yuan. Perfect for spending the day with your family and loved ones, and I thought that playing piano music on the boat was a nice touch.

 

On the return journey I was surprised to find the staff speaking English so well at the check-in desk. She guided me through the manual check-in process, which was very helpful for me with English communication at the airport being quite difficult.

 

The return flight aircraft was as same as the one from Bangkok. There was no business class section on the return flight, so I booked an economy flight for this leg of the journey. For me, the feeling is quite different, the seating space, the food, and so on. But, overall, it is the most impressive economy airline ever used. Unfortunately, I had an aisle seat so I couldn’t take a picture of the plane from the window.

 

 The flight took about 3 hours back to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok and after the meal was completed, I fell asleep for the duration of the trip as it was still very early in the morning.  Before getting off the plane the air hostess spoke to me and invited me back to Xiamen next time, this left a lasting and pleasant impression on me, I think I might take up this offer.

My experience of Xiamen overall was a good one. My worries about language weren’t unfounded as communicating with locals can be difficult, but I got by fine on this short trip. I was well looked after by the airline on the journey and Xiamen is interesting, I feel that I only really had a taster of what it has to offer during my 3 days, and I’d like to come back.  The weather was nice, people cute, and they have a high speed train connecting to other cities.
                    

I would highly recommend anyone to travel to Xiamen for a short city break from Bangkok!

[keeniau96]

Great report, almost makes me go ... almost.

[Halfaboy]

Thank you for your extensive report and all the pictures.

 

Somewhere you mentioned that you had organised the trip at the last-minute and I was wondering how you managed to get a visa on the short term (assuming you needed one).

 

Have fun !

[grollies]

Nice post 

[bkkboy213]

42 minutes ago, Halfaboy said:

Thank you for your extensive report and all the pictures.

 

Somewhere you mentioned that you had organised the trip at the last-minute and I was wondering how you managed to get a visa on the short term (assuming you needed one).

 

Have fun !

It only took me three days to apply and recieve my Chinese visa using an agent based in Trendy Building, Sukhumvit soi 13

[john2211]

Just out of interest how much did you pay for the business and economy tickets?

[bkkboy213]

I think i paid around 15,000THB for business class and economy was around 9,000 THB, so i thought for the small difference it was worth trying out a business class seat.

[john2211]

i normally fly directly to Beijing and will check possibilities to transit in Xiamen

My friends tell me it is a good place

[MaeJoMTB]

I just tried the same game but Chiang Mai to Changsha alone.

No white people on the flights either way, no white people on the trains, no English signs, no English spoken once off the plane.

But a really cheap VISA jump at 4,400bht return AirAsia (3k3 out, 1k1 return), 1,100bht for the Chinese VISA, 650bht in train fares, (I stayed in ZhangJiajie) one midnight taxi fare  airport/train station 500bht, and a bus fare train station/airport 100bht.

 

Rooms were very modern at 500bht/night but never warm enough (all through booking.com), outside temps were 0-8c and everyone seemed to wear many layers of clothes with hats and gloves day and night, inside and outside. If you can imagine a rural Issan village but 25c colder and with no available women, you've got rural China. 

 

The mountains were very scenic. The food was generally terrible, I lived on biscuits and Snickers bars.

Got my Chinese VISA from the Consulate in Chiang Mai (next to Siam Plaza), dead easy, drop off Friday, collect next Wednesday.

Edited December 1, 2017 by MaeJoMTB

[spidermike007]

8 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

I just tried the same game but Chiang Mai to Changsha alone.

No white people on the flights either way, no white people on the trains, no English signs, no English spoken once off the plane.

But a really cheap VISA jump at 4,400bht return AirAsia (3k3 out, 1k1 return), 1,100bht for the Chinese VISA, 650bht in train fares, (I stayed in ZhangJiajie) one midnight taxi fare  airport/train station 500bht, and a bus fare train station/airport 100bht.

 

Rooms were very modern at 500bht/night but never warm enough (all through booking.com), outside temps were 0-8c and everyone seemed to wear many layers of clothes with hats and gloves day and night, inside and outside.

 

The food was generally terrible, I lived on biscuits and Snickers bars.

Got my Chinese VISA from the Consulate in Chiang Mai (next to Siam Plaza), dead easy, drop off Friday, collect next Wednesday.

 

Biscuits provide alot of the daily requirement of starch and calories, while Snicker bars add the valuable protein.

 

 

[dapperdan]

You missed the tulous. Best attraction near Xiamen.

[malathione]

Nice. Thanks for this

[faraday]

Thanks for the trip report, glad you enjoyed it.

[chuang]

1 hour ago, EcigAmateur said:

So lucky you ! A totally useless trip to a totally useless place ! Thank you, now I am sure to never go there !

 

 

 

 

If you do not open your mouth nobody will say you are dumb. 

[tweedledee2]

I fly China Southern to and from LAX. In Feb. it was less than $600 round trip. The meal you pictured looks the same as they serve.

[Johnnyngai]

Xiamen is one of the  first Chinese  city that was opened to the west many many years ago; therefore, it is one of the nicest and cleanest.