We then stopped a souvenir shop, which was essentially a hole in the wall. I am sure that the owner was in some way related to the guide. Some people bought some souvenirs and umbrellas were in hot demand. Graham, I and a few others went for shelter under a nearby overhanging roof. Once the group was together again, we pushed on to the final stop. Our guide had mentioned that this was a shopping and dining area that was predominantly used by tourists. On the way, we walked past a park and some really beautiful buildings.
Once we approached our destination, I suddenly knew where we were. This was the Yuyuan Market that I had hoped to visit. I had seen photos of this on some trip reports and really loved the look of the architecture. There were quite a few covered walkways in front of the shops, which was a bonus in this weather. We were not really in the market for any shopping, but I knew that the Yuyuan Gardens were adjacent and this was something else I really wanted to see. We looked at a map, but this was kind of confusing and we initially went the wrong way. We were just about to give up when I spotted some signage pointing us in the right direction. Graham offered that I could go in and he would wait for me, but we did not have that much time left before we had to meet up again and it was still raining heavily. So I decided to leave this for next time.
I had a wander round the food market and was hoping for some more steamed pork buns, but all the signage was in Chinese so I gave up on this. Once everybody had met up again, we walked back to a bus and this time round, we cut through a park, which was pleasant walk even though it was still wet. We dropped off people who were going to various hotels first and then we made our way to the airport. We had a very late flight so had all the time in the world, but there were people with 17:30 flights and by the time we finally arrived at the airport, it was just gone 16:30 and we were 90 minutes later than we should have been. I am sure some people ended up missing their flights.
Pudong International is not the prettiest of airports or at least the land-side is not. There is also very little there. The terminal that we were flying from had the check in for all the international departures on one side of the terminal and for all the domestic departures on the opposite end. There was nowhere to sit on the international end so we headed over to the domestic area. Graham found somewhere to sit and I left our luggage with him while I went exploring. There was not a great deal there, but I found a Costa Coffee and I got some coffee for both of us. They had an English Trifle Latte as part of their Christmas menu. We had seen this on the menu at the airport in Beijing, but they did not have it in stock. I got lucky here and picked one up for both of us. It was kind of unusual mixing strawberry flavours with coffee, but it was quite pleasant.
We then decided to get something to eat. I had hoped that there would be a food court, but I was out of luck. I did however find a range of restaurants on the mezzanine floor. So we decided to get some dinner there. We ended up at a bar that offered various set meals. Graham had a burger with fries. I had egg drop soup, Nasi Goreng with chicken, fried egg, prawn crackers and a fruit cup. It was not exactly gourmet food, but it filled a hole. In terms of airport food, it was not bad at all.
When we came back downstairs , we checked if check in was open. It was not, but there were already plenty of people in line. We found some seats nearby and once we saw that the line started to move, we headed over. Check in was very quick and security and immigration did not take long either. Airside at Pudong airport is actually quite nice. They were also adding some more facilities. I am sure the next time we pass through there, this will all be open. The Chinese don’t tend to hang around once they start on something. We browsed in some of the shops and at this point, there was potential for the holiday to be memorable for all the wrong reasons.
We both had a cough for weeks on end. I started to shake it off once we left Beijing, but Graham was still struggling. We had brought some over the counter medicine, but this had been used up by this point. So Graham wanted to see if he could find something in one of the shops. He got lucky in the first shop we got to. He was handed a packet and was advised to take this 3 to 4 times a day. No instructions as to dosage was given and all the writing was in Chinese. The packet contained six tiny ceramic bottles in blister packs. We were not sure what the little bottles contained, but I assumed it would be a liquid of some sort. The bottle was actually filled with tiny little pearls. Graham took all the pearls that were in the bottle. It was only when I did some research after the event that I found out that the correct dosage is 6 to 8 of the little beads and Graham probably had 4 times as many. The medicine turned out to be herbal and works by raising the body temperature, which explains what happened in the not too distant future.
At that time, things seemed normal. Graham was a little grumpy and tired, but otherwise all seemed to be well. Graham is not exactly a fan of airports and his had been a long day so this was nothing alarming. I got some water for Graham and then I went exploring. They actually have a tea shop at the airport. I was OK for tea, but I spotted something that they call a lazy tea cup in China. It is a mug that comes with a tea strainer and a lid. I thought this was a neat idea. They had a really beautiful royal blue one with a gold dragon design. I really loved this, but the price was more than I was willing to pay. I decided to have a look around the other shops. I found another lazy tea cup that I liked. It was blue and white with a dragon motif and the design was inspired by the vases of the Ming dynasty. I did not like it as much as the first one, but I still really liked it. It was also a fraction of the price of the first one. So I bought it. Unfortunately the idea behind this is great, but the execution is somewhat lacking. The holes in the strainer are too big and when I tried it out, I ended up with tea leaves in my tea. I still use the mug, but in conjunction with a tea pot and a proper strainer.
When I came back, I checked my emails, caught up with Facebook and then read for a while. Soon it was time for boarding. We had not been on the plane long when I got the first idea that all is not well. Graham was complaining that the plane was way too hot. Now, he does not feel the cold as much as I do, but normally the discrepancy is not as big as this. I was a little cold and was actually considering getting my blanket out. I am used to Graham feeling comfortable when I feel cold, but we never had an issue that he was feeling too hot while I was feeling cold. He fell asleep soon afterwards and I did not think much about this.
Dinner was served. I had noodle salad that I did not really rate, but the chicken and rice was very nice. I had some white wine and water. Graham woke up while I was having dinner and I offered him my rice pudding, which he ate. He then went back to sleep. I played a game for a bit. I had planned on watching a film, but there was nothing that caught my eye. It was not long after dinner, that I got quite worried. Graham’s breathing had become quite shallow and he seemed to be burning up. I checked the map where we were and we were still over China. I suddenly had visions of us making an unscheduled stop. However, I had a gut feeling that as long as I could bring the temperature down, we would be OK. So I pressed the cabin crew call button and asked for a cold cloth. She came back shortly afterwards with two ice cold flannels. I put one of them around Graham’s neck. The breathing returned back to normal shortly afterwards. The temperature took a little longer. At some stage he woke up and wondered why there was something wet around his neck. It seemed to have done the trick. He went back to sleep shortly afterwards and after a while, I put on some music and went to sleep, too.
When I next woke up, they were serving breakfast. Most food that Emirates serves is above average for airline food. However, sadly this does not apply to breakfast. So I passed and just had some coffee. Not long after everything had been cleared, we started our decent into Dubai. This time round, we landed on Concourse A and our onward flight was from Concourse B so we had to take the train. First of all, we had to clear security though and the line for this was quite long. It did move steadily though and soon we were on our way again. This is where it all became a bit strange. I am pretty familiar with Dubai airport and have switched from Concourse A to Concourse B and vice versa a number of times. It used to be ever so easy: you came down the escalator and the train was right there. They had changed the flow of traffic and by the chaos in the area and the contradictory signage, I assume that this had just happened. They directed us down a long corridor and then we approached the train from the back. Fortunately once we were in the right place, a train pulled in. When we got to our gate, they had started boarding. Graham quickly went to the bathroom and then we went to the gate. We still had some time until our boarding group was called.
The whole process was pretty smooth and soon after we were on board, the doors were closed. The flight was nowhere near full and we had a down of 4 between the two of us. This time round I was brave and had some breakfast. It was an Arabic breakfast with bread, humous, vegetables and fruit and pretty nice. Graham had cooked breakfast consisting of some kind of egg dish, tomatoes and chicken sausage. He was not quite as pleased with his choice. We both had coffee and orange juice.
I spent the flight alternating between watching films, playing games and reading. I watched two films and very much enjoyed both of them. The first one was Home Again with Reese Witherspoon and the second one was called The Circle. I was not sure about this, but as it had Emma Watson and Tom Hanks in it, I thought it was worth a try. I definitely enjoyed this and have watched it on Netflix a few times since. At some stage, lunch was served. I had Emirates’ take on Christmas dinner, which was roast chicken with all the trimmings. Graham had a beef stew and was not too impressed by this.
Time seemed to fly on this flight and soon we were descending into Manchester. I had my usual fun and games with the eGates. I really don’t understand why they make me join the line for those as inevitably, I have to go to a normal counter anyway. I have used gates successfully in a number of countries, but they never work for me in Manchester. Sure enough, the gate would not open for me and I was directed to a different line. Graham managed to get through. By the time we were reunited in the baggage hall, the luggage had started to come out. We did not have to wait long for our luggage and we ended up with the same amount of luggage that we had checked in in Shanghai. That is always a bonus.
We took the train back into the city centre and did not have to wait too long. When we got to the Metrolink platform, a tram pulled in. Despite the issue with the eGates, it had taken us just over an hour from landing to getting home. This must be a new record. We put our luggage in the living room, turned on the heating and then we caught up on some much needed sleep.