The plane was delayed leaving Harbin for almost an hour. Once we were eventually allowed to board, I saw something worrying - there was no plane attached to the bridge. This meant we had to go down stairs, and take a bus out to the plane. It was still very cold at this time and the tarmac had a layer of ice on it. Managed to get some photos while boarding, either nobody noticed or nobody cared (I suspect the latter).
As I said earlier, Chinese airlines are all roughly equal to Western airlines in terms of safety and comfort. They do, however, vary a bit in professionality. CUA showed the safety video twice. However, they served a pretty decent meal, at a time of day which on Qantas would only get you a small cakey thing. Landing in Nanyuan, we had to walk (no bridges at this tiny airport), but at least the temperature was positive. Unfortunately didn't get a chance to get a photo of the old Tupolevs in storage there which CUA used to operate.
My taxi ride from there to the university cost about 150 RMB, and was about an hour of inner-city driving. Public transport would've cost less than a tenth of that, but would have required four transfers, which I really didn't want to do with all my heavy luggage.
The campus here is large - about as large as a small suburb in Australia - and registering sent me walking all over it. First I went to the international students admission office, which told me to go to the accommodation office, which told me to go to another accommodation office, which sent me back to the first one, then I was able to put my bags down, then I had to go to the administration building to sign in. This, at least, was not too difficult, but it was time-consuming. Fortunately everything was in order, and with student card (more like a passport) in hand, I went back up to my room for a proper look around.
A hip, chic apartment with the minimalist flair of Joseph Stalin. The other facilities were not much better, squat toilets in the shared bathroom, beside showers with no heads (simply a pipe coming out of the wall). This was to be an interesting experience. Fortunately I had been exposed to squat toilets before and was already wise enough to Chinese ways to always carry a roll of paper on me. It is not shown in the picture, but there was another bed in the room, as yet unfilled.
View from the 13th floor
Decided to go out for a walk, and to get my phone working again (it had been shut off after being out of the country for more than 6 months). On my way out, I found that bed linen would be provided, one less thing to worry about. It was a bit difficult finding my way around, there are not many landmarks in my part of the campus, and most buildings look the same. But, I managed to find a phone shop, where the very helpful owner got my phone working. I should note here that Chinese universities are almost self-contained communities, there are restaurants, supermarkets, and most daily needs available on campus. With my phone up and running, I went out for another walk, and found a beacon of hope - the Hope Cafe, with FREE INTERNET. So I went in, ordered a local Yanjing beer (not to my taste), and whiled away the rest of my afternoon catching up with what I've missed back home. Later on I ordered a Hope Sandwich, which was the best thing I thought they had on offer:
The Hope Sandwich
In Beijing, this is considered international food. Stayed online until quite late, but I managed to find my way back in the dark (the campus lighting is poor but adequate). Took the chance to admire the scenery at night - coloured lights are here considered sufficient to make up for 60s Soviet architecture.
The view from the balcony - a petroleum research institute.
I have a weekend to soak in the city before things start happening - I have a proficiency test on Monday which decides which class I go into, then start lessons on Wednesday. Looking forward to it.
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