Guilin and Yangshuo (2007)

The National Day in China falls on the 1st October every year. Back in 2007 almost everyone in China would get the whole week off, dubbed as the 'Golden Week' (I have a feeling this might have changed). Whilst having the whole week off was great, it also meant that hundreds of millions others were also off work and travelling home to see their families, all at the same time.

We were still relatively fresh in China, and didn't know any better, so we hadn't make travel plans until the week before. We wanted to visit somewhere nice, partly to get out of the polluted north. So Lisa, Jack, Josh and I decided to go to Guilin (桂林), one of the most famous spots in China that I had learnt at primary school (ancient people wrote a lot of poems about the scenery there). 

桂林山水甲天下，陽朔山水甲桂林

Guilin's scenery tops anywhere in the world; but Yangshuo scenery tops Guilin 

But needless to say, most flights and sleeper trains were already fully booked. So our only option was to sit on a modest-speed train for - wait for it - 28 hours. I guess we were grateful that at least (1) we had a seat and (2) it was a direct train journey.

The train was rammed when we got on at Beijing. So full that although we had our seats, we were still sardined by the locals who had to stand / crouch / sit on the floor / lie under the seats / stand in the toilets. After a couple of stops from Beijing, I needed the loo and managed to squeeze past dozens of people to the toilet, where I found two men standing inside. They ushered me in, shut the door, and told me to pee (I was sandwiched between them). I thought it was wise to hold it and make an excuse to leave. It wasn't for another hour or so before the crowd died down a little. My kidneys had never been stronger.

Anyway, the 28-hour train ride was worth it. Apart from exploring the towns and visiting local pagodas, we went on the famous river cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo; hired a bike and round around the nearby villages; and hired a small boat to row/punt along the river. Thrown in were lots of cheap beer and drinking games (which Lisa consistently lost, whether or not she was drinking, which she is still quite annoyed about to this date).

Here are a few highlights :)

Sun and Moon Pagoda at Banyan Lake, Guilin

We hired a small boat to row/punt on the river. It was actually really hard work, especially in the hot weather!

One of the beautiful sights along the Li River

Why would anyone ever build a house like this? #OnlyinChina

Taking a break from cycling around the villages. At the time it was fashionable (I think) to make the peace sign in photos (#SoChinese). Not sure if the boat in the background is stuck...

Sunset

British Airways Economy Food

Dear BA,

Well done - you've done something quite extraordinary!

My parents are the kind of people who don't like to complain - even when their BA midnight flight was delayed by 6 hours that meant they had to sleep rough at the airport a couple of years ago, they didn't want to cause a fuss. When I went ahead to claim flight delay compensation for them, they even told me to be gentle with my wording.

So I was quite surprised, and mildly bewildered, when they called me to ask me to make a complaint to BA as soon as they landed in Hong Kong last week. 

Basically here's what happened:

• The dinner they were served was inedibly salty. Now my dad loves salt - he puts soy sauce in everything (which we've repeatedly told him isn't great for his blood pressure, but he doesn't listen). But even by his standard he thought it was too salty. So they didn't eat much of the dinner.
• There was no breakfast. Apparently the oven was bust, so they couldn't serve breakfast, though I wonder if the guys up in business and first class still got to wash down their eggs royale and a cheeky side caviar with fine champagne (probably, their meals are cooked fresh right?) 
• Anyway my parents needed food to take their medication with. So they gave him a small bread roll. Stale and hard as a rock.
• Not having served breakfast the staff kindly directed all passengers to the terminal after they landed to pick up 'breakfast' vouchers (why couldn't they have given them out immediately at landing?) This was massively chaotic, with hundreds of people wanting their share of the food. Obviously my parents - both in their 60s and one with a walking stick - abstained and just wanted to get home.

Not quite what you'd expect from one of UK's top airlines right? One that prides itself so much that it has taken exclusive use of Terminal 5 at Heathrow, and the elegance of their billboard adverts that make you feel so homely, familiar and warm. Salty too.

So I helped them draft a complaint letter to BA, stating all the facts and why my parents were dissatisfied. Below is what they came back with - clearly cut and pasted from a set of pre-written templates. 

20 years of flying back and forth between London and Hong Kong, multiple times per year, and all my parents got was a completely insincere, impersonal and defensive response.

Dear Mr Ng

Thanks for coming back to us with the requested details. You’re clearly unhappy with the quality of our food on your flight from London Heathrow on 26 May. We know how important our meal service is to our customers, especially you both were on medical condition so you required a special dietary meal. Please accept our sincere apologies.

We choose our catering partners carefully and we set very high standards for food preparation. Our suppliers must have strict processes in place to ensure these standards are met. Our menus are also refreshed every month and we include dishes that our customers tell us they enjoy. - This is great but does not explain the fact that the dinner was inedible on this occasion.

We use Umami rich ingredients in our meals, as this improves the flavour of our food when in the air. All our meals are freshly prepared using locally sourced and seasonal ingredients wherever possible. We normally get very good feedback about our catering, so I’m disappointed to hear we didn’t meet your expectations. I’m sorry you feel let down. - Correct me if I am wrong, but does this mean BA uses a lot of MSG in the food? If all meals are freshly prepared with good ingredients, then why do you need to use so much "Umami rich ingredients"?

I also note you didn't get the breakfast on time due to the queue at the terminal as it was adding much delay to your flight. We regularly review our suppliers to make sure we’re offering you the service you’d expect from us. We normally get very good feedback about our catering, so I’m disappointed to hear we didn’t meet your expectations. - this is written twice in consecutive paragraphs - clearly a copy and paste job. So defensive.

Our hospitality partner is the UK’s leading independent food service provider in the catering industry. They share our passion for good food and they make sure all food we serve in our lounges is freshly prepared, using locally sourced and seasonal ingredients wherever possible. - If they are the UK's No.1 as you are alluding to, then I genuinely fear for the UK's food and catering industry. Of course, such claim is open to subjectivity and interpretation, but the fact that BA is saying it makes me question your professional judgement and thresholds of standards. Also this isn't about your lounge food - we are not privileged enough to eat there!

We're very grateful you've taken the time to let us know how you feel. It’s only through your comments we’re able to focus on areas where we need to improve so we can offer you the best possible service. I’ve sent a copy of your email to our Products and Services Manager and I know they’ll value your insight.

Thanks again for getting in touch with us. We value your support as a Blue member of our Executive Club. I hope we can welcome you on board again soon. Please feel free to contact me directly using the blue link below if I can help you with anything else. - Are you being facetious? Anyone who flies with BA can automatically become a Blue member.

Best regards
British Airways Customer Relations

Chinese delicacies - not for the faint hearted

Wanfujing (王府井) is a famous tourist trap in Beijing - a street full of overpriced street-food vendors. There's something about it though that made us keep going back for more almost every time we visited Beijing. Perhaps we just didn't know any better.

Because I was always too busy eating, and because I've never been the kind of guy who takes photos of absolutely everything I eat (it detracts from the eating experience), I haven't really documented the food at WFJ (or anywhere else in China for that matter). I can tell you in hindsight, some 7 years later, that I don't remember any of it, so it must have been pretty average!

I did take a couple of snaps on one occasion though, when I was too pussy to try any of it so I was just watching Adam going for it. The photos say it all really:

Adam (pictured above) is still alive. Just.