Shanghai Pudong International Airport 上海浦东国际机场

I had to wake up very early the next day. My friends have already went back to Singapore, while I still have two more weeks left in my journey. I was originally planning to explore northern China when my friend persuaded me to change my plans. I had no regrets since I hardly get to go with anyone, let alone her, during my travels abroad. Now I’m all alone and left to continue my journey. One of the options was to travel by hi-speed train to my original destination, but it would be more expensive to do so, not to mention it will take more time.

A few weeks before the trip, I purchased budget airline tickets to my destination, I was a bit not cheap but it was faster. One thing I neglected to consider was the time of the flight. I stupidly booked a morning flight forgetting that there was now way to get to the airport. No way, except by taxi. In short, CNY 230 later, I was at the airport. I had no idea it was that far, I could have tried sleeping at the airport instead at least I would have been able to save on the exhorbitant taxi fare. If I took the noon flight, I could have taken the subway then the maglev to the airport and it would have cost me only a third of what I spent for this taxi ride. Lesson learned.

The Shanghai Pudong International Airport is the new international airport of Shanghai. It is interesting to note that Shanghai actually is served by two international airports, one is the Hongqiao International Airport and the one in Pudong is the second one. Shanghai is that big. Travellers need to be aware of which airport they will be using since they are far from each other. One mistake can cost you a plane ticket.

Surprisingly, the airport wasn’t as glizty as ther other airports I have been to in China, in particular, the Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok International Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and the Beijing Capital Airport Terminal III. I think even the new train stations in Beijing and Shanghai look better than this. It didn’t seem like it was as new as I imagined it to be. The design was quite distinctive though with white supports raining down from the roof, almost like a meteor shower. There wasn’t much in the way of natural lighting except from the sides of the terminal. Otherwise it was a functional airport. Just as the sun was rising, we started to board the plane. My journey to northern China begins anew.

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