Talking Travel: Halfway Out The Door

Just about to head out the door on a rather long Central Asian adventure. Once again, I wish my flight were not at some very off hour, but that seems to be standard procedure for flights to the 'Stans and the Russian Far East.

As one of my colleagues noted, Beijing to Xiamen high-speed rail begins service July 1, and also as he noticed, it's pointless. Five hours to Shanghai, especially at this time of year when thunderstorms and rumors of thunderstorms can delay flights for hours, makes sense, especially given the standard cost of about RMB 550 one-way. Paying the same price as an air ticket for a journey more than four times as long doesn't.

Shangri-La Hotels is now open in Confucius' hometown of Qufu, in central Shandong province. They're offering an introductory rate of RMB 898 per night including complimentary breakfast and USD 50 credit on food and drink in the hotel. Qufu combines well with nearby Tai Shan (Mt. Tai) as sort of a tour of China's traditional heartland. Qufu's also only two hours away by fast train, so it's an easy weekend trip. Look for it in the August edition of the Beijinger's travel column, Get Out.

This column could be one continuous stream of superlative travel statistics about China. Here's one: China Eastern Airlines just ordered 80 Boeing 737s, after ordering 70 Airbus aircraft earlier this year. The deal is worth USD 8 billion. Now, parts of these big deals are a bit of share price-boosting fluff, as some of the jets may never be delivered, but still, that's a lot of planes.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in and commented on the previous edition of Talking Travel. If you would appreciate family-friendly travel, let your favorite airline know, you probably wouldn't be the only one.

Heading to a place that doesn't have much Wi-fi, so until I'm back writing about traveling instead of actually traveling for the July 1 edition, wishing you one road flat safe.

Photo: PanPacMedia