6 days in NZ for a work trip with TNZ has completed, and I am on the flight back to Shanghai on Air New Zealand flight. The flight is pleasantly (for me) but unpleasantly (for AIRNZ) empty for the flight back to Shanghai, with only about 8 people in Premium Economy.
Food was great and I must comment that the food out of Auckland was so much better than that out of Shanghai. I guess it is hard to maintain quality of food at different airports, being catered by different companies.
Couple of things about my trip to this country:
New Zealand is a beautiful country with stunning landscapes.
The Kiwis are a warm, heartfelt group of people who extends great hospitality to tourist to their country. They are also very knowledgable about the culture and history of their country.
Seafood is really fresh in New Zealand, and eating there had been a great treat!
Most souvenir shops in New Zealand are operated by Chinese nationals. Most Kiwis or other Chinese treat me and talk to me as a Chinese national. Unless you are distinctly Japanese or Korean, most would treat you as Chinese. Which is good as Chinese increasingly becomes more intentional, but bad because I speak better in English.
There is no such thing as true Wifi connection in New Zealand. Cafes and fast food restaurant marketing free Internet connection only provides limited excess to the Internet, typically 30 mins usage or up to 30 mb data limit. That is pathetic, of course, considering the large amounts of data that gets loaded when you merely load Facebook. 3G data connection is fairly easy to get via the local telecom provider. 100 mb for NZD 10 or 300mb plan for NZD 19. That’s expensive! Compare that with Shanghai’s 300mb plan at RMB 66 (NZD 12) or with Singapore’s 12GB plan for SGD 30 (NZD 30).
There is a difference in service quality when the flight is full vs an empty flight. Staff become more attentive to you and besides the chairs, you almost feel like you are in Business Premier, although you are only taking Premium Economy.
My final conclusion is that I miss my wife, and it’s been a long time, the longest period of time in fact that I have. Ren away from her. Miss her much and look forward to seek her in Shanghai again after this 12 hour flight.