A Brush with Europe

On April 4, 2020, the Qingming Festival of the Gengzi Year, we mourn our compatriots and pay tribute to heroes. The National Day of Mourning: Remembering the departed on Qingming, forever in the heart of the nation. Writing about an unfinished travelogue on this day seems a bit sentimental!

In early Gengzi, late Yihai. A great plague swept through Jingchu, the Hanjiang River surged with turbidity. Over forty thousand were infected, terrifying the "corona virus" demon. Streets and alleys were deserted, doors shut; people feared the god of death. No cars on the roads, no boats on the rivers. Foreign wolves stirred restlessly, drooling in wait. China was caught between a rock and a hard place, in a moment of crisis.

Yet, China, vast and profound, with deep heritage and abundant resources, the dragon spirit never dies. The whole nation mobilized, with the people's spirit, singing the song of the great wind. Thus, the rulers cleared the source, strategizing from within; the military was mighty, singing generously; doctors had benevolent hearts, boundless love; police were fearless, and the people united. The wealthy merchants, scholars and celebrities, ordinary folks—all who were righteous donated money and supplies, contributing their modest efforts. Everyone stayed indoors, isolated at home, all brave fighters!

For millennia, China has shared the same wind and moon. What fear is there of the "plague"? As in ancient times, there is the fallen boat by the shore, and beautiful trees singing of spring; today, there is the village hidden by willows and bright flowers. After more than a month of struggle, the great plague was cleared, the whole country celebrated, and victory was finally achieved.

Today, we observe a moment of silence for the martyrs who sacrificed in the fight against the epidemic and for our deceased compatriots, remembering history and honoring the heroes!

I. European Travel Plan Discussion

Plan A: Round trip from Fuzhou to Dubai via Singapore or Hong Kong, participate in a 6-day-5-night club package in Dubai; round trip from Dubai to Athens via Bahrain, 4-day-3-night free travel in Athens; round trip from Athens to Santorini by cruise and flight, participate in a 4-day-3-night club package in Santorini; return along the same route. This plan is full of activities, visa-free entry to Dubai, and in-depth travel to Greece as the main destination, but there are 9 single flights, very tiring! The airfare is around 8,000 RMB, relatively expensive. Plus, there's some tension in the Middle East due to Iran and other countries, not safe! Not adopted.

Plan B: Fuzhou to Moscow round trip via Shanghai, participate in a 3-day-2-night package in Moscow; 3-day free travel from Moscow to St. Petersburg; St. Petersburg to Athens to Santorini; 3-day-2-night free travel in Athens and 4-day-3-night package in Santorini from the dream list; return Athens-Moscow-Shanghai. Highlight: round-trip airfare from Shanghai to Moscow is about 2,000 RMB, with Air China, very cheap. Downside: Russia is cold in April, need to apply for a Russian visa, and stay in Russia is tight. This plan was also rejected.

Plan C: Travel agency covers airfare and visa, 4-day-3-night club packages in Budapest and Santorini, free travel in Athens. Outbound: Fuzhou-Shanghai-Budapest; return: Athens-Paris-Shanghai with a 1-hour-35-minute layover in Paris, transfer time is tight, airfare around 6,000 RMB is also expensive (the travel agency has an open-jaw advantage). Visa is handled by the travel agency, but without joining their itinerary, they won't issue a group visa for more than six people. If the visa is refused, there is no full refund policy for airfare either. This plan also won't work.

Plan D: Travel agency covers airfare, outbound: Fuzhou-Shanghai-Budapest; return: Athens-Paris-Shanghai with a 3-hour layover in Paris or a 1-hour-35-minute layover in Munich, airfare around 7,300 RMB, highlights are internationally renowned airlines like Lufthansa, Hungarian, or Swiss Air. Itinerary same as above. Reason for not adopting is the same as above.

Plan E: Bullet train Fuzhou-Shanghai, round trip Shanghai-Budapest, airfare around 4,800 RMB, book airfare and visa through Ctrip, full refund if visa is refused. 4-day-3-night club packages in Budapest and Santorini, excellent value. 3-day-2-night free travel from Budapest to Vienna by chartered car; free travel to Athens Acropolis and Meteora also by chartered car. The whole itinerary is perfectly designed, with flexibility controlled by ourselves. International flights and European domestic flights/cruises are seamlessly connected. Specifically: Shanghai-Budapest (flight) - Vienna (car rental) - Athens (low-cost European airline) - Santorini (cruise) - Athens (car rental) - Budapest (low-cost European airline) - Shanghai (return). The entire trip is easy and simple, can be relaxed or busy. All hotels booked are four-star or above. A 15-day trip costs about 15,000 RMB per person! Isn't that great? Finally, this plan was chosen.

II. Sudden Outbreak, Accompanied by Anxious Feelings

Everything was ready except for the bullet train tickets from Fu'an to Shanghai round trip. The visa application for the Schengen area in Fuzhou was also ready. Suddenly, the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019, the 2020 Spring Festival travel rush, the 2020 Chinese New Year, the lockdown of Wuhan, the whole nation staying indoors and reducing outings—what does that mean? The bustling Spring Festival fell into a dormant state, grinding to a halt! Our European travel plans became very uncertain. How to prevent infection during the trip? What if the temperature check at the airport is abnormal? Would we face discrimination abroad? Can we cancel the airfare? Can we cancel the packages? We consulted the Hong Kong customer service and Ctrip customer service every few days, asking if there was a humane free cancellation or postponement. The reply: no policy support!

III. Complicated Email and SMS Cancellations and Refunds

1. These were high-value club packages: the historic Grand Budapest Hotel and the volcanic rock cliff hotel on the Aegean Sea island of Santorini!

2. The sudden outbreak shattered everything. First, the China Eastern Airlines round-trip tickets from Shanghai to Budapest were canceled! The ticket refund was returned to the original account within about a week, supporting documents were simple, and the refund was straightforward. This shows the difference in Eastern and Western cultures and efficiency. Lucky to be born and raised under the red flag, feeling the strength of our motherland, grateful for the overwhelming happiness of being a Chinese citizen, grateful for the Chinese civilization's belief in life first, people first. The European domestic flights booked through Ctrip were all processed for online self-check-in applications, all in vain!

3. ROVIA and the European low-cost airlines like Wizz Air and Ryanair had chaotic and extremely inefficient refund processes. Emails, supporting documents, customer service communication, VIP channels... The results were varied, and after more than three months, most of the European domestic airfares were still being chased!

5. A perfectly designed European trip turned out to be a lot of effort for nothing due to the epidemic, but we also gained a lot. From the booking and cancellation of these packages, airfares, and hotels, I felt the greatness and benevolence of our motherland, the rapid progress of China in technology, economy, and other fields, and the hard truth of why Chinese civilization has lasted for five thousand years. In one sentence: I love you, China!

6. An unfinished travelogue, my friends, stay tuned for our Love on the Aegean Sea in Budapest!