Booking the flight
And one day a pretty good deal was brought to my attention, courtesy of my schoolmate and friend. China Southern is offering round trip travel between Singapore and Guangzhou for a mere a mere SGD 246.70 (USD 190). I mean, I must have flown this route about 30 times in the past decade and I seldom come across such a cheap fare, even on budget carriers, especially during the popular travel season in Dec.
While it's a class "X" fare, meaning there are no mileage accruals; at this price, it's a real bargain. In fact, those of you who have a habit of reading fine prints will realise that taxes and fuel surcharges will add up close to that sum. Furthermore, I have not flown with them since 2005 and was interested to find out if the service has improved in the decade. So it appeared a no-brainer to book the ticket asap.
Well subsequently, the event was cancelled (that is a long story for another time though) and I was kinda in a dilemma of whether I should go ahead with the trip.
The situation is, my grandparents stay in Guangzhou. The trouble is, I thought I would be busy at the event until 27 Dec and happily made arrangements for them to visit Southeast Asia during the period. So that means I will be alone in Guangzhou on Christmas Eve, and Home Alone 2 doesn't sound too exciting.
Moreover, proceeding with the trip implies I will have to stay in Guangzhou at my own expense. So it really looks like throwing good money after bad, bearing in mind the airfare is a sunk cost.
Booking the hotel
While I travel to Guangzhou twice or more every year, I have never tried staying at a hotel in this city since I had the fortune of my grandparents' hospitality every time I visited. I usually do not like to spend on hotels, since I think of them simply as a base for me to leave the bulky luggage and explore the city lightweight.
However, considering I am spending Christmas Eve alone I was hoping that some creature comforts might alleviate the emoness...
So I was looking up some of the hotels, and then it occurred to me that the problem is not with too little choices, it's with too many.
On one hand I wanted to be as comfortable as possible without blowing the budget, yet I was hoping to stay close to the city and the near to the city's taste buds in Xiguan, and the problem was exacerbated since it's the first time I am staying at a hotel in a city I knew so well, yet so little.
To be fair, hotels in China are not expensive, in fact they can be really cheap if you know the city well. It really was my own fault to wait till the eleventh hour before booking the hotel. Fortunately there were some great last minute discounts.
I contemplated booking Westin Guangzhou, which is running a promotion with each night going for SGD110.
However, I do have some reservations about staying so close to the East Railway Station in Guangzhou, especially considering the crowd in the year end. Furthermore, I realised the discount at Westin is only valid for stays of 3 nights or more and I will only be staying for 2 nights.
So I chanced upon Marriott, which is going at SGD99 per night. Tax inclusive, that would have set me back SGD229 for 2 nights.
This is certainly not cheap, considering 3 star properties (which are fairly good in terms of room and location) in Guangzhou can go as low as SGD50 per night, but it is a reasonable rate for a 5 star property. So I paid a price for staying safe and for the material comforts.
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