It took us 30 hours but we finally make it to Chongqing. The first leg of the trip we flew to LA where I discovered how easy it is to get back on board a plane after you’ve disembarked. As we walked toward the exit for the terminal I noticed how drafty it was – oh gosh my jacket! Luckily we hadn’t passed through the security check yet. After everyone had offloaded I was easily let back on to the plane with no questions asked! Though thankful…Hello TSA…?
Next a 15 hour flight to Guangzhou. Even though we were in business class it was a long uncomfortable flight. Sleeping in a plane is not the easiest thing to do. Walking up and down the aisles doesn’t seem to help pass the time. I must say that the service by the China Southern crew was fab – very professional and attentive. Finally we land in China! We were met by a local guide, Crystal, who navigated us through the Guangzhou airport to catch our next flight to Chongqing. What service! The Guanzhou airport is brand new and spectacular. Bright, airy and clean. I noticed that they are very much into energy conservation here. The escalators sit still until someone steps onto it! We grab a bite at the airport dim sum restaurant then sit around for a few hours taking in the smokey air as we wait for our flight. So many people smoke in China!
From Guangzhou we take a short 1 1/2 hour flight to Chongqing. Security in China is much more stringent – the checker didn’t know what the bottle of Aquafina in my bag was so told me to open and take a swig. Glad it was just water! And something I noticed right away – the chinese people waste no time dilly dallying while boarding or unloading a plane. You just have this mass of people push on and push off. The seats were cramped though as they must have confirgured the plane for maximum seating capacity. The plane was a modern jet, a Boeing xyz – unlike my first trip 20 years ago when inter China travel meant boarding a Russian made prop plane – can we say Indiana Jones? We were served a quick lunch of fried rice and assorted pickles. After the meal I closed my eyes for a moment only to be awoken by Patty exclaiming “Arghhh!” I turn to see a cockaroach running down the wall. We both look at each other and put ours bags that we had on the floor onto our laps. No more snoozing for me. Besides our six legged seat mate – not bad for our first inter China flight.
