The flight leaves about 90 minutes late
as one of the passengers is sick and has to be taken off the plane.
Once it leaves, I have a last wistful look at the land of my heritage
through the window. After a couple of hours we have dinner, which is
lasagne, quite pleasant, with red wine: (as they have run out of the
alternative to lasagne I get extra wine) then I settle down to watch
a film (Chariots of Fire as I recall, one of my old favourites) It
is somewhat cramped for a jumbo and as it's full I can't walk around
and stretch my legs so they begin to ache after a while. A little boy
fidgets next to me all the way there and I have to say a flight this
long must be torture for kids! I try unsuccessfully to doze off. I'm
a nervous flyer but the journey passes off successfully and smoothly.
On arrival in Beijing I have to spend about 30 or 40 minutes getting
through airport security. There are hundreds of people there so the
security staff pass the foreigners through the Chinese gates to save
time. I then pick up my bag (via the shuttle train) and pass through
customs. I now know the subway system so it does not take long to get
to my hotel, and after lunch check in to my room.
It's a pleasant little courtyard hotel
located in the hutong where I have some Chinese tea. I have a doze
then go out for dinner with a friend as I am starving. I manage to
call my family from Beijing that evening and to my surprise manage to
sleep quite well. Although as I have been awake for 33 ½ hours
perhaps that should not be surprising!
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