Having some trouble posting photos... will add some later.
We left LAX about 1:30am (1 hr behind schedule)... Flew 16 hours straight! The kids were a bit cramped, but the "old" folks were very comfortable in business class. The flight attendant brought the kids up to the almost empty business class for the last 30 minutes of the flight (the kids said that "made their flight!". The kids said they only slept about 30 minutes each, each time I checked on them they were munching on candy and drinking coke... I wonder if that had anything to do with it?
There was trouble with getting the boarding passes for the kids for our connection to Beijing, we waited for the girl, who made about 30 different calls before her computer would spit out the passes... So we didn't have to leave them in Hong Kong after all! We had to do an O.J. thru the airport, all the way to the other end, just to scramble on the bus as it was pulling away from the terminal to drive out to where the plane was parked on the tarmac. I got a photo of the plane as we were climbing the ladder to board, right before the guard said "NO PHOTO"... I guess it is a secret plane or something, at least I got to keep my camera.
The flight to Beijing was crowded but the food was excellent (I think we might have been Chinese in another life). We arrived in one piece at around 2:00pm local time (a day after we started). Going thru the baggage claim (I'm just an American I can't read Chinese), the "bird flu" screening, baggage declaration, customs was pretty easy. We found our guide inspite of us not recognizing "Musgrobe" on his sign... But we connected with him after all.
Our guide, Water Lu, (I did not make that up, and he was a little foggy on who Napoleon was...) is great. He even promised to take us to a "real" Chinese food restaurant after we cleaned up at the hotel.
The taxi ride was death defying, those people in the crosswalks were jumping out of our way just in time! Stacey said it was just like driving with me at home, I'm glad she is feeling comfortable! The restaurant was decorated in bright yellow and red, the food came, then came and kept coming even we were all full. The kids appreciated the drinking age in China, 0, so they enjoyed the Chinese beer with us (boy they slept good that night). The food was fantastic, but you had to work hard to get the meet off the tiny bones. Anyway we left full, and ready for a full night in the horizontal position.
It is just before breakfast and if I don't stop, my life will be severly shortened by a mob of angry children under the age of 13, and a woman of unspecified age (she looks 30 :))... i would like to see the Great Wall tomorrow, so I'll sign off for now.
Brett
We left LAX about 1:30am (1 hr behind schedule)... Flew 16 hours straight! The kids were a bit cramped, but the "old" folks were very comfortable in business class. The flight attendant brought the kids up to the almost empty business class for the last 30 minutes of the flight (the kids said that "made their flight!". The kids said they only slept about 30 minutes each, each time I checked on them they were munching on candy and drinking coke... I wonder if that had anything to do with it?
There was trouble with getting the boarding passes for the kids for our connection to Beijing, we waited for the girl, who made about 30 different calls before her computer would spit out the passes... So we didn't have to leave them in Hong Kong after all! We had to do an O.J. thru the airport, all the way to the other end, just to scramble on the bus as it was pulling away from the terminal to drive out to where the plane was parked on the tarmac. I got a photo of the plane as we were climbing the ladder to board, right before the guard said "NO PHOTO"... I guess it is a secret plane or something, at least I got to keep my camera.
The flight to Beijing was crowded but the food was excellent (I think we might have been Chinese in another life). We arrived in one piece at around 2:00pm local time (a day after we started). Going thru the baggage claim (I'm just an American I can't read Chinese), the "bird flu" screening, baggage declaration, customs was pretty easy. We found our guide inspite of us not recognizing "Musgrobe" on his sign... But we connected with him after all.
Our guide, Water Lu, (I did not make that up, and he was a little foggy on who Napoleon was...) is great. He even promised to take us to a "real" Chinese food restaurant after we cleaned up at the hotel.
The taxi ride was death defying, those people in the crosswalks were jumping out of our way just in time! Stacey said it was just like driving with me at home, I'm glad she is feeling comfortable! The restaurant was decorated in bright yellow and red, the food came, then came and kept coming even we were all full. The kids appreciated the drinking age in China, 0, so they enjoyed the Chinese beer with us (boy they slept good that night). The food was fantastic, but you had to work hard to get the meet off the tiny bones. Anyway we left full, and ready for a full night in the horizontal position.
It is just before breakfast and if I don't stop, my life will be severly shortened by a mob of angry children under the age of 13, and a woman of unspecified age (she looks 30 :))... i would like to see the Great Wall tomorrow, so I'll sign off for now.
Brett
All packed and ready to go
Enjoying the Lounge in LAX
Blogging in comfort
Kids on the plane
Mom and Dad in comfort!
Waiting for our tickets in Hong Kong
Plane to Beijing
4 comments:
So glad you didn't lv T,Z&E in Hong Kong even though you had to "O.J." it thru the terminal. After all those hours of sitting, you probably enjoyed setting some track records!Loves to all.
Hi Musgroves!
I'm not sure I've got the hang of this tech stuff so I hope you can get this. Glad to hear that despite a few hic-ups that are there and well. Nice tip on the sleeping aid for the kids...don't try that at home or you may get a visit from CPS. We'll be monitoring your progress so have a great time!
Taylor, stop, look and listen and remember the 4 D's of dodgeball before crossing the road, it sounds dagerous, hold your mommy's hand, JAMES
Awesome story, glad to hear you made it safely and comfortably. I especially like that Brett feels at home with food, drink, and driving. Hopefully not mixed, however. Does a low drinking age also mean there is a low driving age?
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