Beijing 2008

Have I ever left home on a trip without feeling like I'd forgotten something?

Sleeping bag, vitamins, lotion...thank God they're all thing I can temporarily live without.

Beijing airport has to be THE most user-unfriendly airport I've ever been to. Our initial excitement at setting foot in China for the first time soon gave way to panic and distress when we started to feel the effects of lack of sleep and our search for a likely place to nap came to no avail. Everywhere we went there were throngs of people headed in the opposite direction. Everyone we spoke to either didn't speak English or spoke it with an accent which rendered their English competency pretty much useless to us. Despite the lack of proper seating and hoards of people milling about, no one ventured to simply camp out on the floor. We had a drink at a cafe where, instead of chairs, there were sofas strewn with illegally-comfy throw pillows. While it was tempting to simply crash there, we continued our search of a good-sleep place. We found sprinkles of painted metal benches where Kak Nani tried to sleep on but ended up cramping her arms to keep from sliding off. By then we were in a lousy mood and our heads were swimming with everything Chinese. We decided to leave the international terminal and head out to the open waters. Our 10-hour transit was down to six when we finally found seats where we can properly rest our bottoms. By then it didn't matter that we were nodding left, right, front and back because our eyelids were adamant on staying closed. It didn't matter to me that every time I opened my eyes there was a different row of strangers (all Chinese, of course) staring at me with open curiosity. I simply stared back until my eyes shut themselves once again.

The remaining two ours of our transit I spent reading and snacking, Esyaque went off with his camera and Kak Nani continued sleeping (as usual). Our spirits picked up once again when check-in for Air Canada opened and we were finally welcomed into the more comfortable zones of international departure. Despite further hassles of being body-searched another half-a-dozen times and the prospects of a 13-hour flight, I was practically skipping into the cabin. I might be couped up in the same piece of flying metal for a long period of time but at least the reclining seats are mine,I don't have to keep a hawk-eye on my carry-ons and everything is explained in a language I can comprehend.

I must sound terribly snobbish at the moment but I really can't see how I could have enjoyed that 10-hour turmoil. China reported to have amped their hospitality to make the country tourist-friendly in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. Well, they've got a few more months to go and all I can say is fellas, good luck.