So much to catch up on! Okay, it is day 20 in China. It has all been a blur so far, a wonderful and fascintating blur! Today is the first time in which i have had time or access to post. I have been keeping a handwritten journal so far.
A bit of prolouge first is in order I suppose. This is my first trip to China and I bring little knowledge but lots of enthusiasm. My travels have been in the Guanxi Province, mainly in the city of Nanning. I am spending three weeks in China with my girlfriend Zeng Weiqian. We are experiencing her home city and travelling the province. I am hoping to keep a chronicle of my stay, maybe provide a tip or two for neophyte travellers such as myself herein, and perhaps encourage a more savy China traveller or two to spend some time in this wonderful province.
Day one: August 9th - 11th The flight from from kansas City in the USA to Nanning took a little over 26 hours, almost all of which was spent in the air. The flights in themselves were pleasant except for some consideralble turbulence from teh Sea of Ohkotsk to Beijing. The airports were another matter, however. The Midwest Airline flight from Kansas City to L.A. was fabulous. I have flown that airline many times and highly recommend it to anyone. Then came LAX... Does anyone there know what they are doing?!? I had to switch terminals and I received different instructions from each member of airport personnel that I spoke with and each proved incorrect. I am not kidding! I was first sent to the wrong terminal. Then I was sent to numerous wrong lines. There was no language barrier and I presented my tickets each time. By the end of the ordeal I found myself in a dead sprint to catch my flight to Guangzhou. Luckily, the flight was delayed for 20 minutes and this gave me the time to recompose myself. Not suprisingly I was feeling apprehensive about the state of my checked luggage, one suitcase. I inquired at the gate about the status and I was assured that it was onboard the plane. Right...
The flight from Los Angeles to Guangzhou was a 15 hour leg. Surprisingly the route was an artic one. We followed the Pacific Coast northward, overflying San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, and Anchorage. We crossed the Bearring Strait and flew over Siberia and the Sea of Ohkotsk. That is when some impressive turbulence set in. The turbulence did not relent until we had overflown Beijing. Of course it began when I had really become comfortable over a couple of seats. We continued flying south and landed at Guangzhou at 6 AM on August 11th.
