Greetings from Nepal!
After saying goodbye to my apartment in California and enjoying some prime rib at The Warehouse Restaurant in LA, I checked in with China Southern airlines, made it through security in only a few minutes and started making phone calls to friends and family as I watched the waiting area fill up with a lot of people who were decidedly not like me.
My 15.5 hour flight to Guangzhou was marked by a monitor that didn't work in front of me, an aisle seat next to the bathroom, and a nice European photographer who was the only other person in my row. An interesting cultural difference on the plane was the blatant disregard for the directions to stay seated during certain points in the flight. It seemed as though the seat belt sign and announcements from the captain were merely suggestions. The crew, however, were mechanical in their handling of meals and beverages on board. They would appear at the same time between each row and move very quickly, asking in either Chinese or English if you would like the Chinese meal or the beef. I had the Chinese meal each time and I believe the only difference was, along with a roll and some fruit and vegetables, it came with noodles rather than rice.
During the flight I listened to music, took a sleeping pill, listened to music, worried about things I couldn't control, wrote some letters, listened to music, and did a lot of stretching and walking around the cabin.
Upon landing, I filled out my immigration card, and studied the horizon and outline of Guangzhou while we waited to stop taxiing. My heart was pounding as I followed the rest of the passengers through a long covered catwalk to the baggage claim and customs area. I had checked my bags all the way through to Kathmandu, so the backpack I had as carry-on was the only thing I would need to bring around the city with me. I made it through customs and immigration with zero hassle and was soon amazed by the size of the airport terminal. It was extremely clean with what seemed like 4 different floors of shops, gates, restaurants, beauty salons, an apple store (where I would actually purchase a new phone charger for a ridiculous amount of yuan), and a couple of McDonalds. Sadly, this is where my first meal in China occurred. A wonderful sausage muffin with egg and some tea.
My family friend, Kiki, texted me and let me know that she was probably 3 hours away. With time to kill I walked around the outside of the airport, got lost inside the airport, and realized just how heavy my bag would become for the rest of the day.
This is me in front of some fountain that's a thousand years old. The name isn't important, only that about 30 people were watching me intently to make sure I didn't fall into it.
For those who don't know, this is a big metal flower.
Some type of desert, it was actually pretty good.
This city is absolutely packed. There was one white dude I saw all day. Me- in the mirror.
This actually down a very questionable alley.
Another back street I probably shouldn't have gone down, but really cool looking.
After saying goodbye to my apartment in California and enjoying some prime rib at The Warehouse Restaurant in LA, I checked in with China Southern airlines, made it through security in only a few minutes and started making phone calls to friends and family as I watched the waiting area fill up with a lot of people who were decidedly not like me.
My 15.5 hour flight to Guangzhou was marked by a monitor that didn't work in front of me, an aisle seat next to the bathroom, and a nice European photographer who was the only other person in my row. An interesting cultural difference on the plane was the blatant disregard for the directions to stay seated during certain points in the flight. It seemed as though the seat belt sign and announcements from the captain were merely suggestions. The crew, however, were mechanical in their handling of meals and beverages on board. They would appear at the same time between each row and move very quickly, asking in either Chinese or English if you would like the Chinese meal or the beef. I had the Chinese meal each time and I believe the only difference was, along with a roll and some fruit and vegetables, it came with noodles rather than rice.
During the flight I listened to music, took a sleeping pill, listened to music, worried about things I couldn't control, wrote some letters, listened to music, and did a lot of stretching and walking around the cabin.
Upon landing, I filled out my immigration card, and studied the horizon and outline of Guangzhou while we waited to stop taxiing. My heart was pounding as I followed the rest of the passengers through a long covered catwalk to the baggage claim and customs area. I had checked my bags all the way through to Kathmandu, so the backpack I had as carry-on was the only thing I would need to bring around the city with me. I made it through customs and immigration with zero hassle and was soon amazed by the size of the airport terminal. It was extremely clean with what seemed like 4 different floors of shops, gates, restaurants, beauty salons, an apple store (where I would actually purchase a new phone charger for a ridiculous amount of yuan), and a couple of McDonalds. Sadly, this is where my first meal in China occurred. A wonderful sausage muffin with egg and some tea.
This city is absolutely packed. There was one white dude I saw all day. Me- in the mirror.
This actually down a very questionable alley.
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