Starting Point

7/30/15

Note to self: do NOT use public transportation in LA to get to the airport. We left the house 2.5 hours before our flight – plenty of time to grab some lunch to go and then park and take the shuttle in from Nick’s work for free. The problem was, the shuttle schedule had been reduced and when we tried to get on the first one that passed, the driver told us we couldn’t get on (a contradiction we still don’t understand) and had to wait for the next one, which didn’t arrive for another 20 minutes. After which we promptly got stuck in lunch hour traffic and made it to the airport 10 minutes before boarding. The folks waiting in line at security were kind enough to let us cut in front of them after Nick explained our time crunch and I was not surprised to hear several women cluck their tongues and say “oh yeah, been there” when they heard me say “public transportation”.

I ended up playing "Where's Nick" in many a Chinese crowd

After the adrenaline rush, I am happy to say, we made our flight with just enough time to spare for Nick to get on board & grab our seats while I went and bought last minute drinks. (Nick: Chai, chai!) China Eastern is a pretty nice airline, I must say. I’ve never really cared about not flying first class but when I walked thru the section with individualized reclining seats with dividers between the seats & the aisle, I was a little envious – especially since the majority of people in these swanky seats were under the age of 10! However, upon finding Nick – which wasn’t hard to do because holy crap he stands out! – he promptly told me that was just business class; we’re not even able to pass through or see into the nirvana that must be first class. (They also had hanging bassinets on the bulk heads before, which was new to me. I would walk past the area and babies would literally just be a sleep, hanging on the wall. Must be nice for the parents not to have to hold them in their laps for hours on end.)

Off we go!

 All of which was of little concern as we settled into our little 2-seater nook for the next 12 hours, savoring our last burrito for the next 14 days (quite a sacrifice living in LA) (Nick Note: There is a total lack of “tacos chinos” in China, to my great disappointment.), watching some pretty bad movies (NN: Hey those Latino boys from McFarland made me shed a tear the way they ran after helping their families in the fields.), playing the addiction that is Bejeweled, and getting my ass kicked by Nick in Tetris >:( (NN: :-P)

Our home for the next 12 hours

Melissa will appreciate this

After a few fitful naps, walking countless laps around the cabin, and spending some quality literary time in Scotland, we could just make out Japan below us! Which was crazy beautiful with a giant volcano rising above the clouds.

Japanese volcano, don't know which one

Flying over Japanese mountains

Flying over Japanese islands

As we descended into Shanghai, I kid you not, I counted 86 container ships headed into port. 86! And that’s just the ones I could see from my tiny window. You definitely get a sense of the commercial and consumer hub that is the East China Sea. (NN: Sadly there are no beaches, it is more like mudflats.)

Container ships

Flying into Shanghai

Shanghai port