Beijing, part 20: Goodbye, China

Time to finish packing. Time to leave China. Time to go back to work.

We needed three more suitcases... Chunyu found a couple old suitcases for us to use. We got everything packed away.

On the way to the airport, we stopped briefly for Chunlin to get a haircut touch-up, for Chunyu to buy us some donkey sandwiches, and back home to get the couple things for Jason that we forgot. Onto the expressway and airport-bound.

Jason was waiting at the airport. Chunlin and I took the luggage in and got our boarding passes, then went back out to sit and drink tea with her brothers.

An hour before the departure time, we headed to the newstand then finally through customs and security to the gate with twenty minutes to spare. Too tight for me.

At the gate was a bus. An empty bus arrived and ours left full. We boarded the plane up the stairs in the sun. The airport was far enough outside Beijing that the air is not too smoggy.







A couple more buses after ours. A few seats empty. The door closes ten or fifteen minutes late.

Wait wait wait in line to take off.

Finally in the air. Zai jian, Beijing. I spotted Pangu Plaza in the haze. Chunlin had the window seat. She spotted the Great Wall. Our seats were over th wing, so it was hard to see down.

The map function on the seatbacks wasn't functioning.

Still over China so it's six p.m. Still sunny on the northwest side of the plane. We closed the blinds because it was too hot, not because of the grumpy sleepers in the middle seats. It was still daytime! Wear an eye mask if you want darkness. I'd suggest earplugs, too...

The sunset turned into a sunrise, Venus disappeared into the haze, the clock changed to Tuesday and back to Monday, and then the San Juans were in sight. Back in the U.S. of A.

Coming in for a *yawn* landing.



Home sweet home. It's kinda cold here...