We are in Beijing!! We made it through the airport just fine, thanks to Omar. We are a group of 29, ranging in age from one teenage girl and all ages up to me (65) and one person who is one year older. Most are from Plymouth Park, but not all. There is a plumber from somewhere near Tyler, a preacher from a church in Winona and two female members of his church. Dr. Tom Dickey (pathologist at my hospital) and his wife, who attend a Methodist church in Irving. Pretty much a motley crew. Our luggage had already been pulled off the carousel by the time we got to the area, thanks to Omar's "yellow tag" system. We all had bright yellow name tags attached to each piece of our luggage, and everyone knows to watch for those tags and nab them when they go by.
One handle on my new blue and white "hand-painted periwinkles" luggage had been broken, but I'm not surprised. It weighs nearly 60 pounds. I packed responsibly with regard to clothes, I truly did, but it is full of snack crackers, bags of nuts, cookies, candy bars, granola bars and such. Why on earth I brought all that stuff, I'll never know. Even if they fed us nothing at all, Eloise and I could never eat all that lot. Next time, I'll know better.
Omar arranged for a bus to take us to our hotel. Originally, we were to make a connection and go directly to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, but Mongolia's Miat Airline had cancelled our flight, so we can't get out of Beijing until tomorrow. Thus, a hotel tonight. We are tired, and secretly grateful. Omar gently convinced Miat that they should pay for it, since we weren't notified of the cancellation until we got to Beijing. He even got them to pay the airport tax that will be charged when we re-enter the airport tomorrow. $75 per person! We board the bus and are on our way, into the unknown mystery that is Beijing's traffic. The weather is very hot and terribly humid, the bus is crowded and there is no a/c. We are tired. We could be excused for being cranky, but no one is. I think we're all still a little giddy from the sheer excitement of it all. Personally, I'm having a wonderful time.
Not only is Beijing hot and humid, but it's shrouded in a thick, dense blanket of smog. It's worse than Dallas ever thought of. It's worse than Mexico City, and I didn't think anything could be worse than that and still boast of life within its borders. Visibility is about two blocks. Arrgh. Anyway, we all crowded into the middle and back of the bus, and our luggage was loaded onto the seats in the front. I expected the rear wheels to leave the ground, but they didn't.
The drive was very short, probably about two miles, but it took at least twenty minutes. How to describe the traffic? Let's see....First of all, we see no speed limit signs. They aren't necessary. Nothing moves at more than 15 to 20 miles an hour, and often we just creep along at idle speed. If a driver has no horn, he has no chance. They all drive with one hand on the wheel and the other on the horn. It's a constant chorus of beeps, up and down the scale, like thousands of little frogs. The narrow streets were never intended for buses, and the buses must share with hundreds of pedestrians, hundreds of bicycles, and of course, hundreds of cars. Everyone ignores all common road rules, right of way is by bluff only. It is survival of the fittest. Eloise wears out her "brake" on the floor beneath her seat. I close my eyes and pray a lot.
We arrive at our hotel safely, and unload the bus. Our male companions, as always, very gallantly help the ladies with the heaviest pieces of luggage. Bless them. The hotel is, in Omar's words, "an old four-star hotel." I would describe it as "shabbily genteel", rather like the old Baker in Dallas, before it was demolished. A bit past its prime, but clean, reasonably convenient, and comfortable enough. My room is cool, once I figured out that the keycard inserted into the proper slot would activate the power for lights and a/c. There is a shower, a clean bed, bottled water and a TV, which gets some American stations. What else does one need? Most of our group are doubled up in rooms, but somehow Eloise and I got private rooms.
A shower and clean clothes had a restorative effect, and Eloise and I met the group for dinner in the hotel dining room. It's now 6 p.m. China time, but 5 a.m. home time. We are tired, but while dinner was a bit generic, it was good, and we enjoyed it. We went back to our rooms, and I was in bed before 9 p.m. Imagine that! The bed was hard, but comfortable enough. One small, smushable pillow (I love it), and my first experience with a duvet. No top sheet, just a duvet. It's light, but warm. I assume the cover is changed and laundered in the same manner as a sheet. At least, I hope so. I never even turned the TV on, and was asleep in seconds.
Here we are in the Beijing airport:
No comments:
Post a Comment