Travel Partner Mary -- Temple of Heaven -- Beijing
Travel Partner Mary -- Temple of Heaven -- Beijing
I left Minneapolis at 11:30 on a Northwest DC10, the flight was full. On arrival at LAX I took shuttle to Airport Hilton and checked in for 1 day. I meet Bruce my roommate for the first part of my trip. Later we went for short walk into the concrete jungle of Los Angeles on the Airport road. We ran into a couple of people with sob stories trying to get money from us. It appears that by hanging out at gas stations close to the airport they can fleece money from people trying to gas their rental cars. The smog was very bad that day. That evening we went to Santa Monica and Madam Wu's restaurant. There I meet 2 more of the people that will start out on this trip. Starting this trip is me Steve from Minnesota, Bruce from Minnesota who works for the travel company. Harriet from California also with the travel agency, and Mary also from California. So we will start with 2 Norwegian guys from Minnesota and 2 Asian ladies from California This trip was arranged via Tri-Crown Vacations out of Los Angeles. Getting back to Madam Wu's restaurant, we had a wonderful Chinese dinner.
After buffet breakfast at the hotel we took the shuttle to Lax and we checked in at ANA counter. Harriet got us passes to the ANA VIP lounge. There we rested and awaited our flight, the lounge was very nice. The ANA folks escorted us to the plane about 10 Min. before boarding ended. Our plane was a 747-400 and we took off at 1:30 PM. One thing interesting about plane is that they mount a camera on the front wheels that allowed us to view take-off. We had a full load of passengers. Our flight took us along the coast to Oregon and then in an arc over Kodiac island in Alaska on our way to Japan. Our flight information was displayed on the video screens, this flight takes 10.5 hours. They provided us a meal about an hour after take off and another about 1.5 hours before landing. We watched the movie "IQ" in flight. The stewardess were nicely attired and were very helpful. The sun was up the whole time. When we approached Narita Japan for landing they turned on a camera that looked straight down which I remarked reminded me of a bombing run, my friends subjected that I keep quiet for now. We landed at Narita Airport and made our way through customs and Immigration. We then boarded an shuttle bus to the ANA airport hotel. Our luggage had been checked through to Beijing from LAX. After checking in to the hotel we meet in the lobby at 7:15 PM. Being this was my first time in Japan I had expressed interest into taking a train into Tokyo. I figured the best way of doing this was to go directly from the Airport to downtown, with arrival at 4:45 I could be downtown shortly after 6 PM. However Harriet was willing to escort us downtown after stopping at the hotel. So after we meet at the lobby we took the shuttle bus from the hotel to JR station in Narita. We obtained tickets on the Rapid train to downtown. By the time we got there it was about 9 PM. We made our way to the Imperial Palace Hotel and meet with several of Harriet's friends. One lady offered to drive us around the Ginza which we really appreciated. Later we returned and had something to eat at the hotel. We than returned to the JR Tokyo station and took the train back to Narita at about 10:15 the train was very full and when we reached one station I was hoping some people would get off, however nobody got off and about a dozen people crammed their way on to the train, I felt like a sardine. This was the late night salary man rush hour. I had one drunk Japanese man try and talk to me on the train, later a young college student talked to us. At Narita we had to take a cab to the ANA hotel, it cost about $25. Everything is expensive here We made it back to the hotel at midnight. We were all very tired it had been a long day.
Because we had crossed the international dateline it is Friday already. After buffet breakfast we check out of the hotel. We were provided these rooms by the airline because of the layover. I really liked the ANA hotel, the rooms were small and efficient, very clean, it had everything I needed. All I need is a place to crash, I don't need anything fancy. We catch the bus at 8:35 for the airport, we stop at the entrance to the airport for a security check. We had checked in at a counter at the hotel for boarding passes and airport tax so we went to the VIP lounge that Harriet had gotten passes to. The lounge is very nice, they provided drinks and snacks for us. The airport it's self is very modern and efficient. We boarded flight #905 for Beijing, takeoff at 10:00 on a 747-400 we arrive at 1:40 and proceed through health check, passport control, and customs. The airport is an old soviet style airport, a large concrete and glass structure not a friendly place at all. CITIC is there waiting for us and they get 2 cabs to take us to the hotel. It is very hot on our arrival, temperature about 95F. We take a toll road to Beijing and when reaching the outskirts we take a beltline freeway around the outside of the city to our hotel the Hotel Beijing-Toronto Me and Bruce check into room 1159. I see they want 30 yen for a coke in the mini bar (about $4) so I went outside to the back alley where all kinds of small shops are set up for the Chinese to purchase foods, I bought a litter of coke for 7 yen or not quite $1. The official exchange rate is 1USD=8.28 Yen. Everything is transported via bicycle here including refrigerator, live carp, coal, and I even saw a load of wet cement on a 3 wheel bike. At 5:40 we take a cab ride to the CITIC chocolate building for dinner on the 24 floor Windows of the World restaurant. There we attended a business dinner, Harriet and Bruce had made this trip to talk business with the CITIC people, me and Mary were just tagging along. I found the meeting interesting however in understanding business is conducted in Asia. Business is conducted based on personal relationships between the parties, our Chinese hosts had there spouses there, this is normal expected role. Since Tri-Crown was paying for the dinner it is expected of the CITIC people to provide gifts to there hosts, they even gave me a pair of very nice pillow cases. The food is very good but there is way too much for me to eat. After 2.5 hours I was full and we returned to the hotel.
Marble Boat at Summer Palace -- Beijing
Beijing: Is a large city of over 10 million people and 7 million bicycles spread over a large area, it has many wide boulevards, a freeway system. There is quite a bit of construction going on and traffic is heavy most of the time. There is quite a bit of pollution in the city caused a lot by coal usage. Our hotel is a 4 star hotel and is nice and conveniently located about 2 miles east of Tian'anmen Square. They feature either American or Chinese breakfast. After breakfast we board a car to the Summer palace. Because we are a small group we will take cars everywhere on the whole trip. On the way we pass many carts pulled by horses and man power. Once there I purchase an English version of "Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung" for $1. After entering the grounds we go through many gates and halls as we go around the Kunming lake. We then climb longevity hill going through more gates and pavilion. The view from the top is very beautiful with many boats on the lake. We than visited the marble boat. There are a lot of Chinese at the park today, The government has recently changed the work week from 5.5 days to just 5 so now the people have more leisure time. Next we drove to the center of town through Tian'anmen Square and to the Temple of Heaven.
Hall of imperial Vault -- Temple of Heaven
We walked through the large grounds of the park which includes many temples. The Emperor's would go to these temples to pray for good harvest After stopping for lunch close by we proceeded to the Forbidden City where we walked trough the complex, it is very impressive. We then visited the Imperial Gardens known as Beihai Park. We asked Harriet if we could go back to Tian'anmen Square and walked around a bit. At the square we could see that the Chinese were keeping a
Tianamen SQ -- Beijing
close eye on security there, they had lots of security cameras there. We were scheduled to go there on the 4th but when we mentioned the anniversary Harriet got concerned and changed the schedule, we had heard that square may be closed on the 4th also. The square is very large and there were some Chinese as well as foreign tourist there. We return to hotel where Bruce has another business meeting with CITIC. At 5:30 we go to another CITIC building known as the "Milk" building for another business dinner with another CITIC business man and his wife. This building has a lot of security and a company restaurant where we will have a "Fire Pot" dinner. This gentleman is more a lower level employee than the night before so Bruce is able to talk at a more practical level on a joint venture deal. Because CITIC is buying dinner Bruce brings gifts to our hosts. Evidently they desire practical gifts such as small kitchen appliances. Again there is way too much for me to eat, the food is great it's just having a large breakfast and large lunch I am not ready for a large dinner. We return to the hotel late.
Today is the anniversary at Tian'amen Square but everything is quiet. After having Buffet breakfast Steve, Bruce, and Mary head for the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall. Harriet is leaving us today but we have a guide for the day "Christine" This will be standard the through out the trip to have a guide, a driver, for the whole day. We drive out to the Ming Tomb's which is north of the city about 40 miles. Only 1 tomb has been restored, it is very deep, many flights of stairs. This tomb was designed to be closed from the inside which was common. Several coffins were there including the emperor and several wives and some containing processions. After leaving the Tombs we to go to the Great Wall Mary asked about the Stone Statues that guard the entry way to the Tombs Christine said we could stop there. I am glad they did, there are many stone statues of animals. These are thousand of years old and yet people are allowed to climb all over them. We than proceeded to a restaurant on the crossroads between the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall, needless to say they have a lot of tourist business. The lunch was fine with me but Mary did not think so A typical Chinese meal that we are served consists of between 5-7 small dishes which we share (reminds me of Norwegian smorgasbord) and a bowl of rice or maybe noodles. We were overfeed but It does no good to ask for less. Part of the deal is that the driver and the guide eat for free usually in a back room with simper food, so usually we got too much and they get too little. While waiting for our driver I bought a large wall fan for $25 that I will cuss at the next 2weeks because I have to hand carry this thing everywhere. We than stopped at Friendship store. It was quite a large store and the prices were much better than in the hotel shops, the quality was quite good also. Sometimes you could find better prices on the street but usually the quality was not as good. what really stood out was the customer service, the store was over staffed as all stores in china are, they had all the clerks in lavender uniforms and they all spoke English. These ladies were able to help you anytime you needed help but left you alone if you were just looking, I was very impressed. I bought quite a bit there including a vase and a silk robe. I decided to wait till Wuxi to by more silk but the prices or selection were not better.
Great Wall of China at Badaling -- Near Beijing
We next drove to the Great Wall. We got tickets and climbed the wall, it was quite hot and the Wall is very steep in places. We were directed to the South Side by the police, the north side was already full. In some places you can see that the wall has deteriorated after 2000 years. The Wall is very impressive and beautiful there were a few souvenir hawkers who were annoying, they would not take no for an answer. After climbing the steepest stairs I have every climbed we reached the high tower where they were selling certificates and laminating them there. We turned around and headed back, it was much easier. The Great Wall is one of those places you will remember forever. We returned to the hotel. We did not have any planned place for dinner so we decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe we had seen on the road, Bruce wanted some "normal food anyway". A lady cab driver took us about 2 miles I am glad we went it is a fantastic place with memorabilia from all over ,many records, many guitars. They were playing music video's from Glenn Frey and Phil Collins on a large screen. I had a hamburger, fries and a coke for $8 and I bought a tee shirt for about $10. On the ceiling they had this great mural showing the Beetles playing on the Great Wall, and Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard hanging out at the Forbidden city with Jimi Hendrix jamming in Tian'anmen Square by Mao. I think Mao Tse-tung would roll over in his grave if he saw this. Later I went upstairs and checked out the collection in the balcony, believe me this place is awesome. We returned to the hotel.
We sleep late this morning and have breakfast, later we pack. I go down to the next street and check out the bazaar on the next street, after that I take a peddle cab to McDonnell's where I pick up lunch. I than walk back to hotel We check out of Hotel and head for airport. Harriet has already left us and now Bruce flies back to Minnesota now. It is just me and Mary for the rest of the trip. It is strange that they put on the trip for 2 people but because of the business meeting I guess they decided to continue anyway. From now on we will meet an CITIC person at each city we go to and they will get us to the airport/train station when we leave. So today we said good by to Bruce and we headed for Xian vi Air China on a 767. We arrive about 3 hours later in Xian. and Ms Lee our guide is their to meet us. The airport is about 50km from the city so it is a long drive to town. We can see the farmer caring for or there crops, they grow mostly wheat and corn here. We also see tombs on the way into town, the town it's self is surrounded by a wall. We go to hotel Shangri-La Golden Flower, after checking in we go to restaurant. We tell the guide that our schedule shows a dinner and theater and our guide says OK with theater but not dinner there, we decide to have normal dinner and contact CITIC about dinner and theater the next night. Well the took up to a run down Korean restaurant where the food was not up to standard at all, we return to hotel.
Wild Goose Pagoda -- Xian
Xian is a city of about 5 million, it is very crowded at the traffic is very bad the air is very polluted and there are people outside to hotel who try to hustle you to but things. This is my least favorite city in china. The hotel it's self is 5 Star. Our guide is a young gal who is knowable and helpful however she try's to get by as cheaply as possible which may not be her fault. This morning we get up and have buffet breakfast, after that we fax Beijing with our itinerary to resolve the dinner/theater issue we also put down about the poor food from the pervious day, out guide say's she would loose her job if we send that so we don't. With a late start we go out of town about 35km to where the Terra-cotta warriors are. These remains are incredible they are over 2200 years old. We see in pit #1 over 6,000 clay worriers, they say there are over 24,000 total. They soldier are to protect the emperor tomb. The emperor was only 22 he started construction of the warrior until he died at 58. There are several kinds of statues including crossbowman, charioteer, generals, also horses. These remains were found in 1974 and were soon put under protection of the state. After lunch we stop at a pottery factory were they make clay figurines. Amassing that all of these factories seem to have a store attached. I bought a figuring there. after lunch we stop at the Bampo Museum. This is a Village over 6,000 years old. Next we drive into town and the Wild Goose Pagoda, where we also visited a Buddhist temple. Mary bought a rug at a store there, it seams that our guides keep track of what we pay and the travel agency in each city expects at kick back, At many stores they actually keep a receipt showing what was spent for the travel agency. Being that we are only 2 people we get a chance to talk to our guide and ask questions. Our guide wanted to know about Americans, If they sent a lot on food, if they rode bicycles, and if we exercise. We told her yes we spend lots for food and do not ride bicycles much and we then we allocate time and spend lots of money on exercise. She found this strange as Chinese culture is based on harmony, balance, and moderation. The traffic is terrible, there are so many bicycles which I think make better time than cars, they don't peddle fast, they just keep a steady pace. They don't seam to panic at all. I find this difficult it look's like total chaos with everyone going in different directions and horns blowing. But there must be some logic to it Pedestrians are on the bottom of all this however so if a taxi needs to turn it just turns and blows the horn until they make way for the car. We returned to the hotel and we got to OK to go to the dinner / dance, It was well worth our trouble the "Tang Dynasty" dance company was excellent along with the meal. We return to the Shangri-La Golden Flower hotel.
We get up at 5AM and have a great breakfast and then off to the airport we go. Our flight is to Shanghai because there are no direct flights to Nanjing. Our flight is on China NW airlines and is scheduled to leave at 8:15 AM. The open the boarding gate at 7:45 and we all get on and they push from the gate at 7:55 and we are airborne by 8:00 AM, the pilot must have been in a hurry, this is the first time I have seen a plane leave early and take off directly from boarding, lets see Northwest airline meet this on time, we are on an Airbus so I suppose the pilot pushed the button and away we went. We arrive 20 Min. early and found no one there to pick us up, after about 40 in Mary called and they told us to take a taxi to an hotel. It seams no one was expecting us, someone dropped the ball in Beijing on this. So we gathered up our belonging and head for the taxi stand. when we got there this guy asked do you need a taxi and we said yes, next thing we know we are on the side and no cab, he then takes us upstairs and tells us 100 Yuan to the hotel. We get into a cab and he wants to be paid, there is something wrong here we get out. We than head back to the taxi stand, this is a scam. We catch another cab and they charge via meter which ended up 19.5 Yuan, well this con-artist almost shanghai us there. At the hotel we meet Benjamin who takes us to lunch, we were not hungry, we had saved the meal from the plane and our paper showed no meal we were hoping to easy up on food, but to no avail. After lunch we caught a cab to the train station were we wait outside while he gets us soft seat tickets. This was not good, we had all of our luggage and beggars bothering us. I just yelled out Nyet to chase then off. Finally Benjamin came back with tickets and we go inside the station. The station is a huge place with all signs in Chinese. We make it to the correct waiting room which is packed with all sorts of people. When they call for boarding its a mad rush to get on board with people cutting in line and pushing, we are trying to carry our own baggage so it gets pretty hectic. We finally make it to car 10 where we leave the station at 1:38 PM. The train is smooth and we travel at about 40-50 mph. We pass many fields with families working their crops, we see many rice paddies. After about 5 hours we arrive in Nanjing and Wendy is there to greet us. Wendy has very good English and is cute also. She takes us to the Jingling hotel another 5 star hotel, very very nice. At 7 PM we go to dinner, we are not hungry but we go anyway, if for no other reason than so our guide and driver can eat our car is and Audi 600 made in Nanjing. When we get to the restaurant the place is black, the whole place is out of power including the adjacent hotel. Our guide takes us somewhere else. Our guide and driver eat at the table next to us and they have the same food, usually this is not the case. We return to the hotel, our driver rarely uses his horn and actually waits for people! I had a hot bath, this has been a long day.
Mig15 Trainer in Nanjing Park
Nanjing is my favorite city in china, it has a population of 5 million. It is an ancient capitol of china, it has many tree line boulevards and traffic is much calmer than other cities. Our Hotel is a 5 star hotel and is very nice. Just about every hotel we stay in has CNN International to watch. We had another splendid breakfast this morning before we leave at 8:30. We are going to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleums, the first president of china who united the country in 1911. The Mausoleums is built against the purple mountains and is very nice. There are many Japanese there, they are also taken to a holocaust museum that depicts the 1937 "rape of Nanjing" were 300,000 people we massacred by invading Japanese's. After the Mausoleums we went to the statue road entry way to the Ming Tombs. We next went to the Yangze river bridge which was constructed in the 60's Without Soviet help. Time for lunch, this time we get noodles and smoked fish. Our next stop is the city wall which is intact in some places and destroyed in others. Wendy our guide tells us about 1 child families and how this makes the child a little emperor. We next go to Xuanwu lake and the Zoo, unfortunately there is no Panda. We stop at a fresh water cultured pearl shop, Mary buys a pink necklace. On the way back I stop at a Mig 15 in the park and have picture taken. Mary makes a stop at Nanjing University, I go to hotel and visit a department store across the street and buy a couple of shirts. I also find a record shop where I am looking for a CD of classical Chinese music. Unfortunately most of what they have is all western R&R, I played a few Chinese CD's and picked an butterfly one.
We get up at 6:30 for breakfast and leave for train station at 7:20 and we leave for Wuxi at 8:30 again on Softseat. There are several steam engines pulling cars in the yard. The train attendants sell's surplus softseat to people in hardseat. Billy meets us at Wuxi and takes us to Wuxi Grand Hotel, next we go to the Milido hotel for lunch. In the afternoon we visit Wuxi #1 silk factory and we see how they tale the cocoon and make silk thread from it. The factory workers appear very happy there. There is also a store here, I buy a few items. The selection and prices are nothing special. We next stop at a clay figures factory which in reality is a place where master craftsman and apprentice practice there trade. There are many fine art works here and of course the is a store. Mary wants a tee pot and the only one she likes is the one they are using so she bargains and buys it. We next stop at the Zhanyuan Gardens for a peaceful stop. After stopping at the hotel we go to the Milido hotel for dinner again this time the dinner includes a fashion show. Billy our guide has a clothing business and is very interested in the show. It is really and entertainment show in that the girls dance some. I am told the most beautiful women in china are from Nanjing, these ladies are about 18-19 and are taller and more shapely than the average lady.
Grand Canal in Wuxi
Wuxi is the smallest city on our tour. It is not crowded and more peaceful than most other cities. It is a resort area for the Chinese to vacation at. Our hotel is 4 star and is located in the center of town. After buffet breakfast we stop at a factory where they display the evolution of the silk worm, and stop at the store. Next we stop at another garden then we have lunch. We next go lake Taihu and take a dragon boat for a 2 hour cruise. Afterwards we go and visit the Grand canal and old town. The canal is full of junks hauling all sorts of thinks, Many times many of these barges go to the Yangtze river where the cargo is loaded onto larger ships. The grand canal is over 1200 miles long and it took 10 million people several years to build in the old town we visit the food market, I really stand out here and draw attention because I am not Chinese. We have dinner tonight at the Milido hotel again. This time Billy and the driver eats with us at a ringside table. Billy takes many pictures of the fashion show they have this evening.
We leave our hotel at 9:30 for the train station. Out train leaves at 10:50 for Shanghai. At 12:30 we arrive in Shanghai Benjamin and a trainee are there to greet us. We take a taxi to hotel Jianguo and check in. We go to lunch, our trainee is a young lady 19 years old and she thinks I have the prettiest blue eyes. After lunch we visit the Jade Buddha Temple. There are many people visiting and many monks chanting. Next we go to old town and look at antiques. After that we go to restaurant for dinner at 5:30, we just ate lunch at 2:30, this is too much we always explain to our guide that we like to eat light but it does no good. After dinner we return to the hotel. Our hotel is only a few blocks from a 6 department store complex so I go down and look around this evening. Anything you could want is here, except for a lavender silk shirt which I look for in vain.
Yuyuan Garden Zigzag Bridge -- Shanghai
At 9:30 Benjamin and a trainee is there to escort us. In Shanghai we do not have a car for the day, there is no where to park, we just take a different cab where ever we go. Today we go to the Yaun gardens first, it is very nice with lots of gold fish. We are in the middle of Shanghai but you would not know it. After lunch we drive through the Bund the old European area of the city. Next we stop at Nanjing road which is full of stores, we walk along and shop at different stores, I am still looking for my shirt and bamboo seat covers. When you buy something at the stores they will write up a slip and you take it to a cashier, they seem to add everything up on a abacus and then they punch the numbers into a calculator to show you the amount, kind of strange. I found the bamboo and Mary found what she was looking for, because we were only 2 people we could do this, you could not do this with a group. We wanted to go to a museum but it was closed, we stopped at SBC building Shanghai Broadcasting Company and rested. Well they tell us it is time for dinner so we go to Restaurant. It gets dark very early in china, they do not have daylight savings time so by 7 PM it is getting dark. We drive down Nanjing road and look at the neon lights. On our way back to the hotel our driver gets stopped by a policeman for an illegal right turn, this seemed very trivial to us due to all the flagrant driving habits we have seen. Our driver got a ticket, it was interesting because he held a fistful of money in one hand while he got the ticket. Either we have an honest policeman or we were watching. The taxi driver tells us that he works 20 hours a day. When we finally get to the hotel, Benjamin discovers his bicycle is stolen, this appears to be fairly common.
After breakfast we leave for the airport at 9:30 AM. Traffic is bad as usual, We arrive at airport at 10:45 AM. We have to pay a 90 Yuan exit tax. We tip our guide Benjamin for all the help, we tipped all of our guides and drivers. I say good by to Mary as she is going to Narita Japan on the way back to the United States and I am continuing on to Hong Kong. My flight leaves at 12:30 Mary is stuck until about 3 PM. My flight is on Dragon Air Airbus 330. It is 2hour flight to Hong Kong. The approach into Hong Kong is spectacular and the airport its self is very crowded, we park out in the open and they have busses take us to the terminal. After going through Immigration I go down to where they have the Hotel Shuttle which in my case turns out to be a Mercedes Benz Limo. I am staying at the Omni Hong Kong hotel which is a 5 star hotel but too fancy for my taste. I go out looking to cash a travelers check but they want an $8 fee so instead I withdraw money from an ATM machine. I bought some pop at a 7/11 store after seeing that they want $8 for pop in the minibar at the hotel. I am to meet a Mr. Chau for dinner but first I go shopping and find the Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood for more tee-shirts. At 5 PM I meet Mr. Chau and we go to dinner at the Peking restaurant. Later I go out and by a razor, I don't think the prices are any bargain.
View of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak
Hong Kong is a magnificent city and it's great to back in civilization again. It has the highest population density in the world with aprx 200,000 per sq mile. This morning I have buffet breakfast, My papers show breakfast is included but the hotel says no, at $190 USD per day it should be! Mr. Chau says he will fix. At 7:45 I am picked up for a city tour, It takes until 9:30 before we got everybody from all the different hotels. We first go to Victoria Peak, the view is stunning. We next drove to Stanley and we spend 40 Min. shopping. We continue on to Aberdeen where we take a sampan boat trip into the harbor. We pass Jumbo the floating restaurant. They then returned everyone to their hotel. At 3:30 I take the Star Ferry to Hong Kong island and I walk 6 blocks to the Shun Tak Center to meet my friend Benny in the AT&T office on the 35 floor. After work we go to the 66 Revolution restaurant on the 62 floor of a office building, the restaurant rotates once every 66 minutes. After a fine meal I took the subway back to the Kowloon side and my hotel.
Hong Kong Harbor from Kowoon side
This morning I decide to go to McDonald's for breakfast it cost $2.50 instead of $16 at the hotel. I then pack, I can just barely pack into 1 suitcase. I went for a short walk and came back all sweaty after 10 Min., it is very hot and humid today. I find out that all the museums are still closed so I end up watching Larry King and the air force officer from Bosnia and then the NBA final game on ESPN. At 12:00 I check out and take the Airbus to the airport for $1.50 instead of $25 for the Limo. You can tell I don't care for all this fancy stuff. At the airport I find out that my bag is overweight so I move some books to my day bag. I am flying ANA again and my bag is checked into LAX. It is a 5 hour flight and I leave at 3:05 on 747-400 about half full. After landing in Narita I go through Immigration and Customs and then take the shuttle bus to the ANA airport hotel.
This will be the longest day of my life. My plan for today is to go into the town of Narita and tour the city before leaving at 6 PM. After a good breakfast I check in and get my boarding pass. I talk to hotel clerk and I can stay in my room until 3 PM which is very helpful, This is one of my favorite hotels they have nice, clean, simple rooms and no hassle. At 8:35 I took the shuttle bus to the town of Narita. It cost 310 Yen to get to the JR Station. From there I walked to the Shinshoji Shrine a Buddhist temple which is a popular tourist spot for the Japanese. It is a very lovely temple and there are many monks in training there. After the shrine I walked through town and some neighbor hoods. It is a very pleasant and clean city. I did manage to buy some last min. gifts, I tried buying Classical Japanese music but again they mostly had American pop music, they found a cassette tape for $35 but I wont buy that. I finally found a CD for 960 Yen. Another thing I wanted was a tee-shirt and all they had was rock stars and California tee-shirts. You would think that they could be creative and have "I survived the gas " shirts or something I finally found a store where the had tee-shirts and other gifts I wanted. I took the shuttle bus back to the hotel and then checked out and then took the ANA shuttle to the airport. They stop you and the gate and check your ID. I had gotten to the airport 2.5 hours before departure and as things were I made it through everything right away so I had to wait 2 hours. Finally at 5:15 we board and we take off at 6 PM. Shortly after takeoff we had dinner. About 2.5 hours after takeoff I head a heavy thump and look up. It was an elderly lady who fell face first in the isle when she was walking for the lavatory. This was right I front of me so I was of course interested in what was going to happen. None of the stewardess seamed to want to take charge or know what to do. A lady in the next row who I believe to be a nurse took charge and moved the lady by the wing door where she could lay down. They got some ice packs and eye drops for her. There were no airports to stop at they could have only returned, which I am sure they did not want to do. The stewardess are very pretty and helpful but I wonder about there ability in an emergency and since they weigh less than 100 LB could they physically carry or drag someone in an emergency? We continued on to LA after eventually having the lady return to her seat. We watched the movie Nell and then I listened to Glenn Frie on the head phones. It takes 9 hours to reach LAX and we have breakfast about 1 hour before landing. After landing I go to immigrations, what a mess the lines are very long, I find a US citizen line and make it through. After that I haul my bags to customs and since I declared $384 I go through the nothing to declare line. The adventure in LAX continues I have to drag my bags to the next terminal to NW airlines. After I get my boarding pass I have about another 1.5 hours to wait. It is a full flight to Minneapolis. My sister is there to pick me up at 8:15 PM and I am home by 9 PM. I tell here that I left Tokyo at 2 AM CDT and that I have been up since 2 PM CDT the previous day, it really has been a long day. A week later I am still trying to adjust to the time change. This has been another of my wild trips.
steven_t_engelhardt