against us bringing a cold front down from Siberia to mix with the
above-seasonably high temperatures in China, leaving most of the
country with 5 metres of visibility and pea soup fog. No complaints,
though - Beijing looks like an ultra-modern Gotham city in the dark.
Very cool.
Not much to say about the flight. As you can suspect, it was long.
Period. And, even longer given we we're in "luxurious" economy plus.
Can you say "3 helpings of Ramen noodles," ladies and gentlemen? I
knew you could.
After a small snafu with cousin Albert's driver dropping us off a the
Jingua Hotel (as opposed to the Jingua Garden Hotel), things went
smootly. We had a lovely dinner out with Albert, his wife Anne, and
cousin Tim who had very kindly met us at the airport (and has leant my
dad an extra mobile phone, an act of kindness which, unfortunately,
seems to be doing more to confuse my father than facilitate group
communications). In any event, the meal was beautifully prepared and
very refined - the Peking duck beautiful, the carp in Schezuan chili
oils very flavorful (and on and on). By the end of the meal, both
Better Half Dave and my fearless dad were noticeably listing to the
side, holding their tummies.
We meet the rest of our group at 8:30 am to go to the Great Wall
(presumably in the rain) and then more food and sightseeing. I am of
the attitude that there are a great number of wondrous things to see
in Beijing, but that is not my priority this trip. Sit me on the
sidewalk all weekend but get me to Nanchang on Sunday night? That's
all I care about. Eyes on the prize, people, eyes on the prize.
-- Laurelle
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