Getting To China

Our trip here took about 24 hours from the time we left our house
until we reached our hotel in Beijing. We left Chicago on a 1:00AM
flight. Isabel hadn't slept at all before our flight took off but she
was so good. The flight was as good as an overnight flight can get.
They served us dinner at 2:30AM! We were surprised but felt like we
should eat because we weren't sure when we would get to eat again.
However, around 8:00AM they served us a snack and then later we
received breakfast. The meals were large too and everyone on the
flight was really nice and accommodating! Isabel slept about 5 hours
on the plane and Richard and I did what we could to get some rest. We
were definitely tired after the first leg of our journey which took us
to Seoul, Korea.

We reached Seoul a little after 5:00AM local time which is about 15
hours ahead of the Central Time Zone we are used to. We had a 4 hour
layover in Seoul. The airport is really nice and new. We walked around
a bit and grabbed some snacks and as soon as we sat down, Isabel fell
right asleep. Richard was suffering from a head cold and
unfortunately, the medicine we were using was making him drowsy. We
got on the next flight which would be to Beijing. It was a huge plane
and had lots of room and we were wishing we had been on that plane
when we boarded in Chicago. This flight was only a couple hours but
they served us a huge lunch. Richard and I were saying that we would
never get that on a short flight in the US! The flight attendants also
come around with tea and coffee. It was so nice.

While on the plane we needed to fill out a health inspection report
and I was really nervous about it because Richard had a cold and I was
getting over one. I did not want to be put in isolation and although
we didn't have a fever, I still couldn't help being anxious. When we
landed and were walking through the airport, I ended up wiping my nose
with a tissue and I think I may have been monitored because not 15
seconds later, someone pointed at me to come into a screened-off area.
I think they tried to make it seem random so the poor guy walking next
to me was summoned as well. They took our temps and then let us go.
Then when we got through the area where our health reports were
reviewed both Richard and I needed to put masks on and have our temps
taken again and we were interviewed about our illnesses. Everyone was
very nice and once it was confirmed that we did not have a fever, we
were let go. I was SO happy! We were so thankful for our journey to
China being smooth and Isabel doing so well without much sleep.

After exiting the airport, we met our guide who would take us to our
hotel. Her name is Cindy and she is so sweet. Our hotel is about 30
minutes from the airport and by the time we reached it, we had been
traveling for 24 hours. We got to our room and then needed to see
about dinner. We went to a local store to get some water and snacks
for the room and then ate pizza. We made ourselves stay up until
5:00PM and then crashed. We ended up sleeping nearly 12 hours! Richard
and I did wake up a couple times in the middle of the night but for
the most part it was a much needed rest. Stay tuned for tomorrow where
we finally meet Nathan!