Sorry it has taken so long to get this posted. Life has been a bit crazy, but I've gotten used to that. And, anyone that knows me, should know that I wouldn't know what to do if life seemed normal!
Anyway, we got home on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 at about 9:00 PM. This trip home can easily be called the trip from HELL!! Let me explain....
We had a 4:00 AM wake up call in Guangzhou so that we could be on the bus for the airport by 5:00 AM. Of course, none of us went to bed until midnight, so 4 came by very quickly. We got to the airport after what seemed to be a drive that lasted forever, but was really only about 45 minutes. (Unfortunately, at that time of the day, there is no traffic to keep me entertained. Bummer!)
Upon our arrival at the airport, we were greeted by a pile of luggage that was of epic proportions! Each of the 8 families had 4-10 pieces of luggage which was all piled up together at the curb. We found our luggage and headed for the ticket agent. Thank God for our guide Mable. Once again, she got us all through the ticket counter while the line behind us just kept growing and growing and growing.
We headed to our gate, got on our flight to Hong Kong and found out we had a 5 hour delay in Hong Kong. At this point, that doesn't seem that bad, but after the end of this trip, that 5 hours added a lot of pain!
Let me just tell you that I HATE the Hong Kong airport. I hope that I never have to go back there as long as I live. The place is huge!!! I mean really huge!!! It makes the Chicago airport look like the airport to some town that no one ever travels to and are lucky to have an airport. And, to top it all off there are NO SIGNS telling where anything is in the stupid airport!
We got off the plane and were told to go to the Transfer Desk. The sign pointed left, so we went left. After walking for about 1/4 of a mile, we got to the security check point but no Transfer Desk. I finally got someone who spoke English and they told us to go back the other way!!! So, off we went for a 1 mile hike to the other end of the terminal and the Transfer Desk. (I'm not kidding about the 1 mile hike either.) And, still no other signs anywhere saying this was the way to the Transfer Desk. And, all the while i was carrying my laptop bag, my carry-on and Kieren's diaper bag while Sam had her backpack and Kieren. This left Andy with his backpack, another bag for Kieren, the baby carrier and control of Cullen and his bag.
At the Transfer Desk, we were told that we would not make our connection in Chicago and had to be rebooked. I called my Mom to let her know so she could call everyone else. Can't wait to see that phone bill!!!
Then we headed to our gate. AGAIN, NO SIGNS TELLING YOU WHERE TO FIND THE GATES. I hate this airport!!! Finally, we get a clue and are headed in the right direction to Gate 63. On the way, someone says that there is a Burger King at Gate 21. Well, that was all it took for Cullen. He perked right up and was practically levitating off the ground by the time we got to Gate 63. So, Andy and I headed to BK. I think we walked about 2.5 miles to get there and back. I'm not kidding. At Gate 39, you can' even see Gate 30 at the end of the concourse!!! Needless to say, I ate the entire Whopper with cheese and fries when we got back. I worked it off, I earned it!!!
Cool thing on our walk: We saw an Atlas Air 747-400 being loaded. Yes, I took a picture for Mark. But, it's not like we don't already have pictures of these planes from all of the world!
Then we waited and waited and waited. Finally, they called for loading the plane. Then began the 14.5 hour flight to Chicago on a plane with a busted venitalation system. It was easily 80 degrees in our seats. I couldn't strip down to anything less without getting arrested until we got over the Beiring Strait near Alaska. Finally, the outside air cooled the plane to a reasonable temperature.
We landed in Chicago and had to get through Immigration and Customs with a tired 9 year old, a tired 9 month old and 3 very tired and cranky adults. Immigration was no big deal and besides, Kieren became a US Citizen the minute we were finished in that line!!! Then we had to get all of our checked baggage in addition to our carryons and head to Customs. What at circus!! We must have looked pretty bad, because the Customs official didn't even take a second look at our paperwork. (Thanks to Mark, Ken and Ali for the advice on what to declare and what to tell them was mine to begin with! I was a little worried since I had finished all my Christmas shopping in China.)
Then, we get to wait in another line to go through security for our domestic flight. Poor Cullen, he was so tired and kept bumping into my backpack. I finally, told him he would eat my backpack if he bumped it again!! I am so happy to have my personal space back. I was incredibly tired of being bumped into by other people!
Because Sam was carrying the baby, she was selected for secondary security in another line. I understand that they do this because of what gets smuggled into this country, but they could at least be helpful about it. They made her take Kieren out of the baby carrier, take the carrier off, and went through her backpack. This is fine, but they would not help her get everything back together, nor would they hold Kieren while she fought with the carrier!
Finally off to our last gate for yet another little delay. We got on the plane and sat waiting for a luggage problem to be worked out. At this point, I am just praying for God to please let us get off the ground. I don't care if my luggage is still in Hong Kong. I just want to get home!! I want to see Mark. I want to see my dog. I want to see my house. I want to sleep in my own bed.
We landed in Dayton at about 9:00 PM on December 21st. Remember we left Guangzhou at 5:00 AM on December 21st and crossed the Interanational Date Line. So what is that... over 30 hours for just 1 day!!! I told you the trip from HELL!
I would do it all over again for the reason we went, but I am not looking forward to any flight that lasts over 3 hours for a long time!!