Thursday,
August 5, 2010
DAZED AND CONFUSED!
I think that
sums up how you feel after you have flown for close to
20 hrs. on top of not sleeping for a few days! After
arriving at
JFK we had a few hrs. to eat lunch, put on our travel
compression socks and enjoy some last few mins. of
relaxation before we geared up for our next flight!!! We
felt like we were handing into battle with all our gear! We
were already exhausted and could not fathom how we would
feel 16 hrs. later! We flew
Cathay Pacific to
Hong Kong. The Asian airline was wonderful. It was a
huge plane and very modern. One of the best features of the
plane was the TV screens in front of every seat. You could
watch tv shows, movies, read books, etc. Todd watched movies
and my eyes were glued to the flight tracker. At first it
seemed pretty cool to be able to see where we were going.
But when you realize you are at 33,000 ft. going over the
Arctic Sea your nerves can hit an all new high (at least for
me!) I knew there was no sleep in sight for me on this
flight and the turbulence did not help matters! Of course I
kept thinking about how Todd heard this story about the
different altitudes the plane has to be at so the fuel does
not freeze. Again, not something I needed to hear before we
left! As we began to approach
Russia
it felt like we had been on a rocket jet and gone to the
moon. We seriously felt a world away and then the
flight tracker
said 9 more hrs. to your destination..aghh really?!!! The
flight tracker labeled the upcoming major cities or towns
and nothing was anything I have ever heard of it. When you
are so dazed you begin to think about some odd things and
It brought me back to the play "Fiddler
on the Roof" where one of the oldest daughters gets
sent off to a very far away village with her husband. Todd
and I decided to just rest and try not to sleep thinking
that it would put us on schedule with the time change when
we hit HK. It ended up being a very good idea. We finally
landed in Hong Kong at 6:30 pm. We breathed a sigh of relief
to finally be somewhere and made our way off the plane and
into the largest airport we have ever seen. We had no guide
in HK so it was up to us to find our way around. We began to
follow the crowds and then a temperature check. Yes they
check your temperature with a red laser light. If you have a
fever they will quarantine you as swine flu is still a
concern here. It was like being stuck in a maze at that
airport. You have to go up and down through elevators,
escalators, and then a train. We were so exhausted and could
not even remember our names or where we had to go next. I
just kept saying we really have to get on another plane
tomorrow? ! You have to be kidding me! Our luggage was
delayed due to the severe lighting. We asked the man
handling the luggage lines when we should expect our luggage
and he said we need to ask God...ha! Well they seem to have
a sense of humor here. There was a sense of excitement at
the airport and the vibe of HK is very much like NYC. There
are a ton of young people and everyone is dressed very
nice. After an hr. we got our bags and made our way to the
Marriott shuttle. We got on the shuttle which barley fit us
and our bags! The Marriott SkyCity was beautiful and the
mountains in the background just really
made you feel
like you had landed in paradise. All of the hotels and the
cars play this light Asian music which just relaxes you
further. We were very happy to finally be there and we fell
asleep with in mins. of checking in!
|
Us before boarding
the flight to HK
Here we come
Harper!
8066 Miles on
the flight tracker
Traveling over
the Artic Sea: -61 degrees!
Following the
crowds! |
