Leavin' on a jet plane

September 11, 2007

We are Hong Kong! We arrived last night about 7pm (7am EST) and were able to get our bags and through customs and to the hotel (in the airport) without a hitch. Although we had planned to head back out to see the city after taking our bags to the hotel, the bed was calling my name…and I was out before 8pm! Andrew was asleep right after me, with Wade, who slept more on the plane, a few hours later. We have been up since the wee hours, but it is a luxurious room and has a beautiful view so it has been easy to “rest” and lounge as we wait for the rest of the city to wake up. We fly to Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province after lunch. We’ll stay there for the rest of our trip. We are going to head out soon and get some breakfast and a quick overview of Hong Kong.

Our trip was long (which was a given) but actually eventful as it was a full flight and one traveler had overdosed on Ambien or a combination of too many little airline bottles with some sleep aid. He was boisterous and falling down in the aisles (and crawled next to Andrew) and made quite a ruckus. Doctors were paged and the man was sedated and tied, and then basically babysat by the poor flight attendants for the rest of the trip. When we landed in Hong Kong, we had to wait for Chinese authorities to come on the plane and remove him. Sad that this was part of our in flight entertainment but it was…
(Wade here…) When we say the flight was full, we mean full. In fact, unbeknownst to us (great word that), the airline (Continental…don’t get me started), had changed our seats two days before our flight. So instead of being three together on one side (seats j, k, l), we were scattered at random throughout the cabin. Although, not that random, as we were all in middle seats. I spoke with everyone in a Continental uniform I could find at Reagan National, the gate at Newark, and in the mis-named “customer service center” at the Newark airport. They were, without exception, surly and primed for a fight. I was not even my usual “angry consumer”, but polite. I don’t get it. In any event, eventually, they moved one person and we had two together (middle and aisle in a row without a window…go figure). I asked Andrew which of us he wanted to sit next to. The loveable lunk said “Hey, you two sit together. It’s my anniversary present.” What a great kid!

Andrew is so excited! He has been up since 4, showered (and wearing a nice plush robe provided here). He is such a great little traveler. He has been a huge help and a joy to be with. I wish Mac and Patch could be here, too!
Dawn is just breaking over the high rises and Mari is heading into the shower. I hope that the White Swan is as nice as this hotel. I’ve got to hand it to the BOCITS travel folks (the Chinese travel agency we had to use to arrange our travels for the adoption. Our room was waiting, all paid for (although I’d like to be able to thank them for paying for it…but alas). Housekeeping even wheeled in an extra bed for Andrew within 5 minutes of our arrival. Our tickets for our flight to Guangzhou were in an envelope at the concierge desk. If the rest of the “process” goes this smoothly we are going to be very grateful. Andrew is getting anxious to hit the road. We’ll get organized and out the door. More from Liam’s province later! MCT