Leaving Buenos Aires was hard. We loved South America, and we especially loved Argentina, but with cheap delicious asian food on our minds, we were set and ready for phase 2. We had a long haul ahead of us, some 45+ hours to be not quite exact, but with some patience, and more importantly Star Alliance Senator’s Lounge status, we were set and ready to go. After a few free beers in the lounge of course…
126,000 miles traveled in a year will put you in good position for preceding flights. Our first stop on the mile journey was Frankfurt. We had a 6-hour layover, and seriously considered venturing out for a bite to eat and a delicious German brew, but when you’ve got the eats and the brews for free it’s hard to pass up. Scratch down one more point for laziness and free beer. Our six hours were spent lounging, eating pretzels and sausages, and drinking Franziskaner on tap. For free-ninety-nine.
Mmm…Bier.
Another 10 hours on board and we were wheels to the ground in Beijing. This time we had a nine-hour layover and were set on traveling out. Our adventurous enthusiasm far exceeded our level of planning, and after being in the airport for approximately seven minutes we realized that we had already passed through customs and exited no-mans-land, and with the 24-hour China visa only being 1-entry/1-exit, were forced to venture out, if we still wanted to, with our bags in tow. Now let me clarify this did not include our large backpacking bags, but it did include the two small backpacks containing our iPad, laptop, passports, money, snacks, travel clothes, etc., which would have felt much more at home in the Senator’s Lounge locker where they belonged. But with our options being immediately proceed back into the airport and forfeit our brief China experience or voyage out with our belongings, we obviously chose the latter.
This was where our lack of preparation began, but it was not in fact where it ended. We were walking down the long entrance corridor to the Beijing International Airport, awing at the haze, when we felt the rush of cold frigid air. It was maybe 30 degrees fahrenheit, and we were wearing jeans and wind breakers. It was quite miserably cold. We took the 30-45 minute train out from the airport into the city, and from there jumped onto the metro and started in to the heart of Beijing. We got off and walked outside and sure enough it was just as cold as when we started. We lasted about two hours walking around Tiananemen Square, through some souvenir stands and to a ramen store before calling it quits, but we did make it, and while it hopefully won’t be our last China experience, were happy to say we set foot inside “The Middle Kingdom”.
Tiananmen Square.
Made in China.
Bones and flesh hold together. Yum!
Chinese food is so much better in China!
We spent the last three hours of our layover enjoying what little lounge time we had left, took a nap, and were on our final leg of the flight before landing in Cambodiam, ready for our next adventure!
greetings from blank 