What I Forgot To Take

I forgot to take my No Jet Lag pills that the lady at Benchley luggage store in Fashion Island convinced me would cure jet lag.

I don't know if it would have made a difference but at least there would have been hope.

Marty and I left LAX at midnight on Halloween. First I can say, LAX airport is not a place you want to be on Halloween. And, I think airport officials should not allow airline employees to dress up like pirates and monsters. I mean, really, isn't air travel these days stressful enough!

And I will spare you the details of the "code something alert" in the terminal that had police running past me and telling everyone to freeze. That was really nice. Of course Marty was in the restroom the whole time and missed that little interlude. Turns out it was a false alarm...my life, however, did flash before me during those brief minutes of chaos.

The 15 hour plane ride has further convinced me that man (and woman -especially this woman) was not intended to fly long distances at 35,500 feet in small enclosed spaces powered by loud vibrating engines with no fresh air and very little room to move. The first 8 hours was not awful. The second 7 hours became increasing awful as the time went on. At one point I felt a strong desire to "throw up" -sorry for the indelicacy there. The only thing that kept me from losing my lunch was that I thought the Chinese officials might suspect I have a form of Avian flu and detain me in some airport room for days on end. I did my most powerful form of positive thinking and made it on to the ground.

Oh and did I mention we flew China Southern Airlines. One of the lovely aspects of this airline we have learned is that you don't meet the plane at the gate. You go from the gate down a long flight of stairs--with all of your luggage and then onto a VERY crowded standing room only bus where you are the only the only English speaking patron. Then after driving all over the runway (with planes landing around you before you get to your plane) Going through that charade at midnight at LAX bordered on the surreal. That is when I really thought, "I have to be dreaming this".

As you might have guessed we have arrived in Guangzhou China. It is 1:15 P.M. -we arrived at 6:15 a.m. and were met by Martin Qin from the China Team...he was wonderful and whisked up brilliantly to our hotel.

Upon arrival we asked if we could be upgraded to a suite...Martin worked his magic and got us into a brand new luxury suite--never before occupied! WOW....isn't that too good to be true?

Yep...it is. So in all my exhaustion, nausea and belief that I would never feel normal again I followed my two Martin's to this luxury suite. The hallway was amazing....gorgeous everything brand new and sparkling--befitting The Palace Hotel in New York. Things were looking up. The bellboy walks us into the room and it is amazing--sort of like the Jetsons meets Beverly Hills. One problem however--it smells like a freshly painted formadehyde factory! Even the bellboy asked, "does smell bother you?" Martin our guide decided we wouldn't survive the night in there...so back we went to the front desk and were sent to a spacious, however dated suite with a few problems----but at this point, "I just want a bed!!!"

Here are some photos of the room and a sample of some of our luggage....Marty is now forcing me to go out of the room and eat something --against my will. All I want to do is lay down again--for a few days.