So we boarded a plane on December 21st and we landed on December 23rd, thus skipping over December 22 which just so happened to be hubby's birthday. I think he was okay with it being that he was going to Bali for his birthday and for Christmas. On our way to China we did pass the North Pole which was pretty cool.
Actually, when we landed in China for our 7 hour layover we were able to celebrate his birthday with a beer in one of the lounges. I have to say lounge life is pretty nice. The lounge was decorated for Christmas so it was festive. It also had clean bathrooms, free food and big comfy chairs to lounge in. You could even take a shower and get a massage. Just no Facebook. There was free WiFi in the lounge but no access to social sites except SnapChat. Even some news agencies were blocked out, a sign that you were in a democratic state anymore. Our pal, Toby had suggested we get a certain travel credit card for this trip because it not only paid for Global Entry (which we never got to use - thanks government shutdown but it worked out for us when we came home - see later entry) but it also came with a travel credit, a ton of miles and the best, a lounge pass to use all over the world.
When we landed in China or rather, The People's Republic of China as they repeated over and over on the loud speaker, it was 9pm so luckily, we were able to go to the lounge and rest for 3 hours. There is a 3 hour limit on the pass. We used hub's pass. I could have used mine for another 3 hours but we decided to walk around. In walking around we found that they had a Burger King and a McDonald's and even a play area for kids but it was closed (sad face P). The airport was huge and not as crowded as I thought it would be during Christmas time.
Everything was in Chinese and English so it was pretty easy to figure out where you were going. When we first landed and were going through immigration I was nervous as I saw people in military-like uniforms corralling everyone. I had never been to a communist country before and didn't know what to expect. The thing about being American is that you never know how the world is going to treat you when you travel. I remember going to Amsterdam and France 9 years back and people didn't like Americans at the time. I guess hubs and I must look something other than American as we got asked if we were Canadian or Swedish.
In my research for Bali, it did suggest that Americans avoid wearing big branded clothing and said something about men's white socks. But when you are in line for immigration all they look at is your passport. I found out a day after we got home that there was a level 2 travel advisory for China. The advisory was that there was increased risk of China being able to keep Americans in their country just cuz (thanks trade wars). Luckily, we made it through with a few questions and a few eye rolls as I tried to understood one of the guards questions about power packs in our carry-on luggage. After having to send my backpack through twice, we were on our way into the terminal to find the premium lounge. As we walked through the terminal, you could definitely tell 2019 was the year of the pig as there was plenty of pig merchandise to purchase in all the stores. We stopped in several stores but didn't purchase anything, rather we had fun looking at all the various candies and snacks they were selling.
Actually, when we landed in China for our 7 hour layover we were able to celebrate his birthday with a beer in one of the lounges. I have to say lounge life is pretty nice. The lounge was decorated for Christmas so it was festive. It also had clean bathrooms, free food and big comfy chairs to lounge in. You could even take a shower and get a massage. Just no Facebook. There was free WiFi in the lounge but no access to social sites except SnapChat. Even some news agencies were blocked out, a sign that you were in a democratic state anymore. Our pal, Toby had suggested we get a certain travel credit card for this trip because it not only paid for Global Entry (which we never got to use - thanks government shutdown but it worked out for us when we came home - see later entry) but it also came with a travel credit, a ton of miles and the best, a lounge pass to use all over the world.
When we landed in China or rather, The People's Republic of China as they repeated over and over on the loud speaker, it was 9pm so luckily, we were able to go to the lounge and rest for 3 hours. There is a 3 hour limit on the pass. We used hub's pass. I could have used mine for another 3 hours but we decided to walk around. In walking around we found that they had a Burger King and a McDonald's and even a play area for kids but it was closed (sad face P). The airport was huge and not as crowded as I thought it would be during Christmas time.
Everything was in Chinese and English so it was pretty easy to figure out where you were going. When we first landed and were going through immigration I was nervous as I saw people in military-like uniforms corralling everyone. I had never been to a communist country before and didn't know what to expect. The thing about being American is that you never know how the world is going to treat you when you travel. I remember going to Amsterdam and France 9 years back and people didn't like Americans at the time. I guess hubs and I must look something other than American as we got asked if we were Canadian or Swedish.
In my research for Bali, it did suggest that Americans avoid wearing big branded clothing and said something about men's white socks. But when you are in line for immigration all they look at is your passport. I found out a day after we got home that there was a level 2 travel advisory for China. The advisory was that there was increased risk of China being able to keep Americans in their country just cuz (thanks trade wars). Luckily, we made it through with a few questions and a few eye rolls as I tried to understood one of the guards questions about power packs in our carry-on luggage. After having to send my backpack through twice, we were on our way into the terminal to find the premium lounge. As we walked through the terminal, you could definitely tell 2019 was the year of the pig as there was plenty of pig merchandise to purchase in all the stores. We stopped in several stores but didn't purchase anything, rather we had fun looking at all the various candies and snacks they were selling.
My noodles in China! — at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport 広州白雲国際空港.
The lounge was pretty empty during our visit.
Penny’s selections — at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport 広州白雲国際空港.
Dads remaining few hours of his birthday was spent in the lounge. — at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport 広州白雲国際空港.
Free food in the premium lounge!! Now I know why Tony Cheung likes the lounges so much! — at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport 広州白雲国際空港.
They only let u stay in the lounge for 3 hours so when our time was up we got up and got some much needed walking in. Then we found very stiff seats to sit in at the gate
Merry Christmas from China!
We brought a ton of activities to keep P entertained. She liked these puzzles.
The airport in China we stopped at was huge!! The gate in the terminal we were in was gate 160! The airport was very clean and had lots of recycle bins for trash. It also had energy saving features for instance when we looked at an escalator it appeared off but the minute our foot crossed the first step it powered on. There were a ton of advertisements but none for movies. Mostly ads for whiskey and phones. — at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport 広州白雲国際空港.
They had these photo frames for Christmas which said to take photos for Instagram but when we got on the WiFi in the lounge for China it wouldn’t let us access social media
We passed the North Pole on the way to China! Hi Santa!
Brian’s birthday cake was this biscuit that looked like it said America in its packaging.
There was a kids playground in the airport but we came in too late so it was closed but I thought it was cool they had one!
We found the Burger King! The McDonalds didn’t have any Chinese characters after its name though.
Penny did a good job carrying her stuff!
35 hours of traveling!! I’m pooped. I’ve never heard of Southern China Airlines until this trip but I can tell you they have the 3rd largest fleet of planes in the world and they are China’s largest airline and they feed you 500 times. Seriously, I ate 4 meals in 20 hours. Oh, I forgot Diet Coke is Coke Light when ur overseas and if the person didn’t understand you wanted Diet Coke you get Coke Zero. Good flights but long! Penny survived beautifully.
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