China Trip, June 2012

I took a Delta flight from Seattle to Beijing direct on a timeworn Boeing 767; Delta has been using this same airplane for the Seattle to Beijing and back since they opened this direct flight up a couple of years ago. I officially complained the first time I took this flight and out-of-date plane to Beijing; I was surprised they would use a plane with small overhead bins and no personal video at your seat for an 11 hour flight. Since my first complaint I have been on this same plane now approximately 8 times, I am a sucker for punishment! Equipped with my new iPad3, it took some of the suffering away.

This trip I was lucky enough to be upgraded to first class…over booking on Delta’s part. Of course they stated the upgrade was for my loyal business with Delta, I didn’t care how they spun the story I was pleased.

The smog index wasn’t nearly as bad as the last two trips to Beijing, but the heat was 30 degrees higher than Seattle’s current temperature; Beijing hit a high of 99F/37C. I got up early the next day and did 1 hour work-out trying to knock off that jetlag. Nice brunch and back to the airport for a departure to Shanghai. I landed in a downpour and it continued to rain for the next 24 hours….torrential down-pours at time. After checking in at the hotel and a cool shower I headed down to the famous Bund Street to meet up with a few friends and have dinner at the famous Jean Georges www.threeonthebund.com/dining.php. After dining, we strolled along Bund Street to take in the beautiful skyline across the river.

This was a short trip for me and I was back home in 5 days.

Bund Street