I always wonder who buys plane tickets in person at the airport. It must be a thing because most major airlines have a ticket counter and I always see a few people doing… doing what, exactly? Asking for a seat on the next cheap flight to wherever? Wondering whether they should jump on the 4:30 p.m. to London or the 4:55 p.m. to Seoul?

I mean, I like to think we’re both spontaneous and adventurous, but we always show up at the airport with booked tickets and a rough plan.

This year, the rough plan was “eh, let’s go to France and China!”

Yes, China, one of the countries North America loves to hate right now. But China is home to Feng, and in a way, it’s home to me as well—this is where I met Feng when I was 16…

Our last trip to China was in 2014. I barely remember it. We travelled with my in-laws, first in the South with my father-in-law where we met relatives I had never heard of, then in the North with my mother-in-law where we met more relatives I had kind of heard of. Mark wasn’t even two years old, so let’s just say it was a challenging two-month trip that never made it to my top list. Nothing wrong with China, mind you—just read the paragraph above again…

This time, everything is different. My in-laws aren’t coming and Mark is a curious 11-year-old.

But this time, everything is also different because the world has changed a lot—North America is in a Cold War with China, China is a new potential superpower, two wars are going on, and I was wondering which route we would fly considering all of the above.

For Mark and me, the adventure started in France three weeks ago. Feng joined us on Tuesday, and for the first time since our 2002 trip to New Zealand, I packed in France to go travelling. Feng was rushing me downstairs—”it’s okay, I’m not going to cry this time! I only cry when I go to Canada… I don’t mind travelling anywhere else!” I admitted.

We were taking the 3:17 p.m. train to CDG Airport but when we arrived at the train station, we learned it was delayed. “Meh, twenty minutes, no big deal…” Except that five minutes later, the twenty-minute delay turned into a one-hour delay. Considering our Air France flight was at 10 p.m., arriving at the airport at 7:47 p.m. instead of 6:47 p.m. was a bit tight. We didn’t even have the boarding pass—they can’t be issued online, our visas had to be checked first.

Train delayed
Train delayed

But the train eventually arrived and it went faster so all in all, it was only a twenty-minute delay.

Crisis averted.

We found the check-in counter, got our boarding passes and dropped off the bags. I started to relax. Airports are fascinating places full of fascinating people. Like the woman, just in front of us in the lineup, wearing layers and layers of clothes. Where was she travelling? I tried to see the tags on her bags—AUH, Abu Dhabi, I just Googled it. I’m even more puzzled now. It’s not exactly cold in Abu Dhabi, is it?

Meanwhile, we went through immigration, then security. Feng was searched, as usual. Then Mark’s bag and mine were searched as well—three out of three, our personal record!

Our flight was leaving from Terminal 2E, Hall K. It’s a really nice place to wander around, grab a coffee, and smoke a pack of cigarettes or two—the smoking rooms were packed with all the Chinese people going to Beijing like us, I thought they were going to miss the flight!

I usually dread long-haul flights but this time, the 12 hours it took to get to Beijing went by fast. Yes, it was a Boeing 777 (sorry, Mark!) but we had enough legroom and everybody was quiet. I fell asleep right after checking out what Kazakhstan looked like from above, and I woke up somewhere above Mongolia.

Everything was going fine, really…

Until the final announcement, after landing.

It took us by surprise.

Shit, what do we do now?

To be continued tomorrow!

Gare SNCF, Nantes
Gare SNCF, Nantes
TGV train from Nantes to CDG
TGV train from Nantes to CDG
TGV train from Nantes to CDG
TGV train from Nantes to CDG
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 2E Hall K
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 2E Hall K
AF0202 Paris-Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Taking off in Paris
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Taking off in Paris
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Kazakhstan from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Kazakhstan from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Kazakhstan from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Kazakhstan from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Mongolia from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Mongolia from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Mongolia from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Mongolia from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Mongolia from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Mongolia from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Northern China from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Northern China from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Northern China from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Northern China from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Northern China from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Northern China from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Northern China from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Northern China from above
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Landing in Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Landing in Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Landing in Beijing
AF0202 Paris-Beijing, Landing in Beijing

Get the latest story, cultural shock and travel pictures right in your inbox

I don't spam, promise.

I literally don't have the time to write ten stories a day.

Visited 189 times, 1 visit(s) today

2 Comments

  1. From Senegal July 20, 2024 at 6:20 pm

    Enjoy! Hâte de lire la suite

    Reply
    1. Zhu July 21, 2024 at 2:18 pm

      J’ai tellement de choses à raconter, juste en trois jours! Merci de me lire 🙂

      Reply

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *