Took my parents to the airport yesterday morning, sorted out check-in for them, watched them get through security and inside. Tracked their flight all afternoon, from the 1hr delay cos of thunderstorms, then finally en route.

At around 8-ish, the status changed to redirected. WTF. I did more digging and then it started showing diverted. It was difficult to interpret what was going on with the various flight tracking websites. The united site wasn’t any help. The 800-number was just voice recording.

Called my sis to see if she can get more info over there, cos it’s during office hours. She wasn’t able to get much more info than me. Then it showed 9.21pm landed at ORD and take off rescheduled to 11am. All signs pointed to the flight having turned back. Most importantly, for my peace of mind, it had landed. On the ground. Safely.

I was tempted to go to the airport to find out what was happening. I didn’t just in case my parents got in a taxi and they gave me back the keys. Finally almost 10pm Mum called. She didn’t have a US mobile or coins but was able to borrow someone’s cellphone. Turned out there were bathroom malfunctions and the flight couldn’t have continued without toilets. One of the sites tracked the flight to the middle of nowhere in Manitoba, so it was prudent to come back to Chicago as opposed to landing at a “nearby” airport.

They were waiting for the shuttle to take them to an airport overnight. To which I answered No Way. It’s only half an hour for me to go pick them up. Papa joked that it was the longest flight from Chicago to Chicago. Back to square one.

I think about this as being given more hours to spend with them. It was the right decision, to have them stay with me overnight. More comfortable, they could have breakfast. I took them back to the airport this morning and yes, I was crying as I drove away.

When I booked the flight, the return leg had me sitting in a middle seat. I wasn’t that bothered, I figured when I get to the airport I can ask for a better seat. Then when I did online check-in earlier today, I saw that I’d been re-allocated to an exit row aisle. Wow. Legroom. Nice.

I got to LGA very early. Took me almost 30mins to get a cab, and traffic was horrendous. Still managed okay. I remembered that once inside there wasn’t much to eat, so I had a five guys hamburger at the food court. It was the least uninteresting food. Nah, that’s not fair. Five Guys is interesting food. Their selling point is juicy burgers and good fries. I eschewed the fries, couldn’t face so many calories. But the burger was juicy. There were 2 patties and the juice ran all the way down my fingers. Free refill on the soft drinks, but that doesn’t mean a great deal cos we can’t bring it beyond security.

Flight was delayed a little. I got on early and was settling in to read before the seat-belt light came off. Then the passenger next to me got on and asked if I could swap with his wife, who was sitting 5 rows ahead in a window seat. Stupidly I gave up my legroom and agreed. It was okay, I’m comfortable in a window seat. I just hope this good deed comes back to me some day. I had to go to the bathroom when I got off, perfect timing my suitcase came out just when I strolled to the luggage carousel.

I’m at SFO. The pic was taken at ORD. The flight was fine, only 4-ish hours. There was a delay of 30mins, so I stayed in the Admiral’s Club a little longer, but when I got to the gate they’d already started boarding and was at Group 3, drat. It was interesting and annoying to see all these people with their wheelies, trying to cram into the tight overhead spaces. Not many gamers of the system this time. Full flight, but I was comfortable, read a book, ate a choc chip cookie I got from training yesterday.

The walk from the domestic to the international terminal at SFO was quite far, but I got my new boarding pass very quickly once I found the counter. The stupidest part was at security. Which yo-yo had the bright idea that priority = first, business and families with children? Families with children do not know how to get through security quickly so who suffers? The same people who know, have paid for, and expect to get through security quickly. ARGH!!!!

So this is why I’m kinda in a rush here. I wolfed down a cup noodle, and just managed to check all my mafia and vampire wars stuff. Boarding to HKG soon.

Today turned out to be a crappy day at the end. It started out well enough, with breakfast and then what KK called “kiss and cry” as good-byes were said. I packed and we checked out of our room. I even went to the membership meeting and … gasp … spoke out.

Just before our bus was due to pick us up the sky opened up. Heavy thunderstorm persisted till we got to the airport. We found seats in the crowded terminal. The flight was supposed to leave at 4pm, and the plane arrived at the gate at 4.05pm, so needless to say we were delayed. The flight wasn’t that comfortable, it was full and I scrunched into the middle seat.

Car was in pain and had been for a few days, poor thing. Her mom was at the airport. To add insult to injury, 3 out of 4 of our bags came but the last one didn’t. It was one of Car’s, but in a twisted turn, was tagged under my name. The agents checked and advised that it looked like one whole cart didn’t make it. At that point, Car and her mom went home and I queued up to register the lost luggage. About 30mins into the queuing, they told us they found the cart, and so we waited another 15mins for it to come out. Okay, nice, relieved. But I had 2 big bags plus my puma bag to haul home. Taxi time. I didn’t get home till almost 10pm.

I finished my work by 11am and thought sod it, i’m not hanging around for the sake of hanging around. So I went back to PT, squeezed in an intervals session, showered and left around 2pm. There was a bit of traffic to the airport due to some roadworks.

I’d checked in already, and the queue at the BA counter was slow. It was weird, watching the woman’s demeanor change between when I walked up with my documents and my leaving. Sigh, it is the emerald status. The BA lounge was nice. At 4pm they opened the dining room and I had a nice chicken salad, lamb with guinness and some cheese. Too much Pinot Noir too, heehee.

So, time to board. i have a window seat, one of those rear facing ones. I usually don’t like facing backwards but I’m thinking it’ll be okay.

Got to Narita around 3pm. I had no idea what date or time it was exactly. Transit was quick and I ended up at the lounge to get my boarding pass for my flight at 6.30pm. Then I looked a the board and noticed an earlier flight at 5pm. It was around 4.15pm. I asked the staff if it’s possible to change. Getting a seat was no problem but there was a tantalizing wait to see if they could intercept my bag. I guess I helped them by saying I didn’t need to have it with me and I’m happy to collect it tomorrow. Being flexible gives people more incentive to help, I think. Plus, it’s Japan. Plus, airlines don’t like unaccompanied luggage. Plus, I’m a Gold member.

There were no problems at the end and they found it. I can’t help wonder if I’d get equally efficient service at any of the US airports or Heathrow. Asian airports yet.

The flight was blissfully empty. Almost everyone had 2 seats. I got the last row centre, but I didn’t care at that point. After dinner I collapsed and slept till the lights came back on, may be another hour to add to my sleep bank?

I’m sooooo pleased to have gotten the earlier flight. Instead of getting home at close to midnight I was unpacked and showered by 10.30pm. I know I’ll need a melatonin tonight but…sigh… I’m home.

Another travelling day. I’m becoming familiar with the bus to O’Hare, the kiosk check-in and the long security queue. I’ve always wondered why the US doesn’t have outgoing Immigration but with the queues at security it’s a good thing.

The AA Admiral’s lounge was pretty large with plenty of seats scattered so people have their own personal space. I got a bar voucher but when I tried to present it to get a Diet Coke I was told I didn’t need one. Perhaps only for alcohol drinks. Biscuits were available but other food we had to pay. Okay, this is the first lounge I’ve been to that charges for sandwiches and salads. I thought about getting one, but decided against it cos I wasn’t that hungry.

The flight was long. I got may be 1-2hrs sleep. Watched the second half of 27 Dresses and then ended up listening to music. Had bento again. Read a new book, I’m glad it’s a thick one.

Today is/will be a travel day. This is the first time I fly to Chicago via Tokyo, because I simply had enough of US domestic flights. The longer flight (12 hrs from NRT to ORD) will be on American, not my preferred, but let’s see how it goes. Business class on a poor airline is still business class surely. [/jinx]

Now I’m at the Admiral’s Club lounge at NRT. It’s very pretty and large and peaceful, so I’m tending to be relaxed. I even had a shower despite not planning to, or having brought a change of clothing. I’ll do whatever I can to make the next leg more comfortable.

It is a larger lounge than the CX one down the hall but amongst others, CX has cup noodles. I’ve been here an hour, I’ll be here another 2; it’d be nice to have some hot food. Shouldn’t complain though.

I’ve got a timezone issue. I think it’s still wednesday, it’s now almost 10pm and I’m at the lounge at LAX. In Chicago, where I started this morning, it’s already Thursday. I’ll get home my friday morning. Somehow I lose thursday. huh.

Uncle Bill and Aunt Carm took me to the bus station and it was a straightforward trip to O’Hare. I’ve checked in and printed out my boarding pass already, so going through the formalities was a breeze. Only as I was walking towards the gate that I realised I should have checked out whether I could get on an earlier flight. Ah well, I settled at the gate and read for an hour or so. The flight to LAX wasn’t full, the middle seat was empty so I could stretch out. I finished one book on the flight, and started a second one.

LAX was crazy crowded man. I hadn’t checked through my luggage (though I should have) but it means I can priority check on the long haul leg. Of course it wasn’t as easy as checking in … we had to take the luggage to the X-ray point. Then the long queue through security. Long, but eventually it gets through.

Last time I was in the LAX lounge it was under construction and it was in a temporary portakabin. This time it’s properly on the 5th floor of the terminal. It’s a oneworld lounge so it was shared with a group of Qantas travellers. It’s pretty nice.

I have 1.5hrs till boarding, so I’ll probably catch up with my feeds and read a bit. I have to remind myself it’s still wednesday.

I’m off to Sydney and Singapore in a week. Great for my airmiles but hell otherwise — the jetlag alone will mean I can’t wait for the Christmas break.

I’m in the Qantas lounge, which is shared with the BA lounge. It’s not a lounge I’m familiar with — it’s smaller, more crowded and in general I’m not used to it. I’m not quite used to Qantas either but it should be okay. I have an upstairs window seat, which is what I like.

I have my mbp, a couple of books, I’m sure I’ll get good food and watch some movies. If only I were: a) on holiday and b) younger so I can enjoy this.

My flight is at 8.30pm and I’m already at the airport. It’s only 2.30pm. I finished work at lunch and in theory had the whole afternoon to wander around, go shopping, have a massage or go to Underwaterworld in Sentosa to have fish reflexology.

Um, may be another day. I figured I could just go to the airport and hang out at the lounge. There’s free wireless, free food & drinks and I can take a shower later. Great check-in process. Everyone delighted in telling me, delightfully, that I will be travelling on the A380. Wow. I brought my camera especially for this leg of the trip.

So yeah, I had a nice chicken curry, some salad, fruit and a peach bread pudding. As much diet coke as I can drink in the next few hours.

What does the early bird catch? A life that Riley knows about I’d say.

Chicago O’Hare — June 2006. On my way to Newark. Late arrival of crew, who were on a late inbound plane. It was funny, on the way to New York the captain was telling us about how she had the same turbulence on the way into Chicago.

Chicago O’Hare — July 2006. On my way to La Guardia, even got on the plane and waiting for push off. Except LGA was closed because of the heat. Spent the best part of the day at ORD, got on an American flight to JFK at the end. Missed my onward flight but luckily it was C-class so got re-booked on a later flight.

San Francisco — Sept 2006. On my way to meet Car’s family in Las Vegas. Plane was delayed coming in from LAS because of mechanical problem. Flights after that one came and went, I didn’t get to Vegas till after midnight.

New York JFK — June 2007. Came in on a 15 hour flight already. Found out my connecting flight was delayed; then cancelled. Apparently the whole east coast was backed up because of bad weather (“what bad weather? it’s so sunny outside!”). Spent the night sleeping on the floor behind a vending machine. Was on standby in the morning and couldn’t get on any of the fully booked holiday flights. Ended up driving to Chicago.

Yes. All US airports. Every time a domestic flight.

Driving from New York to Chicago

Slept for a bit on and off. Was up at 5-ish, dozing near the gate. The board showed that the plane was already at the gate, so none of the delayed because plane was late coming in. But it still got delayed again and again because they were missing a crew member. Which is completely ridiculous. It’s not a flight deck officer but one of the stewardesses. Did I say ridiculous?

The time got changed from 7am to 7.30, then 7.55, 8.30. 9.30. Eventually it was ready and people who had tickets got on. There were only 3-4 standby tickets and I didn’t get on. Imagine 2 planeful of people yesterday all needing to get to Chicago.

I ran to the other side of the terminal cos I had a standby ticket for the 10.02am. But that came and went without me. I think I wasn’t high enough on the waiting list.

The next flights were at 12.30, 4.30 and 7pm. I got standby tickets for all of them, plus the 2 flights tomorrow morning. Seems that all flights are full and the prospect of getting on them aren’t terribly good. The best I could hope for was tomorrow. I did not want to spend another night at JFK. I’d been updating my host family in Chicago sporadically. Then Car suggested I may as well drive to Chicago. It’s a long drive (13 hours) but at this rate I’d be stuck in JFK all weekend and if I drove slowly I’d be getting somewhere.

That’s what I did. Got a one way rental to Chicago and set out at about 1.30pm. It’d been a while since I’d driven a) such long distances; b) in the US; c) left hand drive. The traffic getting out of NY was horrendous, but I was glad I was in a city I’d lived in before. I knew the van Wyck, the LIE, even New Jersey. Plus I had the best car invention ever — the GPS.

The route took me on the I-95 to White Plains, then New Jersey, Pennsylvania. I waited till I was in Pennsylvania to stop for dinner at around 8pm — chicken nuggets at Wendy’s. I wanted to get as far as I could while there was light.

Just before midnight I made Ohio. It’s gonna be a slow drive all night.

Las Vegas - San Francisco

We checked out early and left our bags at the hotel. Breakfast was at Paris, right next doors. Original plan was to go to the buffet but it was way too crowded, so we settled for the café. Still good value, and I gotta laugh at how unFrench-like the breakfast items were. Not a continental breakfast in sight. We had French toast (and we all know that’s not French) with bacon / ham and shared a portion of pancakes (American style, ie what I know as hotcakes) between us. I was stuffed!

The Paris wanted very badly to be French, but was actually full of tourists. Some of their signs were in franglaise, like Le Car Rental. Pretty funny actually. After breakfast and the obligatory play at the penny slots we were off to Caesars Palace. Again, very crowded, but plenty of space for everyone to walk around. Waited for about 15 minutes at the fountain for the show, only to be disappointed that it consisted of a couple of mechanical statues with moving parts. Not impressed. The size of the hotel was impressive, though by this time I couldn’t tell one hotel-casino from another, they were all blurred. Before going back to the Aladdin we hung out a little at the Bellagio shop. Then it was time to leave.

Taxi to the airport was quick, and a little sad. Time to say good-bye to Las Vegas. I really enjoyed this first visit, it was nothing and everything like I imagined. Because I was here with my friend’s family, we did mainly family styled activities. Didn’t see any shows or gambled big (I wouldn’t have anyway) or had the time for an excursion or spa. Plenty to do for future visits, which is what I like about going to a new place — can never do everything first time. Oh, some pics of the various slot machines we took.

Check-in and security queues were long, and we were glad we got there early. This was one of the airports with free wi-fi, so I was very happy! Was chatting with K, and all of a sudden we were boarding already! Guess I’m less used to flights not being delayed.

***

So, the second part of my trip. San Francisco, a totally different city to Las Vegas in outlook, attitude and … everything. Met my hidden friend D, and it was good to finally meet in person. It was pretty late so we went to a neighbourhood café for a quick bite. I was buffeted out and only wanted something green and had no meat. Perfect place for something like that. It was one of those casual student type places that I remembered from Zurich (the one behind the Niederdorf) and Sydney (the one sherlock took me to) — worn wooden tables, mismatched chairs, relaxed atmosphere. Not a place one would find in Vegas.

Was quite late when we got to D’s apt, but we chatted for a while. I’m glad the trip got split into two, it would have been nice to be in one place, but now I got a variety of experiences.

Las Vegas

The upstairs neighbours were redecorating and they started drilling round about 11am. I got sick of it and left for the airport at noon. I’ve checked in already so it was just a matter of getting my boarding pass and checking my luggage. Hung out at the lounge for hours, heehee. Ate so much! There was additional security of course, one section of the airport was set up specially for US flights. First there was a body check, then everyone lined up to have their bags checked by hand. Not too much hassle because they had something like 30 officers checking, so it moved quick. I was glad I have club membership so I could board at the business class gate.

Flight wasn’t full, the middle seat was empty so I could stretch my legs a little. Sat behind 2 babies and they were crying at the beginning of the flight though they quietened down later. Dinner was pasta with spinach and cheese. Didn’t feel like the meat or fish dishes. Watched The Sentinel which was pretty good. Slept sporadically, may be an hour at a time. Watched the second half of Da Vinci Code which was interesting because I picked the film up at the same point that I left the book. Now I know the ending, I’m even less inclined to finish the book.

Security at the domestic flight part was fine too. More checking than before, but most people know what to pack and what not to pack at this point, the queues were manageable. Instead of checking my bags, they swabbed and checked my crocs! Heehee. I had my caffeine injection and got settled for a little wait. I changed my watch as soon as I got on the plane, but all told probably only had 3-4 hrs of sleep.

SFO airport was okay, lots of places to eat and shop. I had a split pea soup and a diet coke for late lunch. Came to over $8 though, not cheap. Internet day pass was $9.99, which was acceptable to me. Of course I prefer free wifi, but can’t be picky — it’s either pay or sit around with nothing to do. The terminal was fairly quiet early on and I was able to easily find wall sockets. The battery coule probably last, but I wasn’t taking the chance. Available spots keep being used as the afternoon wore on as the place got busier.

Flight to LAS was delayed. Sigh. Originally it was supposed to leave at 7.30pm, and I signed off chat so I could get ready. Then I looked at the board and it said 9pm. As the evening wore on, it became clear that 9pm was optimistic. Apparently the plane coming in had a mechanical problem and was stuck in LAS. At almost nine they announced gleefully that it’d left LAS and will be readied for flying back out as soon as possible. The departure time shifted to 10.30pm at this point. It was all very disappointing and boring. I got a little hungry so I bought a roast beef and cheese sandwich, but not much of an appetite. I texted Car that I’d be late and called the hotel to let them know about the late arrival.

It was disconcerning watching other people board their planes; and still ours hadn’t arrived. A group of men started complaining loudly and though they had their point, I wished they could keep their voices down. Some officials came, huddled around the desk and made numerous calls on their cellphone. Everyone was watching them expectantly but they never made any announcement to reassure the passengers, which I thought wasn’t so nice. They came back later with police (!) and talked to the loud men. Shortly after, another group of police arrived on mountain bikes, and the long and short of it was that the loud men were led away. Wow, they were loud and slightly drunk but they were never threatening or anything. Kinda heavy handed in my opinion.

Finally, the plane arrived, we waited till the incoming passengers got off and not long after, we finally boarded. There was a cheer when the boarding announcement went up, it had been a long wait. Took off at just before 11pm, I was very tired, had a drink and then fell asleep. Flight was only 1.5 hrs, so it seemed like I’d just closed my eyes when the seatbelt sign came up. I could see the lights when we came in and it was exciting. The airport was virtually deserted, though I saw what Car meant when she said that there were slot machines as soon as I came out of the gate. There were! Anyway, despite there being hardly any other people at the airport, it was still a wait for the bags. At least mine wasn’t the last, and I got on the taxi really quick. $25 to the Aladdin, which was under renovation so it was a little trek through boarded corridors to the make-shfit reception area. I was so tired, I didn’t even hear Car call me, until she almost shouted in my ear that I’m deaf! Heehee.

The room was pretty good, Car’s Mom and Gram were already in ‘ready for bed’ mode (didn’t blame them it was past 1am). I unpacked a little, and then the two of us went downstairs to scout around the casino a little. It was BIG! Was a little too incoherent to take everything in, but saw the roulettes, poker, blackjack tables. Plus of course the rows and rows of slot machines. I never realised they had special “themes” — we put $1 in a Star Wars machine, it had the sound effects and we won a little, though promptly lost it all. Back to the room and I took a much needed shower. It’s been a long trek but it took me a while to actually fall asleep.

In time, the decision to close Heathrow and Gatwick to short-haul flights and to implement such drastic measures for air travellers will prove to be a correct one.

Despite the severity of the situation, I feel a sense of resigned calm. It is the right thing to do, to be cautious, even though it’s so inconvenient. And think about all the summer holidays ruined. I’m glad I don’t have a trip coming up in the next week or so, airports will be crazy.

I can’t help but be proud at how the British public and police have handled this though. There is a sense of “get on with it, what else can we do” that permeates. On the other hand, reading CNN and other US news sites gave me the feeling that the Americans are tottering on the edge of a freak out. Again. Sigh.

Thing is, the panic and the airport closures and the general disruption to air traffic is already a “victory” for the terrorists. Murray Walker, who is stuck at Aberdeen trying to get to Silverstone, said, “It’s better safe than sorry, but I have a problem with those who are making this happen.” Hear hear, Murray.

Sat at the lounge for an hour trying not to fall deeply to sleep. Promptly slept as soon as the plane got going though. Again was woken up in Bangkok.

Got home mid-afternoon. No food. Argh.

So tired I took a nap and didn’t wake up till around 9pm.

In the end I only ate some fruit in the hotel room. 9pm I was down at the reception, all checked out, waiting for my car to come. Significantly more cars at that hour than earlier in the afternoon, I guess night-time is a popular time to go out. The way to the airport was also heavier with traffic.

The airport itself is nothing to write home about. They went through my luggage cos of the alarm clock, they want the battery removed during transit. Whatever. There seems to be a hell of a lot of security, but to me it seems like security for the sake of security. The Clipper Lounge is small. And crowded, there were people at every single seat, felt nothing like a business class lounge. I did have some sandwiches which helped.

As soon as the seatbelt sign came off most people immediately went to sleep. I was still hungry so I was one of about 5 people in my section who opted to have food. Lamb curry and some fruit, quite good for my purpose. Watched a little of Batman Begins, then fell asleep. Must have slept for an hour or two, then it was time for the lights to come back on. All in all, not much sleep I’m afraid.

Arrived at Singapore around 8am. Heh, I’m glad I’m changing planes at Changi, that’s one airport I know like the back of my hand. Had to take the Skytrain from T2 to T1, quickly got my boarding pass and went in search of pandan cake. The Bengawan Solo inside the gates is new, and I was happy about that. Bought one for mm, she likes the pandan cake, it is really good. Then it was off to the lounge to play on the internet for about half an hour.

Flight from Singapore was uneventful. Ended up watching The Skeleton Key, which at places, seems more scary than the PG-13 rating it has. Hmmm. Interesting film.

By the time I got home it was around 3.30pm and I was tired and sticky. Unpacked, then a much needed shower.

Really wanted to stay home but I had departmental Christmas dinner to attend. And I’m in charge. Yes, even though I was away all week, I was remote controlling the function. Food was good, not as good as last year’s. We had gift exchange again and I got a Christmas scented candle. I did away with the big prize draw and grab bag … combined them and decided that everyone will get vouchers, of varying amounts. So I gave the secretary a total amount and amount in each envelope. She and another lady went out and bought a selection of vouchers, so each envelope will have a mix’n’match set. I got the second prize, whoo-hoo! Now I can treat mm to a nice steak dinner with one of the vouchers, at a gourmet supermarket.

Finished at 10.30pm, walked home, took another shower. Now I’m debating whether to wait for mm, cos she’s STILL AT WORK!

Flight via Kuala Lumpur was early, so I had time to walk around the terminal. Another modern Asia airport, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore and KL — all very state of the art and efficient and impressive. The plane to Mumbai was kinda silly — it’s been many many years since I was on a business class flight where there was ONE central screen at the front of the cabin. Even most economy classes have individual screens nowadays. And then … the film was a bollywood of course. I slept.

Mumbai airport was surely not as modern as KL, but it’s perfectly fine. A little queue for immigration, bags out in good time. I was met by an assigned driver that my company had booked — I walked out of the exit and there were boards and boards of people’s names. People had warned me about child beggars outside, but the short walk to the carpark was uneventful. The drive to the Marriott was uneventful too, I saw one cow, and a boy selling balloons / begging knocked on the glass at a traffic light.

Apparently India beat South Africa at a cricket match today so there were people on the streets. The feel of the roads is like Kenya actually — concrete roads, then dirt, then houses. Streetside stalls selling sweets, cigarettes and papers, just like Kenya. Lots of tuktuks, like Bangkok though. Driving takes nerves of steel, lots of honking and cars just swerving out of the side road. Actually there’s no difference between main road and side road, there are no road markings.

The hotel is nice. Had to go through security checks, on the car and my luggage went through a metal detector. wow. It’s a twin room, would have liked a large bed so I can roll about, but I’m only here for a few days. There are 4 bottles of water in the room, which I’ll need cos you should use the bottled water for brushing teeth. I brought my own water (3 litres, yes I’m crazy) and cans of diet coke and soda water (yes, I am very crazy).

Well, not much of a first impression. Too dark outside to see anything. More tomorrow I hope.

It’s a general holiday in Tokyo so I have an unexpected half day off, I deliberately booked a flight at 6.30pm so I have the morning to walk around. Woke up first at 7.50am, went back to sleep and was up after 10am. Decided to skip breakfast, actually apart from the first day breakfast with my boss, I haven’t tried the hotel breakfast again.

Even though I knew (see yesterday’s entry) the fish market was closed I couldn’t help but find myself there again. The stalls were closed, so lucky with the caviar, but some of the restaurants were open. I joined the queue for one that served sushi rice. Like everything Japs, you pay at the ticket machine in front of the shop and give your ticket to the servers. I waited almost an hour, but it was worth it! Had one that had unagi, caviar and shredded crab meat, JPY1,800, not cheap, but yummy. Came with soup and a side dish of egg and dried anchovies. The shop is run by 3 women and they were kept completely busy. One made the rice, taking the raw fish out from flat containers in the fridge and placing them carefully on the rice. Another tidied the used trays, served the tea and made the finishing touches to the tray. A third washed up and cut up the eggs, got more rice and all.

Took a metro to near the office and visited Mitsokoshi food hall. Bought a bottle of choya that I hope she likes. Walked back to the hotel but at first tried without a map and got a little disorientated. As a result I was in kind of a rush when I got back to the hotel. Luckily the airport bus terminal is right next door and within 10 minutes I had my ticket.

I’m writing this at the CX lounge at Narita. Compared with the CX lounge at HK, there’s a huge difference. This one is way way smaller and older. Only instant noodles and biscuits available. The whole seating area feels like the waiting area for a restaurant. Even these internet machines are old, I’m using a fairly basic feeling Dell laptop that has no mouse. But I’m not complaining.

I have an upper deck seat, so it should be comfortable. We talked about whether she’s coming over tonight, it’ll be late when I get home, almost midnight. But she said something touching, that she wants to see me first thing when she opens her eyes tomorrow. Awwww. I know she has food in her fridge and she has to go to sister’s first, so it’s a hassle. I’ll be happy either way.