Early this morning, I said goodbye to the others at the Bangkok airport and set out alone to sort out my visa problems! It seems both my credit cards were blocked due to a suspicious purchase :( This is when I say a huge thank you to Jode for the unlocked phone! I was able to call Visa collect and had it all sorted out rather quickly! Couldn't believe how fast it was and how easy they were to deal with!
Now I begin Chapter two, China! This also marks the beginning of my plan to travel alone. I found myself a "pain au chocolat" for breakfast that was every bit as good as they are in France! This was a delight and brought me great joy and many memories flooded to the surface while I ate it. I am feeling good, and can't wait for all that China has to offer. I am very excited for the great wall and also for all the jade I am going to see! ( I still do love gems and crystals!)
Much to my surprise, my ticket to Beijing on Sri Lankan airlines was business class again! Now I am not complaining, but why did this happen? The flight was booked in Red Deer months ago and cost about 500.00. When I was up in the air this morning having a glorious nap, I couldn't help but be irritated with this, as I'm sure I could have paid way less to get here! Anyways, the flight attendants were very nice and the food was fantastic! they wheeled up a whole cart with about 10 options and served me buffet style!
At the airport, I was able to claim my bags and clear customs in under 10 minutes. I grabbed some KFC for lunch since I am slightly afraid of the food here and headed to the taxi line up. First I approached the car service counter, where all four men started laughing because they couldn't speak English. One managed to say, taxi door nine, I no English. Taxi taxi go. So with this, I went outside to the taxi ranks to wait in line. I had been warned not to go with anyone who approaches you outside as they will rip you off. NO KIDDING. The official lady, nodded towards a man so I went with him over to his cab. Turned out he was the type to avoid and wanted four times the amount of a metered taxi. Lucky for me I knew this in advance, laughed in his face and got back in the line for a real guy! He laughed at me too when he realized he wasn't going to be able to scam me. Anyways, I'm safe in the joining hotel where I will meet the tour group on Sunday evening. first impressions of China are good, there is a lot of smog but the peo.ple seem friendly and I have some adventures in mind for tomorrow!
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