Xi'an / H.K. / Taiwan / USA: Four Countries in 2 Days (11/11-12)

Waking up in Xi'an on the morning of the 11th, I don't think I fully realized the extent of traveling that I would be doing over the course of the following 2 days (well, technically three days, but I'm just counting the dates, not the hours involved).  But it was a good bit of travelling and a brand new start to the next chapter of my life ...

November 11 - Xi'an, China

After finishing our packing, x2 and I went down to the lobby and checked out of the hotel.  We timed it well as Zane was checking out at the same time and we all got to say goodbye to each other.  The hotel also had helped us arrange a car to the airport, as many taxi drivers in Xi'an don't like taking people out to the airport.  So we got to relax in a nice sedan as we wound our way through the city and out on the highway to the airport.  Hopefully Zane made it to his train without any problems. goodbye zane!It was x2's first time to take a plane so I wasn't sure how she would fare.  I've been travelling internationally since I was 3 months old so I'm not really sure what it would be like to have your first trip at the age of 31, but she seemed to enjoy it.

We checked in to our flight at the airport, got our boarding passes and checked our luggage and then sat down at a really bad coffee/tea shop to wait for the flight.  It was 2 and a half hours and before we knew it we had touched down in Hong Kong.  For her it had been almost 3 weeks since she was last home and for me it was about 10 days.  It seemed like longer, somehow.

x2 and our boarding passesNovember 11/12 - Hong Kong

We quickly went through customs (I'm going to miss that Hong Kong ID Card line) and then caught a taxi over to my place in Tung Chung where Jack was waiting for us.

The two of them settled down for a night of chatting and TV watching.  We also ordered some KFC delivery, but I spent pretty much the entire night either packing, or watching TV while packing.  (Or occasionally watching TV while avoiding packing.)  I was going pretty much all night and didn't really finish up until around 8:30 or 9:00 a.m.  I caught a quick 1 hour of sleep and then finished getting ready for my travel back to the U.S.

Happily I managed to get all of my essentials in to two big suitcases and two smaller carry on items.  I also had two larger suitcases of storage that I will keep in Hong Kong until I get back in January, but I'm hoping to do some more purging and streamlining while living in Idaho to get my stockpile of "things" down to even a smaller bundle.  If I can fit everything I own/need in just two pieces of luggage I'll be gravy.

the before picture the after pictureAround 11:00 we caught a taxi to the airport where I checked in for my flight.  I had to pay a little extra for the carry-on to check it through since it was too heavy to bring with me, but I figured something like that would happen.  We ate some sushi and hung out taking lots of pictures before I finally had to say a sad goodbye to the two of my friends and make my way through customs and out to my plane. checking in to the flight jack and x2 saying goodbyeThe ride to Taiwan was pretty nice but naturally I kept dozing off the whole time.  I tried reading a book, but that didn't go so great.  The flight was only an hour or so anyway ... not a whole lot of time to catch my z's.

November 12, 2008 - Taipei, Taiwan

I realize that being in the airport in Taiwan, isn't really visiting the country, but I've never been to Taiwan before, so for me it was almost as good as leaving the airport.  Especially since I was sitting there for almost 5 hours.

I found a nice little restaurant in the concourse where I spent the time blogging and catching up on a few videos.  The eating area was set up like an outdoor food market and I got some xiao long bao which were super delicious.  If these were mediocre airport dumplings, I was pretty sure the good ones in the main city were probably going to give me a food-gasm. amazingly goodBeing in Taiwan (or at least being in the airport in Taiwan) was sort of strange for me.  I'm so used to being in China that it felt a little odd being in this place -- sort of like being transported to an alternate reality where history had happened differently.Yes, they all spoke Chinese .. but the Chinese sounded just a little different than what I was used to hearing on the mainland.  Yes, the signs were in Chinese, but the characters were just a bit different (and more complex) than the simplified versions I had gotten used to seeing.  Yes, they were all Chinese people (barring those who refuse to call themselves as such), but the atmosphere and ambiance was just a bit different than what I knew from China.It was a very interesting experience and it really picqued my curiosity.  I'd really like to visit Taiwan at some point in the future to get a fuller experience and see if my impressions from the limited environment in the airport will change at all as I explore more of the country itself. where i ateBut, soon enough my time was up so I got my things together and headed to the gate to catch my flight to San Francisco.  I wasn't super tired yet so first I watched "The Dark Knight" on the plane.  Not a bad flick.  So many people had told me so many things about what they thought of it (fortunately no one told me the plot so it wasn't spoiled) that I really didn't have any major expectations.But after that I took a nap and woke up 5 hours later as they were serving breakfast on the plane.  Another hour or two after that and we landed in sunny and warm San Francisco. almost to san franciscoNovember 12, 2008 - San Francisco, USAAnd finally my journey was almost at an end.  Well, still one more leg up to Seattle and then a drive to Idaho, but for the most part I was back on American soil.  Customs was quick and I exited the terminal to find James C waiting to pick me up and take me to Patti's place where I would be crashing for the following two days.But, I'm going to keep the San Francisco leg for another blog, probably to be posted up over the weekend when I'm in Seattle.  Until then ... ciao view from the planeYou can view all the photos from this trip here