The long way home

It sure felt like more than eight hours. Probably because it was. But on the clock, it was a mere eight hours since I left Beijing.

However, in reality, I had spent more than 15 hours on a plane. 

My Air France flight took off from Beijing at 10 a.m. and for some strange reason, had to go to Seoul, South Korea first. So we flew more than an hour in the wrong direction, stopped at the Incheon Airport for more than an hour where we couldn't get off the plane. Then took off again and flew back over Beijing and then all the way to France. We arrived in Paris just before 6 p.m.

The airport process in Beijing was quite simple, which was a surprise. We were greeted at the airport by volunteers/staff, once again all dressed in the hazmat suits. They directed us to the proper lines we needed to be in to check our baggage and then we passed through security. Because these areas were reserved for just Olympic traffic, the process was pretty quick, then it was just sitting around waiting for a few hours for the plane.

The flight was uneventful, just really long. On the plus side, I got a lot of podcasts listened to and slept a little, but by the time I got to Paris, I was ready to crash again. Sleeping on an airplane with a mask on is not exactly the most comfortable sleep you can get.

While my flight doesn't take off until 1 p.m. tomorrow, I have a 7 a.m. COVID test scheduled at the airport. I am hopeful I can find the testing facility, since the US requires a test 24 hours before your flight and all the tests I took in Beijing will not be valid by tomorrow afternoon.

Until then, I think it's time for a little food and then some sleep... in a bed.

The sun was setting when we landed in Paris after the long flight from Beijing (through Seoul).