At least they gave us a snack...

So, I was scheduled to leave Beijing on Friday morning... all was running as planned. I woke up to a gray and much cooler morning than I had in nearly a week. I tossed my dirty clothes into my larger bag and gently layered my souvenirs and gifts in to a packable and expandable duffel bag that I brought with me. As best I could, I tried not to crush the fragile items. I checked out of the hotel as one of the staff members ran out to the main street to catch me a cab to the airport. The bus I took on the way in would have been cheaper but at this point of the trip, I was shorter on time than I had been a few days earlier. I asked the staff to request that the driver stop at the corner so I could squeeze in one last visit to a Chinese bakery; a treat that I guiltlessly allowed myself as often as necessary since my first 6am morning in Hong Kong nearly two weeks ago. With a $ 0.25 bag of pastries and a warm milk box (imagine a juice box) – that I in could not finish, (I can understand the whole “warm beverages are more easily digestible thing but, warm milk?) Anyway, I was off to the airport.

I had plenty of time to get checked in, push through airport security and find my gate. I was early so I found a seat and opened my book and tried to pay attention, as best I could, to the announcements (in Chinese mind you) and noted that after one particular announcement, there was a audible groan from my fellow passengers seated around me. You know the kind, it sort of sounds like the groans expelled when people realize that there flight has been delayed... yeah, that's the one. So, I left my bag at my seat and walked up to the departure gate attendant to confirm my suspicions. As I hawk-eyed my carry-on bag, I inquired about China Airlines flight CA 1109 to Hong Kong. without a beat the man behind the counter simply said “it's been delayed”. How long, I asked. “We don't know, he answered. Could be an hour, could be six, I inquired. “We don't know right now, we will make an announcement” was what I was able to decipher from our conversation. I checked on my baggage again and returned to my seat and back to my book. Normally, I would have been a been a bit frustrated, but I was still in vacation mode and I sort of shrugged it off. My connecting flight in Hong Kong wasn't until 10pm so I didn't have anything to worry about (so I thought), I had expected to spend the day in an airport anyway and it was only 12:45pm.

About an hour later two men with carts came in to my view. On the carts were ½ a dozen milk white boxes, like a common plastic storage box, stacked head high. From my seat, I could not tell what was in the boxes but as the second cart came in to view carrying crates of bottled water and coca-cola, I deduced that they must be bringing us a snack. I should have seen this as a clearer sign of what was to come, but I was distracted by my free meal of airline style Chinese noodles and pickled vegetables and therefore much less concerned by these events than I would have been back home. Outside The sky was gray and the fog was was thick. Visibility was close to nil.

By 4pm I had visited the man at the desk another time or two and was now starting to get concerned. I exited the secured boarding area, left my passport with a immigration officer and returned to the ticket counter to speak with my connecting airline about the increasing likelihood that I would miss my flight in Hong Kong. I could not locate a Singapore airlines counter so I had to make a phone call. This call was frustrating and unfruitful, the language barrier did not lessen this at all. I did manage to discover that Singapore Airlines has only 1 flight a day from Hong Kong and it leaves at 9:50pm. When I inquired about flying directly from Beijing to San Francisco I learned that If I wanted to pursue that as an option, I would have to fly to Singapore first and then to San Francisco thru Hong Kong. How's that for an alternative? Anyway, I spoke with a manager at the China Airlines desk and we agreed that the plane was not yet at the airport and by the time it landed, had been cleaned and we all boarded plus the flight time, “maybe” I would not make my connection. He was trying to be polite, but we both knew I was F*cked and I knew for sure that I was not going home that day.

By the time I landed in Hong Kong, made my way through customs and picked up my bag it was 11pm. I checked with the Customer Service desk hoping that perhaps the flight was delayed. In fact it did depart 25 minutes late but it had still departed without me. I stood in line with a group of folks who also missed their connecting flights and finally, around mid-night, confirmed a seat on the next night's flight to SF.

Now what, I've got about 22 Hours to kill and I'm in the Hong Kong airport, about 30 min. from Kowloon. Can you imagine spending all night and all day in an airport? Me neither. Conveniently there's a 4 star hotel right there in the airport. Could I afford to stay the night in the airport hotel, I asked myself. I was leaning towards sleeping in the terminal, but the idea of sleeping on the floor or sitting upright in a chair did not sound adventurous, it sounded dreadful. Somehow I remembered reading a document that suggested I had travel insurance through my credit card for tickets charged on it. So I loaded my Tmobile sim card in to my phone and called the 800 # on the back. I was able to get confirmation that “flights missed, canceled or otherwise interrupted” were qualifying events and that I was entitled to up to $1500 worth of reimbursable expenses. This was the best news I had received all day. With renewed enthusiasm toward how I would spend the next 20 + hours, I pushed my baggage cart to the hotel which is in fact connected to the main terminal via a causeway. At the desk, I learned that lucky for me they had a room. But there was a catch. The room rate was $430 US plus 13% service charge. Your Kidding me, I asked the clerk. I'm sorry sir this is the rate we have available, he replied faining an apologetic tone. I looked at my watch, 1:32 am, and lowered my head as I slid the card across the marble counter. We have a suite available, I could upgrade you, he said as swiped my card. OK, thanks, I said as I exhaled and began the process of winding down for the night.

I've never stayed at a $400/night hotel before so I didn't have much expectation except that it had better be nicer that a room with a bed and a TV... I was not disappointed. As I surveyed my temporary new digs, I discovered the suite had a living room and a bed room, each with a flat screen TV, a glass shower and a jacuzzi tub and a BOSE iPod sound system If I were checking out in the morning I would not have even cared much, a simple bed would have sufficed. However, since my flight was not until 10pm the next day (now – this day), the clerk authorized a late check out; I could stay until 6pm. Nice. Needless to say, I took full advantage of all the amenities, the tub, the sound system... I pretty much sat on every couch and chair in the place. I wanted to get my money's worth. In fact, this was working out to be not such a bad deal. Not getting home when expected sucked mind you, but this was working out to be quite a luxurious and restful layover. I was still in vacation mode.

6pm came and I checked out but not before I realized someone had eaten at the hotel cafe and charged a $50 tab to my room. I spent the next half hour trying to convince the clerk and manager that I not visited the cafe and that the charges needed to be removed. They even brought in the waitress from the day shift to verify whether I was the man she had served. Apparently, she told the manager that she did not recognize me and they finally removed the charge. One of the manager was still giving me the stink-eye however, I guess she thought I was getting one over on them. Whatever... I was heading home. I would arrive in San Francisco, 2 days after I had left my hotel in Beijing.