My and my colleagues were all travelling on different flights, with mine not until the evening, but I elected to travel out to the airport with them and then just waste time watching the world go by. We took the hotel-airport shuttle bus, which is a comfortable and cheap option for the 1 hour transfer out to Incheon Airport. Unusually for a coach it is 2+1 seats across with business class like legroom!
We arrived at the airport and said our goodbyes then I went to see when I would be able to check-in for my 2hr flight on China Eastern to Nanjing. Having flown them many times in the past I didnt hold out much hope of being able to check in more than two hours before the flight, and I was right. So with at least four hours to kill before I could check in I went and found the most interesting end of the terminal and watched the world go by and the flights take off.
Happily, depsite this only being a two hour flight, it was booked as part of a longer intinery, which managed to circumvent company policy and got me a business class ticket.
Check in time arrived and after confusing the poor girl at the check in desk with my multitude of Chinese visas I was on my way through the again super efficient security and immigration checks and on to the Asiana Business lounge. This lounge is nothing more than a quiet haven with free beer and wired internet connections, but it did have the most complex power assisted toilet I have ever seen. Push buttons for every conceivable function!
Again I still had a long walk to the gate, so had to drag myself away from the free beer at least 45 minutes before departure time. I timed it perfectly and got to the spacious gate area just as they were calling business passengers forward for boarding. All four of us, in a business cabin, which unlike Europe is still a little special. Two rows of 2+2 and 38 seat pitch at the front of this A320. Very comfortable! After all the free beer I had been drinking, and not wishing to be a drunken wreck when I met my girlfriend at the other end I sensibly choose a pre flight orange juice, and caught up on the carefully spun news in the English language China Daily newspaper. Just before take off we were also given a business class gift, which turned out ot be an extremely useful leather bound business card holder. The perfect thing for work in the far east where the giving and receiving of business cards takes on a ceremonial air.
The inflight meal was a choice of take it or leave it, but at was a well presented smoke salmon and vegetable, and beef curry. After the meal I settled back in the comfortable seat and drifted in and out of sleep on the remainder of the bumpy flight across the Yellow sea and up the Yangzee river to Nanjing.
We landed early and again, being a very quiet regional airport, I was off the flight through immigration and into the arms of my waiting girlfriend within 15 minutes.
For the sake of decency I can say no more at this time. But we are planning on flying to the Southwest of China to the city of Chengdu for a couple of days so expect a travel report on that soon!
