We Have Take-Off!

Departure & Flight: Vancouver to Guangzhou

Morning flight out of YVR. I can't even remember the last time I left the country via the YVR airport. Well, I am sure I could if I tried.

The international departure terminal is really pretty now, further proof it's been quite a few years since I've flown out of Vancouver to anywhere outside of North America. Early check-ins are a snore. I didn't bring a book, but I pick up a magazine (incidentally, probably the last issue Taylor Tomasi Hill worked on for Marie Claire). Instead of reading it, I take photos of the plane and Elton.

11:29am - Getting ready to board!

12:54pm - Writing complaints in my sketchbook (which will be my physical journal for the trip): The plane took forever to take off due to the apparent undying flow of luggage. Having to stay in my seat for way longer than planned meant a serious need to empty the ol' bladder. Lunch served way past 1pm and I was not given a choice of meal. Mixture of sadness and anger.

06:01pm - Flying over the Gulf of Selekhova

Wishing I had brought some snacks with me so I don't have to suffer through the smell of people eating instant noodles. Where is dinner?!

We flew over Siberia earlier when they had dimmed the lights and asked everyone to pull their shutters down. It was beautiful to see nothing but miles and miles of ice though, so fuck everyone else who is napping: I'mma take some pictures!

09:06pm - Fell asleep for an hour before they finally served dinner at 8pm.

My headphone jack's broken! I randomly (and constantly) creep the screen of the dude sitting in the row in front, which, if you think about it, makes little sense. I have no sound either way, so why not watch my own monitor? Logic: there is none on flights. Oh, and subtitles are in Chinese, which is good practice.

09:27pm - Nearing Harbin and cursing the couple snuggling in the two seats in front of me.

09:55pm - Nearing ChangChun and burping up the mango cheesecake I had for dessert. Getting increasingly antsy to just land already!

I'm sailing away...

well, actually flying. Somehow "I'm sailing away" popped in my head before "leaving on a jet plane."

Anyway, I am going on a trip. I have not been away since last September for a weekend in Seattle. I love Seattle, but considering the distance between us, Seattle's hardly a trip to write home about (hence the lack of blogging).

Where was I? (It's 2am and I should be in bed, but I'm writing up a packing list to make sure I didn't/don't forget anything.)

Oh yes. I am leaving town this Friday. I'm accompanying my dad on a trip to China. I'll only be gone for two weeks, but I'll try to squeeze in as much as possible. On the itinerary so far is visiting my family in southern China fairly close to Guangzhou in the Xinhui district; embarking on (hopefully) a multi-city tour of the bigger tourist attractions in China: Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi'an; and stopping off in Hong Kong (maybe Macau as a day trip as well) to visit my mom's relatives. None of my plans are set in stone in terms of dates once I arrive in China, which is not the way I'm used to travelling, but such is the case when it's a family visit first, and tourism trip second.

This will be my third trip to China - one in every decade of my life so far. On both of my previous trips, we didn't venture outside of southern China - though I did get to see a lot of things - so I am supremely (nobody uses that word enough) excited to see some of northern China this time around.

As to whether or not I'd be able to blog, I still haven't decided if I'll be bringing my laptop - the thought of lugging it around if I have to city-hop with a tour group leaves me less than thrilled - or just hope that my phone will suffice. If I do choose the latter, I'll make sure to be packing a physical journal, as I'm fearful that typing on an iPhone will prove to be the loss of my (remaining) sanity.

Dreaming of...

a 'round the world trip. Are you? If so, are you making excuses for not going?

11 Reasons to Stop Dreaming and Start Planning Your Round the World Trip

My biggest "excuse" is my start-up company. If I leave for a 'round the world trip any time soon, I'd be making sure my company fails. However, that doesn't mean I shouldn't start planning!