What Did I Expect?

Missed lunch, missed dinner, missed it all.  We went for a team drink after passing through security and I nearly missed my flight, as well.  But I hadn’t had any food.  Well, it’s a two-hour flight back up to Beijing.  They’ll have some chicken with rice or some pork with rice on the flight and that will hold me over.  I can taste it now.  It’s not bad.

Where’s the food?  I’d nodded off reading.  Have I missed it?  I’ll be furious.  No one else is eating anything.  Hey, where’s the food?  There had better be some food.  We’ve been in the air for twenty minutes at least.  What?  Do they not do meals between Hangzhou and Beijing?

Relax, here comes the food cart.  She’s turned and begun the service.  And the meal is . . . a hot dog?  Are you kidding?  That’s it?  “Yeah, that’s it.”  Chinese airlines get a free pass on serving middling Chinese food.  But western food?  This is rather different from bad.  It’s long and thin and rubbery.  It’s coated in what looks like spray-on cheese in a wonder bread roll.  Artfully copied.  I take a bite and ask for tea.  What did I expect?  It’s horrible.

The cab queue at the Beijing capital airport at 11:30PM is the longest I can every remember.  It snakes out back towards the escalators and elevators.  There one of complementary length just over on the other side.  There is helpful sign suggesting everyone should take public transport.  The estimated time the happy cab image says is . . . two hours.  I ponder that.  I know it won’t be that long.  Fela’s “Zombie” is on.  I march forward slowly, considering Fela’s diction, rehearsing the lines I will use if the cab driver is rude.

Friday 09/22/17