These Older Terminals

Speeding out to the airport.  “Ping me when you’ve landed.”  “We’ve landed.”  “Ping me when you’re through immigration . . . and, by the way, which airline are you on?”  “Hainan.”  “Oh.”  This means that that I’m going to the wrong destination.  Hainan flies into Terminal 1.  I’ve flown to Europe out of Terminal 1 on Hainan Airline.  Looking on the web it looks like they fly in and out of Terminal 2, as well.  “So, where are you?  Can you ask someone which Terminal you’re in?”  “Were on a bus.  Will do ASAP."

The big choice has been made.  The highway forks up ahead, and Terminal 1 & 2 are off to the left and we go left.  The final decision as to which of these two we drive up to can wait for a while.  Each of these older terminals is full of memories.  Terminal 1 has that circular area which is largely unchanged from the days when Nixon landed and bounded down the stairs to shake hands with Zhou En Lai.  Terminal 2 was new once and so many, many times I went there to meet people as they arrived back in the late 90's. There in that long, low-ceilinged arrival hall. 

The DiDi tells me he’ll wait for me.  I probably should have let him go.  They’re going to be a while.  But it is best to have something arranged I suppose rather than have to fish around for a new guy in that odd garage area.  I look around for a place to sit down and have a drink, check some emails, and spy a restaurant floor up upon the top floor.  Soon I’m sipping an Asahi draft, looking down on the arrival hall. The young lady lets me have a lighter so I can pop the two Qingdao’s I’d bought for the young arrivals I’m meeting this evening. 

Later at the newest, best-est kaoyadian in town, the ducks they inform us, are ready, as we take our seats.  Shall we serve them right now?  “No.  We’ve just arrived.  Let us order a drink and consider the menu.”  I can see them wheeling the duck back.  “We’d like a cocktail first and then bring the wine.”  Moments later: “Here is your wine.”  “No.  That’s not what I said.  Where's the scotch?"  Here are all the dishes you just ordered arriving in a traffic-jammed pile within three minutes of having ordered them.  Look, slow the progression down.  No one wants to be served food this way.   Top dollar prices and cafeteria service.

Later, I get them back to their hotel and continued on home.  I’d forgot to ask the cabbie to swing them through the Changanjie to see Tiananmen, as I’d imagined doing before hand.  Given all the preparations for Xi’s big day, it was probably for the best.

Monday 09/23/19