It doesn�t sound like much of an inconvenience, but after 10 hours of it, I was ready for anything that wasn�t outta Hollywood. The Beijing Airport seemed sleek and modern in the international wing, and customs were a shock. The hotel had a car for me, which meant I had my own personal guide thru customs, and she met me �inside� immigration, leading me to the shortest line and then to my baggage carousel. At that moment, I thanked the powers that be for allowing this small expense�the pressure of figuring out signage was removed, and I could focus on the minutiae of a foreign airport. The baggage carousels� centers were covered in Astroturf and populated by a variety of small animals; one had wee pandas, another gigantic origami cranes. The terrain, as seen from the sky, was oddly familiar to me with rolling hills of corn and tall stands of trees and small roads found in the Midwest. This began my constant reminder that a) Beijing has the same latitude as home, and b) this is not the Gobi desert. It might be the other side of the world, but it�s not the other side of the ecological world.
My hotel was a cool oasis of Western reserve, full of incredibly polite staff and a multi-national guest registry. Women wearing my salary lounged with family over pots of tea and men huffed thick cigar smoke. I was jetlagged but curious, and took a quick spin around the hotel and adjoining underground mall. I gaped at the pool, ran off some energy (in hopes of starting a new fitness regime, and yes I recognize that it�s sheer madness but I was hopeful), and ordered room service for the first time in my life. I�m still not sure if I like it, but I sure as hell like the part where I ate a very nice meal swaddled in a plush robe and watching BBC World. A word about that fantastic channel�BBC World is one of those things that, like Coke and cookies, is immediately accessible and grounding no matter where I travel. I fell asleep around 8p, hoping for a good six hours of sleep or more. Yeah�I got my six hours, but I also had to endure five hours of insipid movies beginning at 2a. I will never, ever complain about my cable programming again.
EVER.