London August 2008: Arriving in London-Heathrow International heading home

I awoke at 5:15a and eventually made it to the check-in counter via bus and train at 7:05a. I did notice as I was watching planes land before boarding the airport bus that the 6:30a KLM (KL) flight to Amsterdam was just taking the runway. I did take pictures of a British Airways (BA) Boeing 747-400 and an American Airlines (AA) Boeing 777-200 landing. OneWorld at its best I thought:

My bus showed up and on my way to the Central Bus Station, I was able to take another picture of the Emirates (EK) A380 display; fantastic! If you've visited Heathrow in the past, this position used to house a British Airways (BA) Concorde.

By 7:30a, I was checked-in and made through security and to the Holideck Lounge. The airport was a bit quiet, but I know it was building.

I got online and checked e-mail and I had to re-pack my bag so I did. I then headed down to the gate as my name was being called for a seat assignment.

In my search for finding a power plug, I stopped in Dixon's but found nothing. I then went back to the gate which was actually across from the store. There was still a line. I soon boarded.

Beijing 2008 - The Summer Olympiad: Arriving in Houston-Intercontinental, Houston, TX (IAH)

12AUG08 Arriving in Houston-Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH)

I awoke when we touched down at 7:40a by the runway in front of Terminal D. As it was this early, there were no planes at the gate.

We taxied into the gate in about five minutes or so and it was time to gather my stuff and disembarked.

This was quite a trip. At this moment, it was 8:45p on Tuesday in Beijing, People's Republic of China. I had been traveling since Monday morning at 5:05a Beijing local time, that is 6:05p on Sunday night in Houston. You figure out how long that is :-).

Beijing 2008 - The Summer Olympiad: Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall, Baltimore, MD (BWI) to Houston-Intercontinental., Houston TX (IAH)

CO1727 12AUG08 Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall, Baltimore, MD (BWI) to Houston-Intercontinental., Houston TX (IAH) 5:40a 7:50a 735 N??609

Flight Time: 2:56
Seat Map

I boarded and took my seat after finding a pillow and asking the flight attendant to find a blanket for me. The passengers got settled in rather quickly and one customer got a last minute upgrade and then the doors closed at 5:36a. This aircraft has 8 First class leather seats in a 2-2 configuration. Economy class has 106 cloth seats in a 3-3 configuration.

Four minutes later, we pushed back and the safety demo commenced manually as this aircraft has no entertainment system.

Our taxi out started at 5:45a and by 5:48a, the Captain told the flight attendants to be seated. It was 5:50a when we took to runway 28 and into the dawn.

I looked outside a bit and saw that there was already traffic on one of the major highways below in both directions; good grief. I actually fell asleep for a few minutes and awoke when the Captain on the PA and advised we were at 34,000'. He expected a smooth ride and said that we would land on schedule. The city was expecting thunderstorms later, but the current weather was 83F and partly cloudy. I still wonder about the merits of giving the weather report for your destination when you leave your origin, but maybe it is only me.

Almost about the same time, we were served breakfast of 2% milk with corn flakes plus a banana. Beverages came a few minutes later. This was all cleaned up in a few minutes and then another beverage service followed.

I was really tired so I went to sleep. The seat I was in does not have a recline, but I slept well anyways. At one point I looked out and the sun was shining brightly and the ground was close; we were landing.

Beijing 2008 - The Summer Olympiad: Arriving in Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, Baltimore, MD (BWI)

12AUG08 Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, Baltimore, MD (BWI)

We touched down at 12:32a and taxied into the gate in Terminal D. On the way there, I could see a number of Southwest Airlines airplanes. It's been a while since I'd flown in this airport and a alot has changed.

Five minutes later, we blocked into the gate. The agent advised us to wait until all the bags had come to the door and then she would let us off the plane.

I noted the registration as I walked on the tarmac and mounted a set of stairs that led to the jetway. It was actually quite cool outside; much like it was in New York.

I saw a lady sleeping on a bench across from gate D7 and hoped that would not be me in a few hours. As it was already almost 1:00a and my flight departed at 5:40a, I decided to just hangout in the airport.

I looked for a power outlet and found one close to gate D10 and set up there. Soon, everyone was gone except the lady across the gate and I. A few cleaning people showed up, then left. At about 1:30a, I saw a passenger, then more passengers, apparently another flight had just arrived, I think it was a United flight.

As there is no complimentary WiFi in BWI, I signed up for Boingo's 24 hour service for $7.95. T-Mobile had it for $9.95, but I opted not to do that.

I got some work done, checked in for the flight and chatted with my buddy who had now made it home from Los Angeles, (CA) to Atlanta, GA (ATL). While I slummed it in Economy class across the Pacific, he drank Dom Pernignon in Singapore Airlines' (SQ) First Class service, but I digress. I had to fill him on my adventure so far.

I called Southwest Airlines (WN) and checked on their flights to Houston. They had one at 6:00a that stopped in New Orleans, LA (MSY) arriving in Houston-Hobby (HOU) at about 11 something. I am assuming it stopped somewhere else before it got to New Orleans.

There was a nonstop at 7:20a arriving at 9:35a. This was my backup flight. If I did not make the 5:40a, I would not wait for the next flight at 7:15a, I'd just go for the Southwest flight since the agent said it was open.

It was kind of fun watching the airport get ready for passengers. There was some activity on the ramp as well and i got to see a few workers arrive.

At 4:13a, I saw three passengers show up for the 5:40a flight. Wow, what time did they get here I wondered? I contined to work as more passengers arrived.

At about 5:15a or so, the agent called my name and I got a seat. She even apologized for it being a bad seat and I told her, I was just happy that it was a seat.

Beijing 2008 - The Summer Olympiad: Newark Liberty International, Newark NJ (EWR) to Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall, Baltimore, MD (BWI)

CO3215/11AUG08 Newark Liberty International, Newark NJ (EWR) to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, Baltimore MD (BWI) DH4 8:30p 10:02p aircraft #782 operated by Colgan Air

Flight Tme: 0:32
Seat Map

I greeted the flight attendant as she told me to watch my head as I entered. The doorway is really short on this plane; shorter than the ERJ even.

This is a Bombardier Q-400 aircraft a quiet turbo prop they say. I had flown this type before from Horizon Air, but this was my first time on the Colgan Air-operated one. It has 74 leather seats in a 2-2 configuration and has two flight attendants as it is more than 50 seats but less than 100.

I made my way down to my seat and realized that the guy in the aisle had moved over to the window. He asked if I wanted him to move and I told no, it is fine and took the aisle after putting my stuff in the overhead which was too small for my backpack.

As we waited, the Captain came on and said it would be 0:32 to Baltimore and apologized for the delay due to Air Traffic slowdown. He continued saying that we would have a 15 minutes or so taxi and he was not expecting any additional delays.

The door was closed at 11:15p and the manual demo started to the automated instructions. After that was done, the flight attendants did their security checks and we waited.

The Captain came on the PA at 11:21p and announced that the gound crew had noticed a loose hatch by the entry door and had called maintenance to come over and take a look. He said he would keep us posted.

At 11:25p we had push back and the Cpatain said the panel was O.K. It was not until 11:32p, that we started our taxi out to the runway.

At 11:50p, the Captain said we were #3 for departure and asked the flight attendants to take their seats. Seven minutes later, we were airborne.

The flight attendant announced that there would be a beverage service which I thought was cool for such a short flight. That soon started with a pack of peanut handed plus your beverage of choice. Clean up was soon there after.

I fell asleep for a little bit and awoke to hear the Captain say that we were 39 miles out of the airport with 10 minutes to go and we would start our descent. He also advised the flight attendants to prepare the cabin for landing which they did.

Beijing 2008 - The Summer Olympiad: Arriving at Beijing Capital International from the city

11AUG08 Beijing Capital, Beijing People's Republic of China (PEK)
We arrived at Terminal 3 at about 5:42a. I alighted and headed towards the front of the terminal. I did not see Northwest Airlines there, so I went inside and asked. This terminal is alike a copy of the one in Hong Kong. It is absolutely beautiful.

As it turns out, it was not Northwest's terminal so I returned to the cab. My friend had already paid the cab, so we started the meter again (10 Yuan) and headed for Terminal 2.

Once there, we paid again and alighted then headed past security and into the Terminal. We found the check-in area, checked-in and then headed through Immigration and security and into the terminal.

After a little last minute shopping, we headed for the Lounge. Only my friend could use it, so I busied myself with some picture taking.










Soon , it was time to board as we met up with each other once more at the gate.

Beijing 2008 - The Summer Olympiad: Leaving The Olympic Area for the airport

A friend of mine joined me last night at about 10:30p. He had mis-connected the night before in Tokyo and had spent the night in the Narita area.

I went to meet him in the pouring rain and then we went out to the Village; by now it had stopped raining.

The next morning, we were up atom at 4:15a and was out of the hotel by 5:05a. it was smooth sailing to the airport except that all the other cabs were passing us out.

We did not know which terminal Northwest uses at the airport so we decided to go to Terminal 3 first. The lady at the hotel told the cabbie where to go before we left. The plan was that if we got there and it was the wrong terminal, we would just go to the next one.

We noticed that there was a turn off for Terminal 3 and there were no signs that told us which terminal was which.

Beijing 2008 - The Summer Olympiad: Fantastic

You know I usually don't talk about the destination, except for exceptional circumstances, well the Olympiad is one of those.

Go see pics at this location; will write something later.

Beijing 2008 - The Summer Olympiad: Arriving at the Olympic Park

09AUG08 The Olympic village - Choayang District

This was the picture when I stepped out of the subway in the city; people needing tickets for events. I guess I've arrived at the XXIX Olympiad.






You can see more pictures here:
Bird's Nest
The Cube
An Overview of the Games
Women's Field hockey

Beijing 2008 - The Summer Olympiad: Arriving in Beijing Capital, PROC (PEK) from Newark Liberty, Newark NJ (EWR)

09AUG08 Beijing Capital International, Beijing People's Republic of China (PEK)

We touched down smoothly at the end of the runway. I noticed a few airplanes on the left, one of them a Northwest Airlines Boeing 747-200. I did not think they flew those anymore, so I was wondering what it was doing there. Next to it was Air Force One, a Boeing 747 as well as a Boeing 757-200 in U.S. Government colors as well as a C147. So the President of the U.S. is in town.

We exited the runway and then made our way to the gate. It was not that I got my first look at the new terminal. It is quite cool indeed. Hard to see with the skies the way it was murky.

Here are some other items that were on the tarmac:
















We pulled up to our gate and then I disembarked and headed for Immigration. As I left the plane, I was handed a pamphlet labeled "Information for U.S. Citizens Abroad in China." It was specifically done for the Olympics and the Paralympics. It talked about registering with the U.S. Consulate, etc. I briefly read it and continued on. I cleared Immigration with ease and the same thing for customs.

I headed outside and noticed that they had a train, so I asked some questions and found it eventually. Sadly, I had walked outside the airport so I had to go through security checks to get back in. No issues there.

I paid the 25 Yuan fare and with my trusty map that was given to me on arrival and the hotel information, figured out how to make it to the hotel. I would need to change at the first stop and then take the Metro for 2 Yaun for about four stops.

I had just missed a train, but the wait for the next one was about 10 minutes or so. Once it arrived, we all boarded and took the 20 minutes ride to the next stop.

Here are some pictures of the city on my way to the city.






Inside the train.





The highways are empty.

A lone rider on this big street.

Another lone rider on the street; this is unusual as usually there are a lot of other bicycle riders.

It was easy to switch trains arriving at my destination without issues.