We're in Business!

So - I uploaded the pics...now I can start to actually write on this blog.

Chicago to Beijing - A gruelling 13 hour flight. This would have been horrendous if it weren't for two things:

1) I checked in the night before and was able to secure a great seat at the back of the plane (window-seat). Prior to this I would have had to sit between two strangers....that would have sucked big-time

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2) I had a very attractive Austrian girl sitting next to me. I think I bored her to death so she offered me some sleeping pills. The box was not labelled in English, but I took my chances.

The one little pill knocked me out for a good 8 hours and I managed to survive the remainder of the flight.

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The downside is that the flight was delayed for 2 hours due to "minor complications". I missed my connection in Beijing and had to wait an additional 1.5 hours for the next flight.

I stepped outside in Beijing and it was an absolute nightmare. I've heard that China is polluted, but I have never seen anything like this. The dirt and grime just hangs in the air like a dense fog. I have no clue how they will have the Olympics there in 2008.
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I heard from one of the fellow passengers that they will shut down ALL businesses for 2 weeks before the games to clear the air of all the smoke. Even through the open doors in the airport you could see smoke pouring in......creepy. I'm glad that I went to Guangdong, Beijing during this time is dirty and cold. When I landed it was ZERO degrees Celcius