Flight to China ...

… was ridiculously long. Not as bad as I remember it though. Sitting in an airplane seat for 15+ hours is never pleasant, but Japan Airlines had typical great Asian service, which made travel bearable and almost even enjoyable. My itinerary included a 19-hour layover in Tokyo though (what?) so JAL arranged for a hotel near the airport. Almost met up for dinner/evening exploration with another MIT student working in Tokyo, until I realized that would entail a 2.5-hour travel by 4 different subway lines in a country where I’ve never been and don’t read, speak or understand the language … each way. Add to it that it would all take place during my biological clock’s 4am-12pm after not sleeping all night, while I’d then have to get up less than 7 hours later to catch my flight to QingDao, I decided to save that adventure for another time.

The hotel was decent – but talk about space efficiency! Literally the hotel room was a door opening into a room about the size of an average MIT single. Plus a bathroom. It had your standard bed, desk, desk chair, nightstand, coffee set, internet connection, clock … but no extra standing space. It was interesting. Hotel breakfast was mad expensive at $12 USD for a rather small buffet. Nonetheless it was good to be fed before heading off to China.

Tokyo --> QingDao was a little over 3 hours. I added Confessions of a Shopaholic to my growing list of in-flight movies this trip including Valkyrie, He’s Not That Into You, The International, and Gran Torino. Score. Got to QingDao, picked up by family friend’s driver, back to apartment, and ready to start off the real adventures in China …