Let the packing begin!

Well, we have finally realized that our departure is no longer some distant date, but is now imminent, having crept up on us while we lived our daily lives. The suitcases are down from the attic, and clothing selections are being made, with Beijing's rather cold weather guiding our choices. My idea: pack as if we were going to Aspen. Dee's idea: pack everything she owns. I remind her "You carry what you pack", but I have lost this battle consistently for 30 years now. I have a nifty new digital video camera, a "Flip Video" which holds an hour of digital movies, and is smaller than my digital camera, so I hope to take movies with which to bore future generations of Mannears. I can move the movie files to my laptop each day, so it should work just fine. Digital camera, digital video, laptop - - I guess I need to pack electric adaptors and converters to avoid french frying my stuff. So much for packing light.

We had dinner tonight with Adam Sharp and Chris Rippetoe, two young men who are contemporaries and friends of Scott. They are going to care for Scott's siblings, Lola and Cali, while we are in China, and generally watch our home. We hosted them at P. F. Changs to get some much needed practice with our chop sticks. Needless to say, we still need lots of practice. Adam has even agreed to make the college man's supreme sacrifice - he will ride with us to the airport at 4:30 am Wednesday to bring our car back to the house.

Our itinerary, so far

CHINA TRIP ITINERARY:

Wednesday, February 13 - Thursday, February 28, 2008

We leave from the Baton Rouge Airport at 5:45 am 2/13/08, return to the Baton Rouge Airport at around midnight, 2/28/08.

FLIGHTS:
Wednesday, Feb. 13:
CONFIRMATION CODE: GEMOZU

American Airlines Flight No. 3472 Departs 5:45 am
(Operated by American Eagle)
Arrives Dallas-Ft. Worth 7:10 am

45 minute layover

American Airlines Flight No. 2328 Departs 7:55 am
Arrives Chicago 10:10 am

45 minute layover

American Airlines Flight No. 289 Departs 10:55 am
Arrives Shanghai, Pu Dong Airport Arrives (Shanghai time) Thursday, Feb. 14, 3:25pm

Thursday, February 28:
CONFIRMATION CODE: GEMOZU

American Airlines Flight No. 288 Departs Shanghai 6:00 pm

Arrives Chicago 5:20 pm

1 hour 40 minute layover

Continental Airlines Flight No. 1647 Departs Chicago 7:00 pm
CONFIRMATION CODE: DJJZKW

Arrives Houston 9:43 pm

1 hour 9 minute layover

Continental Airlines Flight No. 3140 Departs Houston 10:52 pm
CONFIRMATION CODE: DJJZKW

Arrives Baton Rouge 11:49 pm

How we get from Beijing back to Shanghai to catch our return flight is as of yet undetermined, but this post will be updated with that information as available.

IN CHINA:

Shanghai, Thursday, February 14 through Tuesday, February 19:

Central Hotel Shanghai
Jiujiang Road, Shanghai 200001
Tel: 86-21-53965000
Fax: 86-21-53965128
E-MAIL: chbc@centralhotelshanghai.com


Tuesday, February 19, we check out of the hotel at noon-ish, take the overnight train (one of the brand new “Z” class trains) to Beijing. Train tickets will be purchased in Shanghai, but the train leaves at about 7:30 pm, arrives Beijing at about 7:15 am. We will have a private sleeper compartment, and there is a dining car. The Z trains really look nice.

Arrive Beijing Wednesday morning, February 20.

Raffles Beijing Hotel
33 East Chang An Avenue
Dongcheng District, Beijing 100004
Tel: 86-10-65263388
Fax: 86-1085004380

Sino-Mannear Relations: Our Trip To China

Dee and I will be traveling to China, mostly to visit our son, Scott, but also to see some sights. We will be in only Shanghai and Beijing, which, considering we only have two weeks, sounds like plenty. We leave on February 13, 2008, with our first flight departing at 5:45 am, and return to Baton Rouge at around midnight February 28, 2008. Our trip starts in the Baton Rouge airport, but, of course, "You can't get there from here", so we look forward to flying from BR to DFW, from DFW to Chicago, and, for a great end to an early day, a 14 hour 40 minute flight from Chicago to Shanghai. Scott will be waiting for us in Shanghai (more on that later) and he will serve as our tour guide and translator in Shanghai and Beijing. When we come home, he will return to Nanchang, where he teaches English to Chinese college students at the Nanchang Institute of Technology. You may read about his adventures in China, and find links to his pictures and movies among our links on the left side of this page.