We were due to arrive in Beijing at 7.20am but actually arrived a bit earlier at 6.45am. This was quite reassuring as we only had 2 hours between arrival and departure with Air France. We were a bit surprised at Beijing from the air. It is shrouded in yellowy smog which showed no signs of lifting during the 3 hours we were there. It was quite hot and humid which Kristy found quite hard to deal with. We found the transfer counter with no problems but the staff seemed quite bemused that we were switching from Air NZ to Air France. They finally hand wrote some boarding passes and assigned us a guide to get us through the various checkpoints. By this stage there were three groups of us all transiting from Air NZ to Air ... read more

We booked our trip 7 months ago and at the time it seemed so far away as to be filed right at the back of the mental filing cabinets. Suddenly the time has arrived, accompanied by some nerve wracking surreality. (Is that a word?) I have packed and repacked on several occasions. Kristy is more sang froid and intends packing tomorrow a few hours before departure. We all have our own ways of managing stress! Schedule for tomorrow: Depart Palmerston North: 5.10pm Sat 26th Depart Auckland: 9.50pm Sat 26th Arrive Beijing: 7.20am Sun 27th (11.20am Sun 27th NZ) Depart Beijing: 9.30am (1.30pm Sun 27th NZ) Arrive Paris: 2.20pm Sun 27th (12.20am Mon 28th NZ)... read more