After leaving Phoenix two hours late we arrived at LAX okay. Then it was out to the curb to catch the shuttle to the Tom Bradley Terminal. We walked and walked and walked and finally found the stop. The shuttle came really qickly so we thought that we were good to go . When we arrived at the new terminal the driver said up those stairs and you will find your flight. He didn't say that the stairs were like four flights straight up! Once in the terminal it was as if someone had taken the top off of an ant hill. People EVERY WHERE! We were really saddened by the condition of this terminal and the rude attitudes of the people that were there to help! We found our gate and had about 25 minutes to spare. We watched as people pushed and crowded their way into line. Roger saw a sign and said let's go this way, so we did. It turned out to be the short line for premuim seats, which luckily we had. Thank goodness! The seats were nice and large, however the middle arms did not move and the reclining distance was far less than we thought. Everything was still fine until about 11 hours into the flight. Then all you wanted was to get off the airplane. We flew up the coast of California and the coast of Alaska and then down into China. We didn't really cross over very much water at all. Total flying time from LAX to China was 15 hours and 32 minutes! We arrived in Guangzhou at about 5:30 a.m. We followed the signs and ended up outside of the area of where we shoud have been. So we walked in what we thought was the right direction, in an airport with no air conditioning, and pouring down rain outside! It was so hot! A man with a China Southen badge finally helped us find where to check in and helped with the bags and got us to security. He asked if we had any Yun (Chinese money), we told him no. He said if we gave him $100.00 he would give us Yun, we did and here is the first lesson we learned. ALWAYS KNOW THE EXCHANGE RATE FIRST! Tomorrow will be a better day!
Love, Ranata and Roger
