After three full days in Beijing, I was desperate for a latte. It wasn’t the coffee or caffeine that I wanted so much — it was the taste of milk. I had plenty of access to good strong coffee, beer, Coke, and was acquiring a passion for green tea. But milk was generally not to be found.
From pre-trip research, I knew one of the eight Starbucks in Beijing was located two blocks from our hotel — in the China World Hotel. So a few of us took a Sunday morning walk to Starbucks. Once we were there, it didn’t feel a lot different from the Starbucks back home in Highland Village!
After our adventure, it was back to the hotel to pack, and wait to go to the airport later in the afternoon. We would be flying to Zhanjiang, where we would meet up with the rest of our group.
After we finished packing, we watched the workers put up a huge Christmas tree outside of the hotel. Each day, the hotel had added more Christmas decorations. It was surprising to see.
It was a long bumpy flight to Zhanjiang, via Changsha. I was sure the plane was going to crash. But, we lived.
As we walked from the plane to the terminal, my sinuses suddenly popped open. Moisture! We were in the humid south — almost as far south as you could get on the mainland. It was December, but I could smell the flowers in the hotel garden.
Late in the evening, John and I had a cup of tea in our room, and looked out the window at the port of Zhanjiang in the distance and the South China Sea.
I didn’t sleep well that night. I was shivering. I don’t know if it was because of the cool and damp room, or because I was nervous about meeting Sarah the next day.