Travel day two.
We started our day at 9:30 pm on Saturday. We drove to the airport with Justin so he could get to his flight at 1 am, ours was at 3 am. The airport was packed for that late. It's weird how most of the flights out are in the middle of the night. We walked around and found Justin's flight but couldn't find ours. I guess they only open the check in counters two hours before the flight which is inconvenient. So we figured out where our counter was going to be and looked for a spot to chill for the next two hours.
Sitting on some luggage by the counter was a young couple that looked like they were waiting for the same counter so we walked up to them and said, "china eastern?" They nodded and said they have been waiting at the airport all day. Then we started talking about how both of us had huge issues with our layovers in China (can't be in China for 24 hours). This couple showed up at the airport the previous night and were told they couldn't get on the flight along with another two people. They told us a similar story to ours about how they had to call their travel agent and change their flights and ended up having to pay a change fee. Because they didn't have a hotel for the following night, they had been hanging out at the airport since noon. What a long day.
Their story made me super glad we got ours squared away in the beginning so we didn't have to do last minute changes at the end. I'm also super glad that I wouldn't let our booking agency make us pay for anything, even though we racked up a huge international phone fee...
We made sure that Justin was all set with his flights and on his way through passport check and then we waited, and waited, and waited some more while chatting with this cool couple. About two and a half hours before the couples flight at 2, a line started forming in front of the counter. We all moved over into what was a mess of people wanting to be the first in line. We were obviously first but the others waiting were not at all patient and tried to squish in front of us.
While we were in the mob of people, the other two people who had to change their flight showed up and we found out we were all going to the same place so we stuck together. They told us their story, similar again, about how they showed up at the airport and were told they couldn't board and would have to buy a new flight. They ended up having to pay an outrageous fee to fly back the next day.
Finally the line opened and I cut off the line cutters, even though I could hear the loud groans when 6 people marched by. Nobody cuts me off in line and gets away with it. I just put my bag down in front of his rolling cart so he couldn't roll it!
Once we were in line, Ty and I noticed that they only had the earlier flight listed on the monitors so we were worried that they were just checking in that flight. How they can get everyone through in only 2 hours is beyond me... anyway, we waited in line anyway and got up to the counter, gave our passports and were then told that our flight was not being checked in yet and that we would have to wait in yet another long line... so we went over to the line and then watched as our other new friends checked into their flights. The two older people that were on our flight, walked up to the counter and promptly got checked into their flight and the gentleman called us over "yeah, they're with us" to get us checked into our flight too! As we were getting checked into the flight, we introduced ourselves. Now we were friends. A middle aged gentleman who took his aunt on a travel vacation, which didn't end as planned.
Funny how one person at the counter wouldn't check us in and another didn't mind. No consistency.
It was more relaxing not having to rush through security and passport checking having more than two hours to wait in those long lines. They were crazy long for 1am...
In line we kept passing our Canadian couple friends and also met a group from LA who had pineapples that they needed to dispose of before security so everyone in line had pineapples, including myself and boy were they delicious!
Everyone got through passport and security check and then it was time to find our gate. We set our stuff down and then went on a hunt to get rid of the little bit of baht we had left. I bought chocolate. All of the stores were open at 1am, strange.
After waiting for some time in the crazy packed and brightly lit gate, we finally were able to board but had to cram ourselves onto a bus to take us to the plane. We were sitting close to our other two friends since we all checked in together and I'm pretty sure all of us were passed out for most of the flight.
Getting into China was and is always an adventure. Once off the plane, I made sure that I was by the doors to be the first one off that bus to get the four of us a good position in line. Tyler made sure to look back and so our friends knew where to go, they were close behind. We got in line and there was a woman checking boarding passes. There was one younger gentleman in front of us from our flight and when the woman got to him she was so confused as to why he didn't have his connecting flight boarding pass, but continued down the line. Nobody from our flight had a ticket. Ty and I had tickets on the way to Thailand, but they wouldn't give us, or anyone else on our flight our connecting ticket which we all thought was strange. Even the Canadian couple didn't have a second ticket, we wondered how they got through.
The woman who was checking tickets stared running around and talking to the other workers and eventually came back and told the man in front of us that because he was flying delta for his second flight, he needed to go out to the front gate to get his ticket, but China Eastern was ok to go without a ticket. The man was hesitant to leave his place in line but eventually left and do ty and I were at the front of the line of our plane that didn't have tickets.
After a long wait and much banter between our fellow flight members, we got up to the passport check counter and without question, the woman printed out our tickets! We gave a thumbs up to everyone behind us and told them we would meet them on the other side.
Next was security, but we were prepared for it this time. The line was crazy long and after being there for a few minutes, a huge hoard of people came from another section of the airport and we worried about our two friends behind us who were taking really long at the passport check. Security was no problem and we lugged around all our bags as we looked for some coffee for Ty as it was around 9 am. Starbucks for the win.
Back at the gate, our two friends had made it! And on our way to the gate we ran into our Canadian friends who, we were happy to see, had also made their connection with no problems. The older woman had a craving for coffee as well, so her nephew went to the cafe which was by our gate to purchase some and it ended up being 8 usd! She really had to enjoy it!
Our flight was very empty and it was so nice to be able to spread out! Ty and I got our own row and our friends spread out in the back as well. So nice to be a little more comfortable on a trip that long. Although we did take off and land at the exact same time, same day. Magic. Depart, 11:40 am Sunday, arrive, 11:40 am Sunday lol.
We were able to watch movies together ("press play at the same time!") as well as take turns laying down on the seats. Positives of this flight? Free wine, even though it wasn't that great... Ty go to us vegetarian meals by being nice and telling a simple white lie, "we had to change our flight last minute and had a vegetarian meal on that flight". Also, free checked bag! Ty and I had about 6 blankets and 4 pillows between the two of us thanks to an empty flight and I've got one with me right now as I write this on the bus back to Milwaukee. But I'm getting ahead of myself there...
Felt so nice to get off that plane in Chicago. Passport check was pretty quick and then we had to wait for our bag. While we were standing there, the man and his aunt found us and we anxiously waited for our bags together. Here was about 5 minutes between the first bunch of bags and the second round of luggage. Right at the end all three of our bags popped out onto the ramp together, even our bags traveled together!
The four of us said our goodbyes, they were fun to travel with, and went on our way to catch our bus.
Did I mention the snow? How could I forget that awful sight upon landing? It just won't stop. It's cold, and sloshy and white. Why did we ever leave Thailand? I miss being warm.
We started our day at 9:30 pm on Saturday. We drove to the airport with Justin so he could get to his flight at 1 am, ours was at 3 am. The airport was packed for that late. It's weird how most of the flights out are in the middle of the night. We walked around and found Justin's flight but couldn't find ours. I guess they only open the check in counters two hours before the flight which is inconvenient. So we figured out where our counter was going to be and looked for a spot to chill for the next two hours.
Sitting on some luggage by the counter was a young couple that looked like they were waiting for the same counter so we walked up to them and said, "china eastern?" They nodded and said they have been waiting at the airport all day. Then we started talking about how both of us had huge issues with our layovers in China (can't be in China for 24 hours). This couple showed up at the airport the previous night and were told they couldn't get on the flight along with another two people. They told us a similar story to ours about how they had to call their travel agent and change their flights and ended up having to pay a change fee. Because they didn't have a hotel for the following night, they had been hanging out at the airport since noon. What a long day.
Their story made me super glad we got ours squared away in the beginning so we didn't have to do last minute changes at the end. I'm also super glad that I wouldn't let our booking agency make us pay for anything, even though we racked up a huge international phone fee...
We made sure that Justin was all set with his flights and on his way through passport check and then we waited, and waited, and waited some more while chatting with this cool couple. About two and a half hours before the couples flight at 2, a line started forming in front of the counter. We all moved over into what was a mess of people wanting to be the first in line. We were obviously first but the others waiting were not at all patient and tried to squish in front of us.
While we were in the mob of people, the other two people who had to change their flight showed up and we found out we were all going to the same place so we stuck together. They told us their story, similar again, about how they showed up at the airport and were told they couldn't board and would have to buy a new flight. They ended up having to pay an outrageous fee to fly back the next day.
Finally the line opened and I cut off the line cutters, even though I could hear the loud groans when 6 people marched by. Nobody cuts me off in line and gets away with it. I just put my bag down in front of his rolling cart so he couldn't roll it!
Once we were in line, Ty and I noticed that they only had the earlier flight listed on the monitors so we were worried that they were just checking in that flight. How they can get everyone through in only 2 hours is beyond me... anyway, we waited in line anyway and got up to the counter, gave our passports and were then told that our flight was not being checked in yet and that we would have to wait in yet another long line... so we went over to the line and then watched as our other new friends checked into their flights. The two older people that were on our flight, walked up to the counter and promptly got checked into their flight and the gentleman called us over "yeah, they're with us" to get us checked into our flight too! As we were getting checked into the flight, we introduced ourselves. Now we were friends. A middle aged gentleman who took his aunt on a travel vacation, which didn't end as planned.
Funny how one person at the counter wouldn't check us in and another didn't mind. No consistency.
It was more relaxing not having to rush through security and passport checking having more than two hours to wait in those long lines. They were crazy long for 1am...
In line we kept passing our Canadian couple friends and also met a group from LA who had pineapples that they needed to dispose of before security so everyone in line had pineapples, including myself and boy were they delicious!
Everyone got through passport and security check and then it was time to find our gate. We set our stuff down and then went on a hunt to get rid of the little bit of baht we had left. I bought chocolate. All of the stores were open at 1am, strange.
After waiting for some time in the crazy packed and brightly lit gate, we finally were able to board but had to cram ourselves onto a bus to take us to the plane. We were sitting close to our other two friends since we all checked in together and I'm pretty sure all of us were passed out for most of the flight.
Getting into China was and is always an adventure. Once off the plane, I made sure that I was by the doors to be the first one off that bus to get the four of us a good position in line. Tyler made sure to look back and so our friends knew where to go, they were close behind. We got in line and there was a woman checking boarding passes. There was one younger gentleman in front of us from our flight and when the woman got to him she was so confused as to why he didn't have his connecting flight boarding pass, but continued down the line. Nobody from our flight had a ticket. Ty and I had tickets on the way to Thailand, but they wouldn't give us, or anyone else on our flight our connecting ticket which we all thought was strange. Even the Canadian couple didn't have a second ticket, we wondered how they got through.
The woman who was checking tickets stared running around and talking to the other workers and eventually came back and told the man in front of us that because he was flying delta for his second flight, he needed to go out to the front gate to get his ticket, but China Eastern was ok to go without a ticket. The man was hesitant to leave his place in line but eventually left and do ty and I were at the front of the line of our plane that didn't have tickets.
After a long wait and much banter between our fellow flight members, we got up to the passport check counter and without question, the woman printed out our tickets! We gave a thumbs up to everyone behind us and told them we would meet them on the other side.
Next was security, but we were prepared for it this time. The line was crazy long and after being there for a few minutes, a huge hoard of people came from another section of the airport and we worried about our two friends behind us who were taking really long at the passport check. Security was no problem and we lugged around all our bags as we looked for some coffee for Ty as it was around 9 am. Starbucks for the win.
Back at the gate, our two friends had made it! And on our way to the gate we ran into our Canadian friends who, we were happy to see, had also made their connection with no problems. The older woman had a craving for coffee as well, so her nephew went to the cafe which was by our gate to purchase some and it ended up being 8 usd! She really had to enjoy it!
Our flight was very empty and it was so nice to be able to spread out! Ty and I got our own row and our friends spread out in the back as well. So nice to be a little more comfortable on a trip that long. Although we did take off and land at the exact same time, same day. Magic. Depart, 11:40 am Sunday, arrive, 11:40 am Sunday lol.
We were able to watch movies together ("press play at the same time!") as well as take turns laying down on the seats. Positives of this flight? Free wine, even though it wasn't that great... Ty go to us vegetarian meals by being nice and telling a simple white lie, "we had to change our flight last minute and had a vegetarian meal on that flight". Also, free checked bag! Ty and I had about 6 blankets and 4 pillows between the two of us thanks to an empty flight and I've got one with me right now as I write this on the bus back to Milwaukee. But I'm getting ahead of myself there...
Felt so nice to get off that plane in Chicago. Passport check was pretty quick and then we had to wait for our bag. While we were standing there, the man and his aunt found us and we anxiously waited for our bags together. Here was about 5 minutes between the first bunch of bags and the second round of luggage. Right at the end all three of our bags popped out onto the ramp together, even our bags traveled together!
The four of us said our goodbyes, they were fun to travel with, and went on our way to catch our bus.
Did I mention the snow? How could I forget that awful sight upon landing? It just won't stop. It's cold, and sloshy and white. Why did we ever leave Thailand? I miss being warm.
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