| Monday, June 18, 2007 |
| Committed |
Well, there's no going back now. I went ahead and bought my airline tix to China today. I've been watching the prices and availability from both Dulles and BWI, and the direct flights out of Dulles are actually about $150 more and a lot more hassle (getting a shuttle to Dulles or paying parking costs for 2.5 weeks). Also, the only non stop carrier out of Dulles right now is Continental, which I never fly otherwise, and I can fly out of BWI on United all the way there and back and rack up the frequent flyer miles.
I can get a friend to drop me off, fly out of BWI, connect in Chicago, and the only thing I add in terms of time, is the 2 hr. flight + 1 hour layover at O'Hare. Otherwise the flight to Beijing is only 13 /14 hours or so whether I leave from Dulles or Chicago (they fly over the North Pole). Last time I went to Australia, it took a total of 31 hours of flight time to get to Brisbane.
By checking pricing and seat availability for the last eight weeks or so, I wanted to make sure I could get a decent seat on the Beijing leg of the trip - and they are really filling up pretty quickly, so I grabbed an aisle seat while they were still available.
I can still change the dates of the flights, but one way or another - I'm going to have to go to China.
Now, I just have to get the visa application filled out, drive to DC, get it approved, and I'm all set! Normally, whatever tour group I traveled with would take care of securing a visa for me, but since I'm going as a private citizen, I either have to hire someone to process it on my behalf, or take a 1/2 day off work and show up at the Chinese Consulate myself. Hiring someone costs about $100, and I think the interview process will be interesting. Besides, between photos, passport, renewals and visa fees, it's already nearly $200 just to get the paperwork to get into the country. |
posted by Broadsheet @ 3:47 PM   |
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| 4 Editorial Opinions: |
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WOW! And here I am feeling all world-traveled b/c I'm going to very English language friendly Oslo for a week with a regular ol' U.S. passport with no paperwork in between! ;-)
"...the flight to Beijing is only 13 /14 hours or so..."
Can't wait to read Broadsheet's Adventures!
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Would you like some book recomendations for your flight? :)
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MS: Sure! I'm hoping the in flight movie is one I haven't seen yet, and unlike driving, I intend to get some sleep, but I can always use a good book recommendation.
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WOW! And here I am feeling all world-traveled b/c I'm going to very English language friendly Oslo for a week with a regular ol' U.S. passport with no paperwork in between! ;-)
"...the flight to Beijing is only 13 /14 hours or so..."
Can't wait to read Broadsheet's Adventures!