I was waiting at gate C 5 to board my flight. It was supposed to leave in 10 minutes. The announcement blared loudly over the airports’ PA system, “Flight 4659 will be delayed and will not be boarding for 30 minutes. We are sorry for the inconvenience.” I had a connecting flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong. What if I missed it, I thought. What will I do?
In 30 minutes another announcement and another delay, this one said we would have another hour delay before boarding. Frustration started to set in. By the time I boarded and got on my way, I knew I would miss my connecting flight. We found out that are delay was caused by Air force I, It was landing at the San Francisco Airport and so they closed it down to all incoming flights. That was so exciting. Oh the joys of International travel.
I was on my way to Guangzhou, China via Hong Kong to look for new items for our business to sell. I was to meet a business associate in Hong Kong who would take me to our hotel that night or should I say in the middle of the night. We were to meet with a couple businesses the next morning and then catch a train on to Guangzhou.
When I finally got to Hong Kong, it was about 2 a.m. and my business associate was nowhere to be seen. I did not have a phone number to call him or an address of where to find him. All I could do is stand around and hope he came. I waited for over an hour before he showed up. Imagine being in a foreign country in the middle of the night not knowing anyone, where to go, or what to do. Not the best scenario, I would say.
I am glad to say all worked out. We did meet up, make it to our hotel, our meetings, and caught our train. Canton Fair here we come! Guangzhou used to be called Canton due to the Europeanized names being used by the English Colonies but has since been changed back to its Chinese name.
My trip was successful despite my frustrations with the airline. I saw some great places, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Yiwu and Shanghai. It is unbelievable the capabilities that the Chinese have in manufacturing goods. The industry of the Chinese people is amazing.
Have any of you had frustrations or stories of interest with your International travel? We would love to hear about them.