China

On my way home to the USA this time, I took a new route on an airline I had never flown before. This time, I took Xiamen Air from Bangkok to LAX via China.

My flight had a layover in Xiamen, a city in southern China just across the sea from Taiwan. I booked a night at the airport hotel. Usually you must have a visa in order to visit China, but you can get an exemption if you have a layover for under 24 hours.

After clearing immigration and getting my stamp (and filling out all of the proper paperwork proving my onward travel), I took the shuttle 5 minutes from the airport to my hotel. It was a super nice hotel, and surprisingly affordable! This sort of place is usually well outside of my budget.

I checked in (the staff spoke into their translation apps on their phones to communicate with me), and walked to my room, past a miniature karaoke booth in the hallway.

The room was large, and I was impressed by the Chinese tea set provided. I was tired, though the flight from Bangkok had only been about three hours. I fell asleep quickly.

a Chinese tea sea in my hotel room

It was a leisurely morning, as checkout was at noon and my flight wouldn't depart until 6pm. I enjoyed the complimentary breakfast buffet, which consisted of some very traditional Chinese foods.

steamed buns for breakfast

For breakfast I had some stir-fried noodles, a steamed bun, some green peas, and a few veggie dumplings.

a Chinese breakfast at the airport hotel

The hotel is surrounded by a beautiful garden, and I spent some time outside in the relatively cool weather. Xiamen is a large city in Fujian Province, in the southeast of the country. The city is sub-tropical, and famous for its beautiful nature and clean air. It was voted the most livable city in China, and the country's "most romantic destination". For a first impression of China, my very short stay in Xiamen was a good one.

walking through the hotel gardens

My general rule is that I consider myself to have visited a country if I go through immigration and get a stamp in my passport. Even though I didn't get to do or see anything in Xiamen, I'm going to say that I've officially been to China. After all, I did stay the night there! I certainly want to go back for a real holiday, but I'll need to get my visa for that.

Xiamen Airport

I'm really pleased with Xiamen Air, too!

I flew a beautiful Dreamliner from China to LAX. First, we flew from Xiamen to Qingdao, where we disembarked, went through immigration, and re-boarded the same plane on to the USA. The flight was not full, and my row-mate and I had an empty seat between us, so we could spread out a little bit.

The service on the flight was excellent, and the food was great too. I'm also impressed with how efficient and pleasant Chinese immigration was!

boarding the flight onward

Overall, I had a wonderful experience in China!

I'm currently writing this post from my hotel in Los Angeles, waiting to leave for the airport for my next flight. It's good to be back in the USA, but I'll be dealing with jet lag for a few days.

Snow Beer on the airplane