We’re here.
In quarantine.
Just kidding. Hehe.
I’m typing on Word and will later try to upload to blogger. We have to try to access from the lobby, so it’ll be hit and miss. Which means we probably can’t Skype anytime soon either.
I’m really not sure what day it is or what time zone I’m in. We left at 2:25p.m.on May 12 and left the Beijing Airport for out hotel at a little after midnight on May 14. I think we completely skipped Anakin & Big Sis's birthdays. We did sing (quietly) to Anakin somewhere over the ocean and gave him a Lego Starwars game for the Nintendo.
But back to what I’m sure you’re interested in…the flu.
From the gate in the U.S., we knew things might be a little different. At check-in, the Northwest attendant indicated that things were definitely happening in Tokyo that were messing up Northwest; that their flight attendants were being held (I assume quarantined) due to people on flights with fevers. He strongly advised that people not go with fevers.
On the 10.5 hour flight to Tokyo we saw several Asian folks with masks on. As we got closer and closer to China, the number of masks exponentially increased in airports…but more on that later.
The flight to Tokyo was superb…or as superb as any 10.5 hour flight can be. Thanks to dh, we were seated in an area that wasn’t quite full. We were in the middle of the plane where there were four seats together. Lizzi, 'LilDude and I had one set of four seats, so he could stretch out between us and sleep for short periods of time. Anakin and dh were seated next to one masked young man with an empty seat on their other side, so they moved over, giving them an extra space. I highly recommend the Northwest entertainment system. We each had a screen and could choose from multiple video games that could even be played interactively with another seat on the plane; Lizzi even played games against dh, sitting in front of her. The movie choices included a list of perhaps thirty or so flicks, from new releases to classics. 'LilDude had at least 5-6 or more kid movies to choose from. I barely even broke into his rather full backpack, save a bit of time on Lisa’s Didj. At one point, dh and Anakin were watching a movie in tandem so that dh could stop Anakin and make him fastforward if anything was inappropriate. We were also fed well. A decent dinner and breakfast as well as the usual pretzels and the unusual ice cream sandwich. I thought the ice cream sandwich was their feeble attempt to lower our temps before we reached Tokyo. ;) We drank a lot of water on the flight, trying to stay hydrated. We also took preventative Ibuprofen. I did not want us to be the ones holding up the guys in the white bunny suits.
When we reached Tokyo we were told to remain in our seats as local health authorities embarked the plane. They had almost full surgical scrubs on, with masks. We were told that taking photographs could “slow the process” so we only have one distant photo of the initial process.
First a guy went up the plane, row by row, and very quickly scanned the row with some sort of heat measuring device. We did not have individual temps taken, rather he seemed to mostly be looking for hot spots. Then we had individual interviews with authorities who reviewed health forms we’d filled out on the plane. We had to say if we’d been around pigs, been around sick people, had any of the following symptoms in the last two weeks (from sore throat to headache to nausea) and whether we’d taken some kind of meds (didn’t understand the term, but I assume it meant fever meds) any time in the last two weeks. I filled out the forms before we took Ibuprofen. ;) Although I’m not even sure that the form was referring to that. We also had to say exactly where we were going and how we could be contacted. So they can still come find us if anyone gets sick. They told us this process could take up to an hour but that all connecting flights would wait for us. They finished the plane and then all the health authorities seemed to disappear. After ten minutes or more they gave us the all clear. In the Tokyo airport we went through security screening like we were entering an airport. We didn’t have to take shoes off, but we were not to have ANY liquids. We didn’t want to lose our antibacterial lotion and no one confiscated it. I really don’t think they were checking things very closely. Although perhaps they knew that we’d already gone through previous security screenings in other airports? In Tokyo, as we left the plane, we passed a LOT of workers wearing face masks. They then handed out face masks to everyone as they left the breezeway. Quite a few Asian folks wore them; I saw almost no Anglo/N.Americans with them on. One family put them on for a photo op and then took them off.
In the flight from Tokyo to Beijing we had the same flight amenities. But after 10.5 hours, the entertainment systems were no longer terribly entertaining. We were mostly wiped, having been up for about a day by that time. Interesting thing about
LilDude…when he is exhausted, he gets wound. And I mean wound. Like a top wound up too tight. Or a pin ball on steroids. He gets loud, hyper, and generally difficult to rein in. (Our poor guide’s first impression probably wasn’t great last night. She kept watching him and finally said, “He has a lot of energy.” The understatement of the night.)
On the flight to Beijing, I felt a tad funny after eating dinner…which was an unappetizing chicken dish with all the fat/skin (dh and Anakin had the beef and it was better). I was also definitely feeling the effects of lack of sleep. So I wasn’t terribly surprised when LilDude mentioned in passing that his tummy didn’t feel that great, both on the Tokyo and Beijing flights. We had quite a bit of turbulence coming into Tokyo and a little bit between Tokyo and Beijing, so it was understandable.
But then, dh, who happens to have the “miracle touch” when it comes to sensing kid fevers, started saying that he wondered if LilDude had a fever. I wasn’t sure, but I’m not nearly as good at it as dh. He did feel warm. Kinda sweaty. So in addition to the second dose of Ibuprofen I’d just dealt out for Beijing, I also gave him Tylenol. And then a Pepto Bismal pill. About 5 minutes before landing in Beijing, he suddenly looks at me and says, “I feel something in my mouth.” That’s when Mommy experience pays off big-time. It took me about as fast as you can say “Beijing quarantine” for me to locate an airsickness bag, let him quietly dump the Ibuprofen, Tylenol, and PeptoBismal into it, roll it up, stash it beneath his seat, and turn to see if anyone noticed. Luckily, we were in a row of three and dh and I were on each side of him. No one saw. (In fact, when Lizzi and Anakin read this today, they said, "He threw up???? They were sitting across the aisle from us and didn't notice.)
LilDude felt better. And dh hoped that his forehead was a little cooler. But now came the big question…what to do with the evidence?
We could no longer access the bathroom. We were NOT going to tell the flight attendants who would obligate us to change our already filled out health forms which included “vomiting.” And we could not leave the evidence behind as the “local health authorities” would know someone on the plane was sick. And understand that this would NOT be a good thing. So we put the bag in a plastic bag we’d gotten in the airport when we bought neck pillows. Neck pillows out, evidence in. I simply carried it out like any other souvenir bag. And deposited it in a bathroom trash in the airport.
Upon landing, this time, EVERY PERSON had their forehead individually scanned. Two guys went through the entire plane and aimed their “gun” at each person’s head. We didn’t know if it’d help, but I did stroke his forehead with my freezing cold hand several times. Thankfully, we all passed. No one checked our health forms until we disembarked. Then we got in lines to have them checked. Then a final line for passports/Visa. After the lines, we easily got our luggage (no customs check…no different to get luggage here than at home) and met our guide who popped us in a van with a driver and took us to our hotel. We were in bed by around 1a.m. local time. BTW, we have not experienced the complaint that we’ve read on forums about rock hard mattresses. Lizzi commented this morning how comfortable her bed is…with about the same width as the one that held three of us in Atlanta.
But back to flu travel…
After going through health screening in both Tokyo and Beijing, here’s my analysis.
It’d be REALLY BAD NEWS if you were found to have a fever on a flight.
It’d be REALLY BAD NEWS to sit anywhere close to someone with a fever.
It could very possibly be bad news to have ANYONE on your flight with a fever.
Oh, and it’d probably be best to not throw up just as the health authorities are boarding the plane.
Other than that, travel is fine.
Today is a free day for us to catch up on rest and walk around local markets. We’ll update as we have time. Will also try to add a few photos.
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