Had a fantastic flight over. Cathay Pacific was wonderful. Comfortable beds, good food, great service...the best I have experienced on any airline to date-BA, Virgin, South African, Luftansa, Swiss, KLM, or any American airline.

We arrived on time in Hong Kong with a few hours to kill and had a wonderful business class lounge. Quiet, wonderful food, comfortable, lovely views. We got so comfortable...we just stayed til about 45 minutes before our flight as we usually do. Then we went to the gate. Well, it was at the other side of this HUGE airport. The business lounge was at gate 63 and our gate was 6 and the numbers went down ever so slowly. We ran and ran...we finally made the bus to the Beijing plane at the last call...can you imagine? We almost missed our plane. Doug just said to me...at least we weren't eliminated at this point in "THE RACE."

This flight was delightful too and we arrived safe and sound. Both flights were smooth and all luggage accounted for.

However...no driver to pick us up! We waited and waited about 30 minutes -- Doug and I each walked up and down looking for our name-- he at the 6 foot level and me at the 5 foot level and no one was there --and called our tour guide. She didn't pick up. So, we then got a cab because we were really tired and thought maybe something was wrong...(heck this could be the elimination round and we couldn't chance it). Wouldn't you know, about 10 minutes into the ride, our guide called and said where are you? The driver is there. Then she informed us she was to busy too guide us and had palmed us off on someone else. We were pretty disappointed as she was supposed to be really excellent. We ended up with a young, sweet girl Leigh's age.

We saw Tiennenman square, The Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden Palace today. WOW. The Forbidden Palace has 9999 rooms. The jade artifacts are unbelievable. Tiennenman square is very impressive. The Temple of Heaven is a hoot. It was the Emperor's place for thanking the gods for the harvest. Now, it is a park where retired people, forbidden under communist rule to dance, enjoy the arts, etc., now come and dance, participate in group sports, sing kareoke, play cards, exercise, etc. It is huge and quite unusual.

Last night we stayed at the Hilton because I had points. The room was beautiful. All marble with a mirror that turned into a tv over the tub. But, what made it special, was the most extraordinary service I have ever experienced. Without being cloying, the front desk made your every need their command. For example, we needed a taxi. They called a taxi. It didn't come because it was rush hour so they got us a huge empty tour bus to take us for free to our destination without our asking. We didn't even act upset that we had to wait for the taxi. They walked us out of the hotel and wished us well (I felt guilty leaving)..if you were sitting in the lobby, they made sure you were taken care of...just impeccable service. We switched to a different hotel--a boutique Hotel (the Opposite House) that my boss, who is from Beijing, recommended, and it, too, is lovely. The room is 90 sq meters. It has an all teak bathroom, including the sinks and tub---ultra modern. The service here is nice too. I have been really wowed by Asian service levels in general.

A funny thing happened to me twice today. I was asked twice by Asian ladies to have my picture taken with them. They were from areas in China about 10 hours from Beijing that does not get foreigners-especially Occidentals and blondes like me. They wanted to show friends and family that they had met a foreigner.

Weather is warm and skies are blue...going to the Great Wall and Summer Palace tomorrow. No shopping yet.

So far, a great start!