Heading Home

12th August 2017
The time soon comes around to head home. It's been a great trip and we seem to have packed so much in in the last few days that I'm ready to head home. Mongolia has been great, I'm not sure why I didn't come here sooner, it's got all the things I love about a foreign country - nice scenery, traditional way of living, Buddhist monasteries and great history.
The bus to take us to the airport picked us up at 8:30am (1:30am UK time), we said our goodbyes and thank yous to Kenzo. To get rid of my remaining Mongolian cash I give it all to the driver as a tip. As it's just under 3,000 Turgriks it looks a lot but remember it cost 3000 to buy a can of coke in the camps. I still have US dollars left should I need to buy anything at the airport's. After a short wait we are able to check in for both the flight from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing and Beijing to London. Once through security I started to hear rummers of a delay and sure enough it eventually comes up on the board that the flight is delayed. How long for? We only have 2 1/2 hours in between landing and the London flight leaving so can't afford to much as although we are arriving on a international flight we still have to go through security at Beijing. Time passes and then the board shows a delay of 3 hours! That's it then the connection will have gone. We pin our hopes on the fact that there is a large group of 22 people from the UK, mostly children, booked on the same London flight. There's 6 from our group plus a few others we talked to, so that's a lot to rearrange travel for, may be they will hold the flight? Our plane is also delayed coming from Beijing due to bad weather in the Beijing area, may be if lots of flights are delayed again that may help us. Drinks and biscuits are supplied due to the delay.
We eventually arrive in Beijing at 5:00pm our connection flight should have left 35 minutes ago. Once we depart the flight we can see from the board that it is delayed and due to leave in 30 minutes, can we get through the airport including security in that time? As we head to the transfer area there are some Air China representatives holding up some flight numbers including ours, "yes we are on that flight" pointing to the London number. They stick a red Air China logo sticker on each of us and shout "hurry, hurry!". That's great surely these stickers will help our transit. First step, the man who checks your boarding card and stamps it for transfer. Look I have a big red sticker on my arm! No he still checks it and then stamps it. Surely the sticker will help with security? Step two the lady that checks your passport and boarding card again. Look I have a big red sticker on my arm I'm in a hurry! No all things need checking and they need to take my photo. Step three the security search of you and your hand luggage. Right last time we were here all cameras had to be removed from bags. I'm taking no chances and remove half of my belongings from my rucksack. This is the last reason I could have been given this red sticker for, proudly displaying it on my arm I expect a swift outcome. So after the third time they put my rucksack through the machine, removing the reaming items I finally get them to tell me why. "Do you have coins in your bag?" Yes my wallet it has British coins in it, I show him and then repack my bag. So shouting "hurry, hurry" at us and giving us a big red sticker actually achieved nothing. Of course to add to this we now have to get to the gate, the last but one gate in the terminal of course. As we arrive just before 5:30 we see the previous passengers only now departing the plane, it ain't going no where fast. The longer it takes the greater chance our luggage will be transferred. Two hours after arriving at the gate we finally take off.
On landing in London I make my way to the baggage reclaim with a little bit of hope, after all there was time to transfer the luggage. As my bag appears on the carosel I feel like doing the Mongolian eagle dance of victory, but I'm to tired. By the time I checked into the hotel at Terminal 4 for the night it's been 22 hours hotel door to hotel door.