{"id":15545,"date":"2017-08-30T17:49:43","date_gmt":"2017-08-30T21:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.runkevinrun.com\/?p=15545"},"modified":"2017-08-30T17:49:43","modified_gmt":"2017-08-30T21:49:43","slug":"the-return-a-two-day-flight-back-august-29-august-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/?p=15545","title":{"rendered":"The Return – A Two Day Flight Back: August 29 – August 29"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Return – A Two Day Flight Back: August 29 – August 29<\/em><\/p>\n

And, no, that’s not a typo.\u00a0 Because of time zones and the international date line, I left on the 29th at 1 AM and I got back to the United States at 7 PM on the 29th.\u00a0 It also means I’ve technically only had this cold for a day and a half to two days (though it feels much longer… and it is… but it feels like I’ve been sick even longer than that… like FOREVER).<\/p>\n

As the flights and layovers piled up, and the time in the air stretched as thin as the atmosphere we were cruising through, I downward spiraled.\u00a0 I\u2019m pretty sick at the moment and super jetlagged.\u00a0 But I\u2019m trying to get photos uploaded and finish up the index pages.\u00a0 I kinda have to as I\u2019m off to a Mainly Marathons series in the Northwest in 36 hours.\u00a0 No rest for the wicked\u2026 the wicked slow marathoner, that is.<\/p>\n

In any case, I thought I\u2019d close out the Road to Bali series with a few photos from the voyage home.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my host at Clamonic House and a few of his family members (his nephew and if you can believe it that’s his Mom).\u00a0 Super nice guy and great folks all around\u2026. But maybe the best part was the whole back story soap opera he filled me in on during the ride to the airport.\u00a0 It\u2019s nice to know families are kinda universally screwed up, no matter your what hemisphere, latitude, or longitude.<\/p>\n

The DSP airport before midnight.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"\u00a0 <\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The flight to Guangzhou was uneventful and I tried to doze before the sun came up.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/a>\"\" <\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Upon arriving at CAN airport, the transit visa process was equally convoluted and bureaucratic.\u00a0 A bit of excitement though as they were detaining a particularly abusive traveler in a room and he would occasionally bellow curse words at the Chinese officials who would shush him and say \u201cno speaking!\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what the issue was but I\u2019m 100% sure yelling at the visa officials was NOT going to get this guy the paperwork to enter the country.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/a>Anyhoo, as I mentioned in the teaser to this day, I took advantage of the free transit hotel Southern China Airlines provided for the long layover.\u00a0 Would that I wasn\u2019t such a buffoon on the way TO Bali and had availed myself of this service then.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/a>\"\"<\/a> \"\" <\/a>\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/a>\"\"<\/a>\u00a0 <\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A just under an hour subway ride later, I beheld the Canton Tower.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\" <\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Fortunately, the Hop On\/Hop Off Bus was right at the Canton Tower when I finished shooting my disappointingly faux-Gojira Kev attacking large tower photos.\u00a0 I hopped on and rode round and round on the bus.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Weirdly, the stops didn\u2019t match the brochure the bus offered.\u00a0 Some were there but there were a few bypassed sights and then some random places along the route that weren\u2019t highlighted on the guide.\u00a0 They were however well documented on the complimentary audio guide that I could plug into at my seat.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I was enjoying the experience right up until these two kids started smoking\u2026 and right underneath the No Smoking signs.\u00a0 I would’ve said something but I didn’t know how to say in Chinese, “Are you kidding me?\u00a0 The sign is RIGHT FREAKIN’ THERE!\u00a0 No Smoking!”\u00a0 Oh, who am I kidding?\u00a0 I wouldn’t have said that in America either.\u00a0 I would’ve done what I did in this case — moved and shaken my head dismissively and angrily but not saying a word for fear of confrontation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s something about foreign cigarettes.\u00a0 US ones are horrible enough but the foreign brands are even stronger and heavier and more\u2026 smoky?\u00a0 I\u2019m sure Don Draper would say it\u2019s because the US cigarettes are toasted but then I think the point of that Mad Men episode was EVERYBODY\u2019S tobacco is toasted before being rolled\u2026 it\u2019s just Don Draper made it a thing before others could claim it.<\/p>\n

I transferred to a few other routes (hopping off and hopping on to the next bus).\u00a0 All well and good and there were a few funny sights and sounds.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\" <\/a>\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m a huge fan of signs and iconography.\u00a0 All a holdover from my Communication Studies degree and my lifelong fascination with language in general.\u00a0 It\u2019s amazing we are able to understand each other even when we speak the same generally agreed words.\u00a0 If I got all rootin\u2019, tootin\u2019 highfalutin I\u2019d go into semiotics or the study of signs.\u00a0 Each sign has two parts \u2013 the signifier and the signified.\u00a0 The former is the physical manifestation of the sign \u2013 the curves that make up letters, the octagon of a stop sign, etc.\u00a0 The signified is the meaning itself conveyed by the physical manifestation \u2013 the curves of letters joined together to form a word that means something according to a mutually agreed definition, the idea that when approaching a red octagon emblazoned with the letters S-T-O-P we should cease our forward momentum.\u00a0 One of these days I should do a post that collects a few of my favorite signs\/icons I\u2019ve come across in my running travels but in the meantime, here are a few just from Bali and the layover in Guangzhou:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
I’m important to a few people and in certain cases my inflated ego claims I’m a very important person. But not even in my wildest dreams do I come across as a very, VERY important person.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
So I could conceivably do those actions separately, right? I could walk around. Or I could open my umbrella. Just not at the same time. Right?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
This feels a little sexist. Scratch that. It feels A LOT sexist.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
I very often take candy from babies. So can do, China. Can do!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Not just an education center. A MEGA education center!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
This was a different version of the metro no-no’s. They really don’t like their Mexican food, huh? Usually in Southeast Asia they ban durians (and with good reason). But the use of the taco icon intrigues me.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Pizza Hut in China. I just can’t quit you.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
This is my new favorite traffic sign. There’s a whole lot to unpack here in the imagery — all of it fascinating.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
It’s not a non-smoking room as there were ashtrays on the counter and in the bathroom. It’s just a “non-smoking in bed” room.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I finally hopped off at the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees because, well, that\u2019s just a great evocative name.\u00a0 Visiting it, I guess I could see the Banyan Trees and looking back I really should\u2019ve snapped a photo or two with them.\u00a0 But as I most recently said in my Travels with Andi piece, I kinda felt like I\u2019d seen enough temples.\u00a0 Yeah, it was pretty all right, and therefore pretty alright, but I was kinda done.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"\u00a0<\/a>\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So I metro\u2019d back to the hotel and grabbed some dumplings from a street vendor.\u00a0 When in China, right?\u00a0 I kept wandering back and picking up a few more \u2013 what can I say?\u00a0 There\u2019s a reason I\u2019m overweight and chunky.\u00a0 Hard to resist those dumplings.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"\u00a0<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I was able to grab a nap and shower in the transit hotel \u2013 a real bonus I have to say, given the long flight still ahead of me.<\/p>\n

As for that 12.5 hour flight, man, they never get easier.\u00a0 But I made it home, eventually.\u00a0 Lots of issues at immigration and on Lyft Line to get back home but I made it.\u00a0 Air travel can be a marathon unto itself.<\/p>\n

And so as the sun set on my Road to Bali adventure, I look back fondly on the trials and tribulations, the sleep deprived misadventures, the mostly highs and occasional lows of traveling and running.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Funny\u2026 not \u201cha-ha\u201d funny, but funny in \u201cisn\u2019t that strange?\u201d\u2026 I don\u2019t think I mention my time for the marathon.\u00a0 It was just under 3:45.\u00a0 I guess I should put that in here since the blog is called Run Kevin Run.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Return – A Two Day Flight Back: August 29 – August 29 And, no, that’s not a typo.\u00a0 Because of time zones and the international date line, I left on the 29th at 1 AM and I got back to the United States at 7 PM on the 29th.\u00a0 It also means I’ve technically […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15545\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}