.When the alarm went at 2:50AM, I still hadn’t gotten so much as a wink of sleep. The room’s air con wasn’t functioning, so we slept with the window open. But, being next to a railway depot, there were train toots and train car connection clanks all night long. With a 32-hour trek home ahead of us, it was brutal to have to start that journey on zero sleep. No one said life would be easy!
Ebo, the same affable fellow who met us a week ago and drove us from the airport to the city, picked us up at 4AM sharp. Traffic to Changgis Khaan International Airport was minimal, and we did the 52KM distance in 45-minutes. When we arrived at the airport, we ate the boxed breakfast provided by the hotel and, then, check-in, customs, and security were a cinch. The MIAT Mongolian flight left on time at 7AM and arrived Tokyo Narita on time at 1PM.
The Japanese customs procedure was, surprisingly, disorganized and took a good chunk of time. Once that was done, we passed the four hours in Narita by transferring terminals and hanging out in a business lounge that didn’t offer as much as a peanut. I caught up on my blog, while Pam did some Japanese shopping, which she loved!
The Air Canada flight to Montreal was packed. As on the way over to Asia, we secured a rare group of two seats in the back of the Boeing 777-300ER. Air Canada fed us well, and we actually slept for a few hours. Arrival in Montreal was just 10 minutes late. Our connection to Halifax left and arrived almost a hour late. why? Because, we were told, the baggage handlers “just walked out”, leaving a few suitcases on the ground. It took a hour to find a new crew to load those last few bags and close the cargo door! When a crew finally came, 45 minutes later, there was screaming and cursing in the cargo hold beneath us. A lot of drama! That would never happen in Asia, where ground staff routinely bow and wave to every flight they prepare for departure. Attitude and process definitely get in the way of things running as they should in Canada.
Instead of arriving at midnight, we arrived at 1AM. An Uber got us home by 1:30AM, 32.5 hours after we left the hotel in Ulaanbaatar.
How 18 days has passed so quickly is beyond our comprehension. The itinerary was fulfilling, varied, and, logistically, went off like clockwork. Japan, South Korea and Mongolia all provided unique experiences, which we will never forget.
Thank you for joining us on the blog journey! Until next time.
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| The sun was starting to wake up as we made our way to the airport on a rare no-traffic UB morning. |
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| MIAT Mongolian has a 7AM and a 7:45AM departure for Tokyo - it’s a popular destination for Mongolians! The Boeing 737-800 was very full. We did the ol’ strategy of picking the window and aisle seats, in hopes the middle would be free. It worked! We had the full row to ourselves for the five-hour flight. |
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| Mongolia is still a developing nation, but it is gradually gaining some excellent infrastructure. Roads are still limited, however. Mind you, creating a solid road network for a country this big with a tax base of just 3.5 million people, is no small feat! Canada can certainly relate to that challenge. From the air, we did see a major highway under development. Yet another sign of progress. |
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| One last look at those stunning green mountains of Mongolia. We assumed everything would be brown this time of year. But we found the country shockingly green! |
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| MIAT Mongolian was top notch. The flight attendants were polite and gracious, and the chicken teriyaki was delicious. |
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| Upon descent into Tokyo Narita, which is north of Tokyo. Japan was incredibly green and reminded us of England from the air. |
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| Space may be limited in Japan, but they have room for golf courses, all the same! |
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| Tokyo’s Narita Airport, Terminal 1. Notice the Etihad Airways Airbus A-380 double-decker at the gate. |
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| Back in the land of techno toilets, where there are so many buttons your head is left spinning! And this is in a public washroom at the airport - not at a suite in the Ritz Carlton. The Japanese just come to except such luxuries in their loos, wherever the loo may be. |
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| The coast of Japan after take-off from Narita. |
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| The Economy Class food offerings on Air Canada were good. We started with teriyaki chicken 90 minutes after takeoff… |
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| And ended with breakfast 90 minutes before landing in Montreal. |
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| On the way to Asia, we took a more northerly route, which took us over Alaska and right down the Bering Strait, between Alaska and Russia. The return journey was more southerly. Perhaps the tailwinds along this route were more efficient. |
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