Wednesday 17th July, 2013       0530

Sometimes you question just what it is you have done to incur the wrath of Him up there.

On arrival at Hefei airport (to where my friend accompanied me in a hotel car) I was told by my companion my flight was delayed. Initially I thought he was pulling my leg but looking at the board it was apparent EVERY flight was delayed. I was unperturbed, for an hour late taking off simply meant the three hour wait for my Paris connection would be shorter.

It wasn’t an hour late, it was three - the period of time I was scheduled to cool my heels in Guangzhou. A simple mental calculation stated that I would land at the same time as I was supposed to take off for France. As I was airside there was nowhere to go for information as to whether Guangzhou was also experiencing delays so I just had to sit and wait and listen to non-stop delay announcements referring to “flight congestion infection”. This was the fallout from typhoon Soulik.

Needless to say I missed my flight and spent an hour at the transit desk before they finally gave me a fresh boarding card for the 0900 direct to London. I was beginning to think things weren’t so bad because the new ETA was only five hours later than originally planned. I was directed to go to the shuttle bus to take me to an hotel and I don’t exaggerate when I say it involved a hike of over a mile to get there. By now it was really getting late and by the time I arrived at the hotel - probably costing 100y a night - it was 0300, if I wanted a shower before I left I needed be up two and a half hours later so there was no question of me using complimentary room food service.

Before I dropped off to sleep I realised the airport hadn’t given me a new barcode for my suitcase so when I returned I asked about it. I was told as long as I had a boarding pass I didn’t need one. Well that may be so but what happens if said luggage goes missing? And of course that’s precisely what happened.

I am not in the best of humour at present, I have had just four hours sleep, have dirty clothes I will need to put on after I shower and I need to go and buy some new ones. I am down to my last 10 cigars (there are 400 in my case) and despite having activated the sim and put credit on it I can’t get my dongle to work. Life doesn’t get much better - especially in view of the fact I gave the lost luggage team my Mother’s phone number to contact if they locate my gear, only to discover when my brother met me that she was in hospital.

2115

Well no wonder why the dongle wouldn’t work - I eventually got customer support and was brightly informed the sim I had got was only good for phones. Terrific. Feeling restless I left the hotel too early for any shops to open so on the spur had an English breakfast in a café. There was no guilt involved and it was bliss while I read the Telegraph and waited for the Vodafone shop to open to get a special sim. But of course this visit has been going wrong from the outset and so it continued - PAYG dongle sims aren’t sold separately so I had to buy a new dongle. Then of course I had to go and buy socks, underwear and a shirt - and indeed will have to do likewise tomorrow morning as there is still no sign of my luggage.

But I am trying not to let everything spoil my enjoyment, this evening I even went to visit my Mother in hospital. My brother’s fiance has threatened to cook sirloin steaks “later” but as it is now thirty minutes off closing time I suspect it may be a case of getting a delivery as happened last night when I had Chinese for a change!