Red-Eyed on Dragonair, Taking the Bus to Macau

This Thursday the travel desk is somewhere over the South China Sea, looking down on spots that will hopefully someday be dive destinations and not points of contention.

This was my third time taking the Dragonair red eye. The timing still sucks, but being on a new Airbus A320, with frankly the fluffiest pillow and blanket I’ve ever had in economy class, made it pretty decent. An eyeshade and a pair of noise-canceling headphones, which no one should travel without, especially, in, out, or around China, made it a decent sleep. I just wish that woman in the middle seat next to me, like many middle-seat domestic passengers I’ve encountered, would have not stuck her elbow into my side throughout the flight.

Speaking of middle seat passengers, I’m always surprised how many passengers get on the plane with nothing to do on the flight. Sure, on a red eye, they’re probably going to sleep, but on flights from three hours to 13 hours, I’ve been seated next to many who come on board with no books, no magazines, no iPad, nothing.

The early-morning final approach to Hong Kong revealed one of southern China’s amazing transportation and infrastructure projects: the Hong Kong-Macau Highway. They’re just building a road, out in the middle of the sea. While the environmental impact, both during the construction and its ongoing use, upsets me as someone who loves the ocean, I can’t wait until I can take a bus across a long stretch of water to arrive in Macau.

See you Tuesday.

More stories by this author here.

Email: stevenschwankert@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @greatwriteshark
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Photo: Steven Schwankert/the Beijinger