Day 13! Just a quick update from my flight and layover in Shenzhen, China!

I ended my last post right before I boarded my flight. So I’ll start today’s from there!

After just about two weeks in London I was ready for the warmth! So I boarded the very large plane that was taking me to a much warmer Vietnam (with a layover in China)!

To my surprise… this flight was practically empty. I’d say maybe 10% of the flight was filled, at least in the economy section!

With the lack of people on the plane I had an aisle seat AND an empty seat next to me! Some people had whole middle rows to themselves and were lying across them like beds.

The night sky as we took off from London was gorgeous. You had the clouds illuminated by the city below with a gorgeous view of the stars above. I tried taking a couple of pictures, but they do not do it justice!

The first meal on the flight was cod with tomato sauce and chili sauce. After serving the meal they came around with drinks and I decided to treat myself to a rice wine (it was free)! I’m not a big fan of wine, but rice wine is definitely one I enjoy. For dessert there was a tart with an Oreo bottom and pop rocks on it, it wasn’t bad… but it was definitely interesting.

For the second meal they served us noodles, a croissant, and fruit. It’s like they knew it was breakfast time in London, but also dinner time in Shenzhen.

During international flights they make you close your windows to help everyone sleep. But I wanted to take a peak outside since I’ve never flown over China before and I’m glad I did!

I’m not exactly sure what mountain range this is but it’s south of Xi’an.

Speaking of sleep, I think I successfully slept around 6 hours on the flight in total! Which is A LOT better than my flight to London. I’m sure as my travels progress I’ll get better and better at it!

While we made our descent into Shenzhen, we were met with a completely different landscape of skyscrapers and industrial buildings.

But also an amazing sunset reflecting off the water running through the city!

We then had one of the fastest deplanings I have ever experienced. We actually had to walk onto the tarmac to deplane which is a rarity and something I really enjoy!

Security was pretty intense coming into the airport. In London, we were told we needed to get our checked bags and take them through security to be checked again… but on arrival they told us we didn’t.

So a group of solo travelers that I met amongst the confusion put our trust in the system and headed into the airport.

Currently I’m sitting and waiting until my flight to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. My flight takes off at 12:15am and it’s currently 7:15pm.

Thankfully I packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some rice cakes for a snack before my flight. But I’m not going to lie… I’m really nervous.

Luckily there is WiFi in this airport, but it doesn’t allow for WhatsApp so I have NO IDEA if my visa has been sent over by my travel agent.

It’s just money in the end, but I’m trying to be as frugal as possible and a last minute flight to a country I CAN enter won’t be especially cheap. But it beats any negative alternative!!

And I’ll leave you on that cliff hanger as even I don’t know what my future holds for me! As of right now, I’m just disoriented and staying optimistic!

Hopefully you’ll hear a happy tale of me successfully entering Vietnam tomorrow ❤️

– Elie