From president to movie star to royalty

Private jet, touch screens and playstations are all common features in a voyage of a movie star. And since recently also common in the voyages that I make. Maybe you can recall my first story from Bulgaria where I told you about my flight experiences in a small plane with a stairs/door and felt like President Bush? Since then it only got better. I had a private jet (again a stairs/door plane), ok I had to share it with 13 people (almost private), from Düsseldorf to Stockholm. From Stockholm to Beijing touch screens and playstations for everyone! Hello SAS, bye bye KLM.
But the moment that I really felt like a movie star (one in particular) was in between the flights, on Stockholm Aremødø Knakebrød Smalland (you know something that sounds Ikea-like) Airport. I had to wait for six hours and was out of the ordinary bored. Stuck at the airport with not much to do, apart from:
- Checking out the shops: you know the usual, try every perfume (spray it all on yourself, my theory was: the more I spray the longer it will last so I will still smell nice when I finally arrive in Beijing – theory didn’t really appeared to be true though), read all magazines in English that are available (without buying them of course, just reading in the shop, hey I’m Dutch).
- Making an analysis of Swedish fashion (conclusion: mullets and trousers in socks are definitely hip, at least that’s what they think, I think it’s just as hip as the word hip).
- Trying to get as comfortable as possible with chairs and tables available, unfortunately the comfort standard did not exceed a 2 star level (on a scale of 5).
- Trying to get used to those annoying Chinese habits again, which I had put away very deep in my memory. My fellow Chinese travelers made sure to bring every memory back about their let’s say it nicely ‘unpleasant’ habits. I tried to think of it as a kind gesture; they just wanted to prepare me again for the hell that will brake loose when I arrive in Beijing.
- Looking puzzled every time when a person started to talk to me in Swedish. It appears that they think I look like them (but I don’t even have a mullet or my trousers in my socks?!).
Already know to which movie star I felt incredibly close? Tom Hanks – The Terminal of course!
Mark arranged a royal pick-up for me, my servant was already waiting for me outside of the plane with the sign: H.K.H. Marieke Timmer (stands for: Hare Koninklijke Hoogheid – Her Royal Highness), got a VIP treatment with extra quick service and my limo was waiting. Mark, again, you rule!
Beijing – welcome to the jungle! Smog so thick that you can’t see further than 50 meters, spits flying everywhere (no way that China will be a no spitting zone during the Olympics next year, no matter how hard they try), not only 9 million bicycles but also 9 million taxis (which are incredibly more expensive then when I left, what happened with the beautiful 1.20 Xiali’s that where held together with tape? Now every taxi raised it prices to 2 quai. Most red and taped taxis are replaced by the more colorful and newer ones. Increasing the prices but not decreasing smell, I still always almost faint of the typical aroma in those things. It doesn’t matter what kind of taxi they have because it’s the taxi drivers themselves that stink!), Huggies or Pampers – still non existent just cut a hole in the little fellows pants, imagine all mentioned above combined with a temperature of 35C…
Isn’t Beijing great? Despite or maybe even because of all above mentioned factors I love it here. Great food, never a dull moment, going out till early morning – I’m home again!