So here it is: the first post. I'm sitting in Terminal 1 of Birmingham International Airport and the place is pretty empty. The last flight to depart is in one hour. The hotel I'm staying in to catch the flight at 8:40 tomorrow morning is literally about 15 metres from the entrance doors to the terminal, and very nice it is too: a nice big double bed all to myself, a comfy sofa, wide-screan TV and a bath, which I'll have after I've finished writing this along with a hot chocolate and two complimentary Walkers Shortbread. Makes a change from chocolate mints on the pillow. The cups are a little odd though, as instead of glasses by the sink like I'd expected there were four little plastic cups individually wrapped and sealed in little plastic bags. Instead of forking out for a £9 alarm clock from Boots (which has just closed now anyway) I'm relying on my phone alarm, the TV alarm and reception to make sure I wake up. Any anybody who's tried to wake me up before will know that they've got a challenge on their hands! So there we go. The next time I write I'll be in sticky Shanghai, 16 hours and quite a few thousand miles away from Birmingham. Is 16 hours enough to learn basic Mandarin from a Lonely Planet phrasebook? I'll let you know...
