It was Wednesday morning and Wuhan airport had been closed for three days by the snow. The media were calling it a snow disaster for Wuhan and people were dying as flimsy roofs were collapsing, built without permit and with no inkling that there would ever be snow like this in Wuhan. Transport routes were cut and fruit and vegetables were not arriving for market. it was this Wednesday that I had chosen for my departure. BMW called the airport and the early news was good. It was open. My friend Michael, who was to have arrived in Wuhan on Sunday, was amazed at my luck.
BMW and I lugged my cases downstairs and along the central driveway of the estate to hail a cab. About half an hour later, fingers freezing and painful we at last found an unoccupied taxi and drove across to Wuhan to be greeted by our friends at the Hangda company. The journey had taken about forty minutes more than usual so by the time they fed us a farewell feast it was time to go to the airport. With their usual generosity they had provided a company car and driver so I was at Tian He Fei Ji Chang at just the right time. I was soon waiting for the gate to open and the runway remained clear. My flight to Korea, where I would transfer to an Australian bound aeroplane, left exactly on time.
The staff were excellent, courteous and attentive on both flights. There was a momentary freezing blast through a gap in the sheltered walkway to the terminal but I had little need of the thermal underwear and heavy Malboro jacket I had worn. After the flight to Australia was aloft and cruising I went to the airport loo and shed the thermals. The temperature was warmish even then, but not too bad.
The journey was as usual with airplane journeys, somewhat boring, low stimulus. My companion was a young Brisbane man who had just been on tour in Europe and was constantly coughing. It sounded pretty nasty and he assured me everyone on his bus tour had succumbed to it. I determined not to allow it to conquer me.
I didn’t sleep a wink and had mild discomfort with my breathing at times, but sipping various drinks kept a dry mouth symptom under control and I consider I did well. We landed in Brisbane at 6.10 a.m.
The whole trip was routine, from -7 degrees in Wuhan to about 23 degrees in Brisbane at a time of year that is often a very unpleasant 30+. There was a small time dissonance about when I was expected by my family but by the time I had converted my cash and bought a phone simcard Peter, my son, arrived to get me. he saved me the problem of trying to haul forty-something kilograms of luggage up a central city station staircase and we were soon in his car on the way home. An hour or two of winding down and chat and I went to sleep for the first time in about thirty hours.