Flying to Hong Kong

My flight to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacifoc left on time. 1:10 pm on the 30th.  Total airtime was something like 13 hours, but who’s counting?   I was in economy at the back of the plane, my preferred location.   Equipment was a Boeing 777-300, with 3-4-3 seating. I was in the middle section, on the aisle  - 64D - so I could get up and roam. The flight was not full, and the seat next to me was empty, so I was not crowded.  They treat the steerage passengers pretty well on Cathay Pacific.  Two hot meals and I got free wine with meals.  The food was, well, airline food, but it was heads and shoulders above what you get on United.

I was surprised most of the flight was over land. We headed up to Alaska, over the Aleutian Islands and south over Russia, a corner of Mongolia and China, finally on to an on-time arrival at Hong Kong International at 6:30 PM on the 31st.  There’s that pesky International Date Line at work again.