Reporting LIVE from Beijing Capital Airport

Was an interesting time getting here. With all of my luggage broken, I have been hauling around 52 kg in my hands and shoulders--mostly hands. I sucked it up and took a cab out of the apartment I borrowed to Dongzhimen Zhan, the most inner-city stop of the new Airport Express subway. I told the taxi driver to go to Dongzhimen, but he said "with all that luggage, youre going to the airport. I'll take you right there! Very convenient."
I said "no, I don't have that much money."
"What? You're a foreigner! Of course you have the money! Only 70, 80 kuai!"
"I'm about to go back to the US! I'm carrying very little RMB!" (This was a lie).
"Alright, how much is in your wallet? Maybe I'll make you a deal."
"No, no, it's fine. Dongzhimen."
"Come on, you want to go to the airport."
"No, I told you where I want to go. Dongzhimen."
"Airport."
"I mean it, Dongzhimen. I'll break (I didn't know the word for "rip") my money before I give it to you if you take me to the airport."
"You're joking!"
"Not at all."
"Alright, fine. You're crazy, foreigner. Now hurry up and get out of my cab."

Luckily, we were laughing the whole time. He was awesome.

Anyway, I then haul all my junk downstairs to the airport line, where I get a ticket for a cool 25 kuai, and get on, already drenched in sweat. Luckily, the airport line is excellently modern, and air-conditioned.

After a short trip underground, it shoots up into the sky, and one gets a sense for just how fast he is going (the answer, or course: pretty fast).

When we arrived, I stepped out onto the terminal, and got to see the twinkly lights of Beijing disappear for the last time in a long time.

I got into the terminal, and they checked my bags for bomb residue looooong before I got to ticketing, which was interesting. They are really worried.

And now, I am sitting here, not yet checked in, waiting for my flight. All ticketing is closed, and was closed at 11, when I arrived, which I found... odd. It doesn't even open 'till 5:30 (a few people have already offered me hotels for the night, but little do they know: I'm not on Communist Time anymore, I'm on Freedom Time, so I will be staying up all night long!).

I thought it was quite odd for an airport as massive as Beijing's to only be ticketing 2/3 of the day, then realised: I'm in Terminal 3, which is new. And if the Beijing Government is smart, they are planning for growth, and Terminal 3 might actually be larger than it needs to be. Which would be brilliant, but it means that no coffee shop is open 'till 6 and I have to sit out in the loser section for the next 5 hours or so.

Lame.

I was hoping to have pictures for you guys, but my pirated bandwidth just can't handle it, so they'll come later.

See you in Shanghai!

--Comrade Erik