SEP 9, 15 .. THE FLIGHT .. HONG KONG NORTH TO ULAANBAATAR MONGOLIA ..

Here in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia the temperature this morning was 34 F (1 C) and it felt a tad chilly ..

A few-days-ago I wrote the below words .. 

That'll be the day .. When I get tired of the excitement of an International Flight ..

That'll be the day when I stop this globe-trotting ..

I have been off-line for a few days as I have transitioned back to Mongolia from Hong Kong.  

Here we go loop de loop .. Here we go loop de li ..

From my studio apartment in Sheung Wan Hong Kong all of my flights begin with a ride in the shuttle bus to the Hong Kong Airport Express Train Station.

At the Hong Kong Airport Express Station I check my bag and get my boarding pass ..

I have absolutely no inclination to check to see IF they really mean the below timing .. Be there RTG 20 minutes before departure time .. Period ..

Look at the above boarding-pass .. I am blessed to be flying from Hong Kong North to Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Ulaanbaater Mongolia .. 

I AM SO BLESSED! THANK YOU MY CREATOR!

Off to the train ..

On the train and off to Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok International Airport ..

We are almost there .. a quick 25-minute extremely comfortable air conditioned train ride .. 

Off the train ..

Into Terminal 1 (T1) for Mongolian Airlines ..

Into security and immigration ..

After the above hour and a half .. I am hungry! Just look at this sandwich shop ..

Spicy Chicken with all-of-the-fixings the on a fancy roll .. US$ 8.77 .. It was worth every cent ..

Nice seating ..

Off to my boarding gate .. Tuesday the 8th of September 2015 .. I am flying to MONGOLIA .. Hot-Diggety-Dog !

Here we board a bus for the trip out to the plane on the tarmac. 

I 'time-this' so that I get a seat. How? I get to the door and step aside and wait for the next bus. This way I am able to get one of the very few seats on the bus out to the plane ..

A quick Rhetorical Question: 

Are all-of-them on their smart-phones!

The bus driver waits patiently until the bus fills up .. 

A scene or two en route out to the plane ..

Huge aircraft .. absolutely enormous .. positively fascinating to me. Going out to the satellite terminal on the shuttle bus you get to see things you do not get to see when you board from the main terminal boarding gates as you walk out a jet way to your aircraft.

Let me say this again .. 

That'll be the day when this is no longer exciting and thrilling to me ..

Into the satellite terminal and up the twin escalators we all go ..

Etch This Into-Your-Minds People !!

Having etched this into your minds .. PUT DOWN your smart-cell-phones and look where you are going and please watch what you are doing!

Here we all are out in the satellite terminal ..

Yes the Chocolate Shop is still here and in business ..

I do not know who the below Most Charming Miss is .. nor what she is doing .. but I could NOT resist snapping her photo ..

The satellite terminal has all the amenities believe me ..

An old friend ..

I am at my departure gate .. EARLY .. no drama today sport's fans ..

Look away for a split-second and below is what you get ..

Out in the satellite terminal we are far removed from the main terminal complex. Out beyond the windows is the great-beyond. Several photos further below you will see the gigantic main terminal complex as viewed from my seat on the aircraft.

I get to the departure gate EARLY .. I position myself at the departure gate EARLY and I wait .. This is what-I-do (ala Peyton Manning) ..

I will be sitting for the next four and one-half hours .. I will happily stand for 15 to 20 minutes to be the first to board .. will you just look at the line behind me!

I wonder why no one else does this. Seldom IF ever am I beaten at this game. OF course some airlines force you to wait because they board by seat rows .. those seated at the tail-end of the aircraft boarding first. I beat that system by just stepping aside until my section is called.

Below are several views looking back at parts of the main Chek Lap Kok terminal complex .. 

We are out on the taxi-way now .. The below aircraft are taking-off ..

We are next to fly .. Deep Breath .. Here we go ..

Ladies and Gentlemen .. We have lift-off .. We are on-our-way back North to MONGOLIA ..

Below is a view of the above control-tower complex that I snapped as we passed it while still on the ground ..

Our last look at Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok International ..

Today's Rhetorical Comment:

Happiness is different things on different days in different places. Happiness changes constantly.

Today .. On This Flight .. For Me .. Happiness Was .. TWO things:

Happiness above was an empty center seat next to me so that I could put my carry-on back-pack under the seat next to me and completely out of the way of my feet .. plus the extra room to my right .. plus (see further below) room for my meal to spread out to my right onto the empty center-seat tray table ..

Happiness below was a seat-mate who slept almost the entire flight and did NOT opt to eat his meal ..

We two really got-along-extremely-well ..  

What is that in the background Captain across the center aisle?

That'll be the day when I stop being thrilled with my airline meals.

Oh Come On Captain!  .. This is a program of honesty.

That'll be the day when you are no longer thrilled with ..

 ANY MEAL set before you.

Do you all see what I mean about happiness being an empty center seat next to me?

Just another fun meal on Mongolian Airlines! Hot spicy chicken in a red-sauce over noodles with veggies and a roll .. A great potato salad with my desert-to-die for on the upper left ..

I ate the veggies first and then mixed the chicken and red-sauce into the noodles ..

Great cabin service ..

That'll be the day when I no longer am interested in nor do I care to photograph scenes that I am able to photograph out the window ..

Yes sometimes I sleep because I am totally exhausted .. sometimes I am in an aisle seat .. but NOT flying here in Asia!

Scenes en route North to Ulaanbaatar MONGOLIA ..

I found myself wondering IF there was some high-level air pollution present in the upper levels of the clouds. We were between China and Russia ..

There she is .. Ulaanbaatar MONGOLIA ..

The sky suddenly 'cleared-up' and the day was bright ..

Miss Hong Kong! You can be such a nice lady! Thank You So Much Miss Hong Kong for keeping your thoughts to yourself about your Chek Lap Kok International Airport .. aka a vast global transportation hub .. that is certainly one of the major air terminals in all of the world ..

Miss Mongolia also thanks you. So too does Chinggis Khaan .. Ulaanbattar's air terminal's namesake ..

"How?" .. I ask you .. "Can I NOT snap the below two photos!" .. What an elegant and majestic 'bird'.

Oh My .. Here we go loop-de-loop .. Immigration was intense .. 

Happiness is ALWAYS : Seeing my bag coming ..

What a day in Ulaanbaatar MONGOLIA!  

59 Degrees F and just absolutely sparkling ..

One of my 'home' airports .. How neat is this? 

So nice to see my best-of-friends Changer ..

Leaving the grounds of Chinggis Khaan Air Terminal .. Just look at the day will you!

 "Changer .. I really feel like I am back home!" 

What a magnificent room ..

A full kitchen ..

My view ..

Yes! Oh Yes! I think that I will put-my-feet-up and I will stay awhile here in MONGOLIA ..

These few words can .. in no way .. express the joy that I am feeling ..

IF THE ONLY PRAYER YOU EVER SAY IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE IS THANK YOU .. IT WILL BE ENOUGH .. MEISTER ECKHART ..

Thank You Oh God Of Abraham .. My Creator .. For All Of My Abundance ..

With Great Humility .. Cap ..