Detailed Record of Transit through Mexico, Japan, and Hong Kong to Return to China - My First Time Returning Home

The itinerary for returning home: Departure on November 10 at 01:00, Mexico City - Tokyo Narita - Hong Kong - Nanjing.

Since this was my first time abroad, I had already been overseas for over six months by now, and I really missed home. I wonder if anyone else can relate to this feeling?!

As the date of returning home drew nearer, I grew more excited inside, but also felt a bit uneasy. Because of the domestic epidemic prevention and control policies, I knew there were still many uncertainties before getting the boarding pass. With these mixed feelings, the day finally came to head to the airport.

On the afternoon of November 9 local time in Mexico, the weather was pretty good, quite cool, and the wind felt chilly on my face, a bit like late autumn back home. I pulled my already packed suitcase and walked briskly toward the elevator. In the elevator, a friend casually asked, "Kevin, did you buy the red wine you planned to bring?" I suddenly remembered that when we were drinking together a couple of days ago, there was a Chilean red wine that everyone praised highly. At the time, I said I wanted to buy two bottles to take back. I never expected that I had completely forgotten about it.

Out the door and onto the street, I was about to call a car, but my friend stopped me and said, "It's still early, and the supermarket CITY MARKET where we bought wine before is nearby, just a five-minute walk. Go quickly and buy the wine you want—you said it was a gift for your family, right? We'll wait here." Actually, they didn't know that I had already prepared gifts for my family. But since my friend said so, and I also wanted to bring some, I said, "I'll be right back," and ran off to the supermarket.

After saying goodbye to my friends, I got into an Uber to the airport. Looking out the window at the city lights of Mexico City, the neon-lit buildings rapidly receded behind me. I knew the distance to home was gradually shortening. The drive to the airport normally takes about 40 minutes. About a third of the way there, I suddenly remembered that I hadn't completed my Hong Kong entry declaration yet. So I quickly took out my phone and started filling it out. After completing the declaration, I would get a green code. This green code was essential for checking in at Mexico City and entering Hong Kong. It took about 30 minutes to fill in all the information. After submitting, the green code appeared instantly, and I quickly took a screenshot. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing I had passed another hurdle on the way home.

Looking up at the window, I saw we were already on the outskirts of the airport. Checking the time, it had been almost 90 minutes since we set off. Indeed, this was the worst traffic congestion period in Mexico City. Fortunately, I had left plenty of time.

After arriving at the airport, there was another hurdle: I needed to take a rapid nucleic acid test at the airport. A negative report from this test was required for check-in. I was confident about getting a negative result. The day before departure, to be safe, I had already taken a test at a testing facility and unsurprisingly got a negative result. But confidence aside, I still had to take the airport test. After asking around, I found the testing location. Because the Americas have relaxed epidemic control measures, the testing site was virtually deserted—there was no one there when I went.

There was only a young man at the testing site. He didn't speak English, and I didn't speak Spanish. Fortunately, the process was very standardized; basically no communication was needed. I showed my passport, pointed to the test item I needed, and swiped my card to pay. The process went smoothly. What surprised me was that this young man also collected the sample himself—he really wore multiple hats. After the sample was taken, the results came out in 15 minutes.

After obtaining the negative report without any surprises, I carefully checked it and noticed that it didn't have my passport number. So I went back to the testing counter to ask. Fortunately, there was now a lady who spoke English. She told me that the airport-issued test reports do not include passport numbers. There was nothing I could do. With some doubt, I headed straight to the ANA check-in counter.

The ANA check-in area is in Terminal 1, and I needed to take the airport shuttle train to get there. After asking, I found the shuttle, and after showing my ticket, I could ride for free.

When I arrived at the ANA check-in counter, there was already a long line. Without a moment's delay, I joined the queue and waited for check-in. While queuing, airline staff came around to check everyone's Hong Kong entry green code. But strangely, they didn't ask for the nucleic acid test report.

While waiting, I saw a family of three, seemingly from a Central Asian country, checking in with six large suitcases. I guessed the whole family was leaving Mexico. I don't know if it was because of the excessive luggage that they got a green channel, or if they had originally bought first-class or business-class tickets. They didn't queue; they went directly to the business-class line to check in. I noticed that when they checked their luggage, there was also a pet carrier—probably a cat. The mother sat on the floor with the carrier open, staying next to the pet and preparing water and food for it. Her eyes were full of affection. At one point, I saw her wipe away tears, probably unable to bear the thought of her beloved pet spending over twenty hours alone in the dark cargo hold.

After waiting in line for nearly an hour, it was almost my turn to check in. My heart began to flutter with excitement and nervousness again. Excited because I was about to get my boarding pass home; nervous because I didn't know if something unexpected might prevent me from getting that long-awaited boarding pass.

Perhaps because all the first-class and business-class passengers had finished checking in, the staff directed me to the business-class counter to process my check-in. I smoothly obtained two boarding passes: one for Mexico City to Tokyo Narita, and one for Tokyo Narita to Hong Kong. My luggage was also checked in. At that moment, I could finally put my nervous heart at ease. I knew I had passed the hardest hurdle on the way back.

Then I went through security smoothly and headed straight to the gate to wait for boarding. I checked the time; there were still two hours until boarding. So I found a seat and sat quietly waiting.

Since my mind was now completely relaxed, the waiting time felt very reassuring, and I didn't feel bored at all. Across from me was a family of four: a young couple with two children, the older one about four years old, the younger about one. Whenever the little girl saw her father holding her little brother (or sister), she would beg him to put the baby down and hold her instead. It was clear she wanted her father all to herself—she wouldn't let him hold anyone else. The mother playfully kept trying to hand the baby back to the father. Watching this happy family scene, I didn't realize it until the boarding announcement sounded.

I boarded the plane smoothly. After finding my seat, I noticed that ANA's seats were much better in terms of space and comfort than the KLM flight I had taken when I left. Even better, the flight was not full—there were many empty seats. The two seats next to me were empty. After lifting the armrests between the middle seats, it was basically a sleeper berth. After eating the meal distributed by the cabin crew, I started my sleeper journey. My rating of ANA immediately maxed out—Perfect!

Because it was so comfortable, forgive me for forgetting to take a photo of the sleeper arrangement. Please use your imagination!

Thanks to the sleeper berth, the 14-hour flight felt remarkably easy. Before I knew it, we were over Japan. Opening my eyes, I was met with the harsh morning sunlight. After rubbing my eyes and adjusting a bit, I glanced out the window and saw a beautiful sunrise from the sky. The sun, like a ball of fire, hung on the horizon, emitting dazzling rays. The thick clouds looked like a snow-covered landscape. If not for the wing of the plane reminding me, I would have thought I was watching the sunrise on a snowy field in Northeast China.

We arrived at Tokyo Narita Airport around 7 a.m., but the flight to Hong Kong wasn't until about 6:30 p.m., so I had a whole day to spend at Narita. That was fine—since I couldn't sleep, I could start adjusting my jet lag.

Back in Asia, the first thing I wanted to do was enjoy a good meal. I walked around the airport and found that the only noodle shop wouldn't open until 9 a.m. Although I was starving by then, I didn't want to settle. I decided to wait until it opened to have a steaming bowl of noodles to reward my stomach. It turned out my persistence was well worth it—the noodles were delicious.

They say the yen has depreciated, so shopping in Japan is a good deal. So naturally, spending the day at the airport involved some shopping...

The day passed quickly. Then it was time to board for Hong Kong. Probably because the plane was smaller, though also ANA, it felt much more crowded, and this time it was full. But the flight was short—just over four hours. Since I had been adjusting my jet lag all day, I fell asleep right after the meal was served. When I woke up, we were already over Hong Kong.

After getting off the plane, I followed the signs to a designated area, where we queued to take a nucleic acid test on arrival using the previously declared Hong Kong entry green code. After the test, we could proceed to immigration. At immigration, we needed to fill out an arrival card with basic identity and address information. Then, with the arrival card and passport, we followed the crowd and queued to pass through.

Since Hong Kong is still under the 0+3 policy, we were assigned a yellow code upon arrival, which would turn blue at 9 a.m. on the third day. Only after it turned blue could we continue flying to the mainland. However, flying to the mainland required a negative rapid nucleic acid test result taken within 8 hours before departure. The 8-hour test could only be done at the airport and needed to be booked.

After passing customs, I checked the time—it was about 11:30 p.m. So I headed straight to the taxi stand to take a cab to the hotel. Fortunately, my hotel was right next to the airport. Since I thought Hong Kong would be similar to the mainland—Alipay and WeChat Pay would work—I didn't withdraw Hong Kong dollars at the airport. That set the stage for an unpleasant experience later.

I had to queue for a taxi, but there weren't many people, so it was my turn quickly. After getting in the car, I saw an Alipay sticker on the windshield, which reassured me. When we arrived at the hotel, the fare was 22 Hong Kong dollars. For some reason, the driver pressed the meter again, making it 28 Hong Kong dollars. I didn't care at that point and didn't argue.

But when I said I wanted to pay with Alipay, the driver started cursing non-stop. He said directly, "No Alipay, only Hong Kong dollars." I said, "But there's an Alipay sticker on your car. Why can't I use Alipay?" He kept cursing, saying something about the government forcing it, blah blah blah... Then I said, "I don't have Hong Kong dollars. What should I do?" That made him even angrier. He started spewing more garbage, saying, "Get it straight, this is Hong Kong," blah blah... basically acting like a typical arrogant Hong Kong local who looks down on everything else.

Then I suddenly thought I could ask the hotel front desk for help—maybe they could swipe my card and give me cash. I told the driver to wait a moment while I went to get cash from the front desk. He kept cursing, complaining about having to wait and wasting his time, mixed with some Cantonese swear words I didn't fully understand. I figured if I couldn't understand, I'd pretend he was cursing himself. Later, I got about 70 Hong Kong dollars from the front desk. After paying him, he was still cursing in Cantonese as I walked away...

Oh well. If he really thinks he's so superior and looks down on everything, why would he be doing a service job late at night? That driver was the worst taxi driver I have ever encountered. It instantly brought down my impression of Hong Kong, an international metropolis. I hope there are fewer drivers like him, so they don't tarnish Hong Kong's reputation.

After that, I checked into the hotel smoothly and began my 3-day home surveillance. During these 3 days, my "LeaveHomeSafe" code was yellow. I could enter places but not public venues like restaurants. However, I could use public transport.

I spent those 3 days mostly walking around the hotel and its surroundings. After dinner, I would walk around the perimeter of the hotel. During one walk, I saw the largest snail I had ever seen in my life—it was really novel. I had never seen a snail that big before.

My code turned blue on the 14th at 9 a.m. Since my flight to Nanjing was on the 15th at 10:25 a.m., I booked a rapid nucleic acid test at the airport for 2:30 a.m. on the 15th. Around 3:30 a.m. on the 15th, after completing the test, I took a taxi back to the hotel to sleep some more. Then at 8 a.m., I left the hotel for the airport. When I arrived at the check-in counter, there were already many people in line. I joined the queue.

While queuing, airline staff checked the 8-hour nucleic acid test report and asked us to apply for the customs code and Nanjing code on our phones. Because there were many people, they split the line, directing some to a check-in counter across the way. I and three other lucky ones were directed to the business-class counter across the hall, which basically saved me from waiting behind about 20 people. Allow me a small moment of gloating.

Then I went through security and customs. After finding my gate, I immediately turned back to wander around the Hong Kong airport shops. While browsing, I noticed that Chinese cigarettes were much cheaper than on the mainland, so I picked up a carton for a friend.

The flight from Hong Kong to Nanjing was on Cathay Pacific. Perhaps because it wasn't full, the cabin felt spacious and comfortable. The meal served was excellent, and the dessert was a Häagen-Dazs ice cream.

Then I arrived in Nanjing smoothly. As soon as I stepped out of the cabin door, I saw our lovely "Da Bai" (white-suited medical staff).

Under the current policy, it's 5+3: 5 days of centralized quarantine and 3 days of home quarantine. But my destination was Ningbo. The quarantine site staff told me that if I wanted to spend the last 3 days at home, my community needed to send a car to pick me up. That wasn't realistic for me, so I gave up the idea and resigned myself to staying here for 8 days. However, after 8 days, I would be free to use public transport and go home on my own.

Finally, I hope the pandemic ends soon, that life returns to normal, that everyone stays safe, and that I can reunite with my family. Cherish the present, cherish what's in front of you, cherish everything we have...