It's a 16 Hour Flight!

JFK gets quiet around midnight on a Monday evening. We're traveling on a 777 so seeing hundreds of people lined up in the otherwise empty terminal is impressive. The crew marches down the great hall, 2x2 in line toward the plane; I counted 4 flight officers and 18 attendants, broken down clearly according to gender.

I'm writing this as we pass over Khabarovsk, Russia, 12+ hours into our journey and feeling more comfortable then I thought I would. The entire 16 hour flight takes place in darkness, both outside the plane and in the cabin. Add to that fact that we left NY at midnight and it's been a prolonged period of lightnessless!

So, the route. I've been wondering where the great circle to Taipei would take us, exactly. And now I know! We did the big turn over Jamaica Bay as we left JFK and headed north through central Ct, passed just to the east of Albany, to the west of Montreal and up and over the southern half of Hudson Bay. 

From there, we followed an easterly tack over far northern Canada and then through north/central Alaska, crossing the Bering Strait and into far eastern Russia.

Now the heading is southerly from here on out. We approach the ocean and it looks like we'll skirt southern Japan. Only 1500 miles to go!

Eva airlines is very comfortable. The meal was decent and they keep coming around with water. I never thought I'd rave about aircraft bathrooms, but I'm amazed at how clean and comfortable they are. Ted and Nancy got bumped up to 1^st class which looked amazing what with everyone seeming to get their own semi-private island! I can't wait to hear their story.

Each seat has a video screen and the offerings of movies and TV shows is much better than usual flight fare. Of course, as always, I'm enjoying the gps. The music is all Asian though and I'm not too interested.

I managed about 5 hours of sleep overnight, which is pretty good for me on a plane. Plus, I've been taking brief naps, so I'm feeling okay. 

As we fly south over the Pacific Ocean, I'll take a walk around the cabin and try to nap before we land. Lots more to share, so I'll be back!