Life in Quarantine in Mongolia Part 3: The Long Way There

"Jay, the practical enthusiast" (jay-m)
09/22/2020 at 07:00 • Filed to: None

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We normally fly to Detroit, then Seoul, and go on to Ulaanbaatar. It usually takes around 24 to 36 hours depending on layover time with a flight time of 18 or 19 hours. This time we had no choice on our route.

MCO to MSP. 3 hour flight.

Orlando used to have no off season.

We left the house at 8 am on Tuesday (9/15). The airport was empty, just as before. We had Starbucks and let the kids run around and burn off some energy. The flight was mostly empty. The plane was warm, which was kind of annoying because we were dressed for a cold flight. We were in second class so at least we got to drink. A friend of mine was the flight leader and he kept the drinks coming. The baby (23 months old) did not want to keep her mask on. We found a loophole, since you don’t have to wear a mask when eating or drinking just make sure she is always eating or drinking. When we got to Minneapolis the airport was empty and most restaurants were closed. 3 hour layover.

This whole wing was closed.

M SP to LAX. 3 hour 15 minute flight.

Minneapolis was just as empty.

The baby slept a little, then kept us busy the whole flight. She was moving, going back and forth, up and down. She just couldn’t sit still. It was a long flight. When we got to LAX we picked up our bags and walked over to the Tom Brady terminal. We still had 6 hours till departure! We found a place to sit and thought we would get some sleep but the baby wasn’t having it. Walked around until check in time.

LAX to HKG. 13 hour flight.

Can’t check in. Agent says my visa is not enough. They need some confirmation from the embassy that I am on a list of foreigners approved to enter the country. I wasn’t the only one. We waited around for about an hour before the embassy finally sent a list to the airline. While we were waiting I found out something I had never known before: some airlines (in this case Cathay Pacific) check the weight of your carry on. Our carry on bags were packed full because once we got to Mongolia we wouldn’t have access to our checked bags. The limit was 7 kg and we frantically repacked and moved things to our checked bags while we were waiting.

By the time we sat down in the plane it was 3 am East coast time (9/16). We were quick to fall asleep but they did a meal service shortly after take off. No selections, everyone got the same chicken and potatoes, but it was delicious. Back to sleep. We were on a new Airbus 350 and it had some nice touches. My favorites (besides the hundreds of new movies) were the 2 outside cameras (one on the top of the tail and one on the bottom, both facing forward), coach class leg room was the same as the second class we had just been in, and the progressive lighting. In the morning before breakfast the lights slowly brightened over a 15 minute time period.

When we arrived in Hong Kong at 6 am Thursday (9/17) the airport was empty and all the stores were closed. We had another 6 hour layover. We found a place to clean ourselves up and had Starbucks. We found an indoor playground and it seemed like all the other Mongolian kids were there as well.

Another empty airport.

HKG to ULN. 4 hour flight.

The MIAT crew were in full hazmat gear. Seriously. The plane was hot, then cold. It had old ceiling mounted TVs that didn’t work. There was no service, just a water bottle in our seat pocket. Everyone slept except me because I was holding the baby.

Old school and non operational.

After landing we remote parked (the airport is closed) and waited for our names to be called. An hour and 15 minutes later we grabbed our bags and walked down the stairs to the tarmac. Our bags got sterilized, we had our temperature checked and we loaded onto a bus. The driver was completely sealed off. We got a police escort all the way downtown to the hotel. There was already a bus in front of us and only a hand full of people could check in at a time so we waited another hour in the parking lot. We finally got in to our hotel room at 8 pm Thursday (9/17).

Total flight time: 23 hours 15 minutes

Total door to door travel time: 48 hours

DISCUSSION (18)

pip bip - choose Corrour > Jay, the practical enthusiast
09/22/2020 at 07:21

what a “fun” experience

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > Jay, the practical enthusiast
09/22/2020 at 08:24

I think I ate at the Burger King pictured at MSP once…30 years ago. Could be mistaken though.

I’m sure your stay will be better than the trip. Although at least it seems like you didn’t have to deal with any large crowds.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jay, the practical enthusiast
09/22/2020 at 08:53

This Mongolian vacation better be worth it to have to do that twice. Who am I kidding, it will be worth it. So will you have to quarantine in the hotel for a week?

66P1800inpieces > Jay, the practical enthusiast
09/22/2020 at 09:57

Did it look like Cathay Pacific weigh all carry on? Curious as my wife and I only travel with carryon up to about 4 weeks of travel. We use this large backpack/suitcase thing that is like a duffle but more refined and will fit in most overhead with a little persuasion. It will also fit in almost any of the things used to measure carry on with (with a bit of spillover) but the weight is where it is close. Unusually 8-10kg each so when there is a 7kg limit I pull out the hoodie, fill the pockets, etc. Switch things to the smaller backpack we carry (you usually get 1 check on and a briefcase ) and it works out. Often I find if you are not the first to line up at the gate they get too busy and only spot check people with giant carry on.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > Jay, the practical enthusiast
09/22/2020 at 10:15

MCO is one of my least favorite airports. I lived there for a year, so the MCO to MSP flight is one I’ve done dozens of times now. It ’s so dysfunctional with everyone going through ticketing in 2 small areas and then spreading from there. It’s the main reason I got Clear, so I could bypass the mayhem.

Th eir Delta lounge does feel like a golf course clubhouse though, which is fun.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Jay, the practical enthusiast
09/22/2020 at 10:27

Hate the “weigh the carryon” thing. High anxiety production.

UK Budget carriers do it a lot.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > 66P1800inpieces
09/22/2020 at 18:42

They were only checking the weight of full size roller board carry ons, which is what we had. In the end they didn't actually weigh our bags but I think this is because the agents could clearly see us repacking and using their scales to check the weight. While we were watching everyone else check in they seemed to check every roller board but not backpacks or duffel bags.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/22/2020 at 18:43

21 days! I'm going to post about it next.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > MiniGTI - now with XJ6
09/22/2020 at 18:45

I feel like that Burger King has been there forever.

As far as the trip goes, we all love flying. Sure there were some stressful moments but overall we had a good time.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
09/22/2020 at 18:48

I had never seen or heard of it before. 2 of our bags were double the 7 kg limit! Luckily our checked bags were under.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > pip bip - choose Corrour
09/22/2020 at 18:50

The funny thing is despite the stress and everything you have to go through we still love flying.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jay, the practical enthusiast
09/22/2020 at 21:18

Wow, that's quite a quarantine. You can't just get a negative test result?

Jay, the practical enthusiast > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/22/2020 at 23:50

Oddly enough we did get tested after we arrived. Negative! But still have to wait it out.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jay, the practical enthusiast
09/23/2020 at 00:45

Why exactly?

Jay, the practical enthusiast > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/23/2020 at 00:59

Not sure, an over abundance of caution maybe? They let us know that none of the passengers on this flight tested positive but they still come around to all the rooms and check our temperatures everyday.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jay, the practical enthusiast
09/23/2020 at 01:10

It just is probably especially frustrating for you because it's three weeks, not just one.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
09/23/2020 at 01:51

We knew it when we made the decision to come. It was actually worse. After the 3 weeks in the hotel we had 2 more weeks isolated at home. They dropped the extra time so at least the kids can start school as soon as we get home. Mongolia (population 5 million or so) has only had 313 cases, all of them from these rescue flights. The rest of the country never had to do a Lockdown because of the quarantine. So I think it's worth it.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jay, the practical enthusiast
09/23/2020 at 09:20

It makes sense. I wouldn’t exactly be thrilled about travelers coming into my country and spreading the virus if I were them.