I'm in Beijing again, with the family this time. We're going to finalize our move stuff plus take a few days at the Great Wall (more on that later). We flew coach over here, which is different from our usual MO of flying business class on long flights. It certainly wasn't as nice but aside from some inconveniences like not being first off the plane (and hence getting stuck in long passport lines), it didn't bug me too much.

Surprisingly the thing that bugged me the most, other than Michael (8) giving me dirty looks the whole flight, was dealing with the travel amateurs. In business class, most people seem to know what they're doing. They are pretty efficient about finding their seats, getting their luggage stowed, ordering meals, etc. That wasn't the case in coach. Between the people arguing loudly about which seat was C and which was G, the family who couldn't get their bags into the overhead bin, and the flight attendants having to explain all of the drink and meal options to each person ahead of us, I wanted to scream.

I think rather than board by row number, they should board by experience. Get all of the novices squared away first while I enjoy my drink in the terminal. Once they're buckled and ready, I'll zip aboard.