Probed in Pudong

Cripes, I know what E.T. felt like when the NASA guys met up with him!
After we landed in Shanghai at Pudong Airport, and before we were allowed
to move from our seats, these two people came on board for a health
inspection. (In fact that is where I am typing this from now.) They were
dressed head to toe in throw-away hooded white cover-alls, surgical masks
and surgical gloves. They kind of reminded me of the clean room employees
you would see in an Intel commercial!

The first lady had some strange looking reader device that looked kind of
like a radar gun. She pointed it at my head for a few seconds and then
motioned for her buddy to come over. Oh crap! Did they see something? I was
trying not to breathe too much as my stupid nose was stuffy and I could
feel another sneeze brewing. Fortunately, her pal was the thermometer guy
and whatever the little radar gun thingy read I must have been fine because
when he got there she moved on. My temp was fine too and soon the second
marshmallow dude was on his way.

After they check everyone they are finally letting us deplane. And of
course after the clean bill of health that stupid sneeze is really starting
to well up.

Off the plane now and heading to the 2nd health checkpoint. And wouldn't it
figure I did sneeze again before I got off the plane. Right after I sneezed
the flight attendant stopped all of us from exiting the plane. I though
this was it. I was going to be whisked off to some Chinese makeshift exam
room in some back corridor of Pudong airport. Thankfully, she was stopping
us because the Michelin man and Michelin woman had not finished examining
quite everyone yet. After a couple of seconds they made their way back up
to the front and off the plane. Whew! I am cleared for entry - or so I
thought.

Notice I said off to the 2nd checkpoint! Not sneezing. Hmm, has anyone ever
been successful with that? I was certainly trying my hardest but it didn't
work - twice. The good news though, no one said anything. I made sure to
not sniffle going thru the checkpoint though and was able to pass with both
health checkers at the next point. Man, I hate these kind of tests!

Now I am in the taxi heading to the airport. One last sneeze for the heck
of it I guess. The taxi driver sure looked at me funny after that. I hope
he isn't now taking me to some national quarantine detention center!