Sunday, 18 June

Sun, quite warm

I got up at 5.00 a.m. After breakfast we left the hostel at 5.45 for the airport. Our flight left Alma-Ata at 6.15. Yesterday I had originally decided to go to the airport with Vice-President Wallace at 8.00. He would take the 8.30 flight back to Dihua, and I and Ambassador Harriman would immediately take the flight back to Moscow after seeing him off. But at 2.00 a.m. this morning, the Soviet pilot informed us that the plane we were taking needed a special type of gasoline, and there was no more here and therefore we had to go to Tashkent first. So the plane we took had to leave earlier and we could not see Mr. Wallace off. The journey took three hours, and we arrived at Tashkent at 9.45. We had breakfast at the reserved room in the airport. The Tashkent Commissioner was already at the airport to take care of us. Jiesan was also there. The plane left Tashkent at 10.30 and reached Aktyubinsk at 3.45. However during the last hour of the journey the weather conditions were extremely bad, the plane moved violently. It was with great luck that I did not feel faint and vomit, but I already felt very sick. We had lunch ainthe airport reception room. We resumed the flight at 4.30, and arrived in Moscow at 9.45 (Moscow time was 6.45) and Jingchen and Hu Shijie and others were waiting for us at the airport. The weather condition during the flight was fine, so I was alright, but on returning to the Embassy I felt extremely tired.