Taxis and Airplanes

Holy cow. Well, I made it. It was a grueling 30 hours of travel time but I made it. I left off in Vancouver, with a delayed plane I think. Well the plane finally got there and when we finally boarded it was 5 pm, Vancouver time. I made two friends while waiting. Linda, who was so special she has her own post, which will arrive shortly, and Kelly.  The flight was excruciatingly long. I ended up in the aisle, which wasn't awful, I could get up and walk around as much as I liked. I mainly ‘slept’ and watched movies. There was quite a variety of movies on this flight. I remember there only being three or four movie choices and a few tv shows, but on this flight they went all out. There were 10 different movies and tv shows to watch. Which movies did I watch? I totally went for the kiddie movies and watched Megamind (which I love) and Gnomeo and Juliette (which was surprisingly good). The sleeping was less exciting, I don’t think it even qualifies as sleeping really. More like dozing in and out. Anyway, the plane lands in Hong Kong and I freak out. I don’t know what it was but all of a sudden I was doubting myself and the decisions I had made that got me to that point in time. Thoughts raced through my head, was someone going to be there to get me on a plane to Bangkok, what if I had to stay the night in Hong Kong, what the hell was I doing so far away from home?  I wasn't cut out for this, I had clearly made a mistake and needed to go home right that minute. As the line of people started to move off the plane Kelly came up behind me. “Come on kid, lets go get on a plane to Bangkok.” These words were my saving grace. I picked up my bag and followed behind Kelly like a little lost sheep.  

As promised there is someone waiting for us outside the gate. She, along with a few other airline people, were shouting different connecting cities. Kelly and I were first in line to get our tickets to Bangkok. I nearly had a heart attack when the woman said she had to talk to her supervisor about my visa, but apparently I misunderstood her. After getting our tickets Kelly and I booked it to the gate, which was hard to find. First we took the elevator down, then got on a train for one stop, then walked up and down lots of stairs, down hall ways, around stores (you will not believe the kind of stores they have in the Hong Kong airport. Chenlle, Gucci, Tiffanys, just to name a few.). We got to the gate with minutes to spare, and it was a 2 hour flight to Bangkok. This flight I actually slept. When we got off Kelly and I parted ways, she was catching yet another flight, one that did not leave until 7am, while I went through customs. 

Customs took a surprisingly short time. I exchanged some money and went to find my bags, with a sinking feeling in my stomach that they were not waiting for me. Sure enough my bags are missing. I spend half an hour in the baggage claim office trying to figure out where my bags are. The guy finally comes to the conclusion that the bags are probably still in Hong Kong. They should be flying in from Hong Kong at 11 am (it is now 2:30 in the morning Bangkok time. I’ve been up for God only knows how many hours). After that I walk down stairs, not really sure if Pun was still picking me up. I walked around looking for the sign she told me she would have. No sign of the sign, so I stopped by a travel desk and asked them to translate the name and address of my hostel, The Bangkok Christian Guest House, into Thai. 

With that piece of paper in hand I walked outside, ready to brave a taxi ride by myself. Note: I had never ridden in a taxi before tonight, and it has been on my bucket list for years. Score one for Manda :)

 Some interesting things about Thai taxis, they drive on the wrong side of the road/car (something that makes me very car sick and nearly die with anxiety), they do not believe in blinkers or driving in one lane, two or sometimes three lanes if the car is big enough. My first look at Bangkok passed by in a blur. I was terrified that the translator had gotten the address wrong. I kept imagining the taxi driving to Nang Rong, 5 hours away, or dumping me in a back ally. I worried that the guest house would be ‘closed’ and I wouldn't be able to check in, where would I go, what would I do? After twenty minutes of heart racing driving, and the urge to vomit and cry at the same time, the taxi man pulls up into a….. wait for it…. a back ally. And not a legit ally either. Like the bad kind your parents always warn you about. He starts speaking Thai and pointing to a building. I shake my head and pull out my notebook with the address in it. It was hard for him to understand me, and even harder for me to understand him. We both came to the conclusion that we were not in the right spot. So he starts driving around, asking other taxis for directions. We finally find the guest house. I ask him to wait, now fearing that the doors will be locked and I will have no place to go. But the doors are unlocked. I check in, get my keys, go up to my room, close the door, sit on the bed and start crying. Crying because it had been one hell of a long day, well two actually. Crying because the plane was late to Vancouver and I hadn't been able to cry at the airport. Crying because I have no clean clothes. Crying for no good reason. Giving myself a mental slap across the face  I do the only two things that make sense at that point in time. I take a shower and call my mother. So there it is. The exciting, suspenseful tellings of the first two days of my trip. Boy, the next 6 months has some pretty big shoes to fill.