The Flight

North America » United States » California » Los Angeles » LAX
September 29th 2011

Published: October 22nd 2011

So the day finally arrived for me to start the new chapter in my life. Of course I woke up much later than I had anticipated...this was good in a way. It meant that I didn’t have any down time prior to getting to the airport. I had packed most of my stuff the evening prior. All that was left was to pack the carry on bags. I, of course, packed in as much stuff a possible...not forgetting to pack extra underpants, shorts and shirts just incase the rest of my stuff didn’t arrive in Thailand when I did.

Shannon and I left the house 15 mins later than originally planned (Shannon was ready, I wasn’t). As we pulled into LAX, I thought, “Wow, this is a city within itself.” It was amazingly large, and difficult to find parking. Fortunately the we found something and rushed into the airport. Although we had left the house later than anticipated, we arrived at the Cathay Pacific terminal on time. I began the process of checking my (42 lbs.) bag, and was happy to hear that I would be sitting in an aisle seat (heading out to California I got the middle seat...was stuck between two rather large people in different ways). While my tickets were printing I looked at Shannon and broke down crying...Although there was some happiness in the tears, there was also some fear. I knew it was the last time in awhile that I would be standing on American soil. I was afraid of the unknown, yet at the same time I felt confident in my decision to do this on my own. The vast differences in the emotions were a bit confusing, yet I simply chose to accept them for what they were.

Good news, the flight was delayed by almost 2 hours. Wahoo...this gave me a little time to settle prior to going through security. Shannon and I found a seat...I needed to re-organize (although I love my back pack, I hate it too...It’s really difficult to get things in and out of it, yet it holds everything including the freaking kitchen sink!) The re-org was done. Time to settle...but that was a joke. The more we sat, the more anxious I became. I didn’t want to rush saying goodbye to Shannon, but I also knew that I needed to move on. As I looked at her, it had dawned on me that we had been friends for over 25 years. Although we were in and out of contact with one another through those years, the friendship remained. Sitting in front of a friend who I had known for 25 years gave me the reassurance that I would maintain all of my connections with the folks I was leaving behind.

We said our tearful goodbyes and moved onto security check. OMG I had to unpack the freaking bag that I had just repacked. Seriously??? How could I have forgotten that process...I had to do it in Boston. This time it was a bit smoother. Another repack and then I was off to find my gate. There were plenty of seats available when I got there...I made myself comfortable and pulled out my iPad. Thank God for modern technology. I pulled up Facebook and made a few posts. It allowed me to feel connected to my friends even though they were all on the other side of the United States. I took a few phone calls and texts prior to 1:05. After that I didn’t think I’d hear from anyone because technically that’s when I was suppose to be leaving the country.

It’s amazing that in unfamiliar situations and surroundings you become comfortable with complete strangers. A couple had sat down beside me...within 10 minutes we were talking to each other sharing our stories with one another. Interestingly enough, we never exchanged names. Simply talked about where we were going and what we were doing. After an hour of sitting, I realized that I needed to use the bathroom. It was then when I was reminded of the downfalls to traveling by yourself. I had two choices...I could take both of my carryon bags, the empty water bottle, and my iPad to the bathroom with me (but after getting all of that $hit in the stall, there would be no room for me), or I could ask the husband if he’d watch some of my stuff. That’s a risk in itself...you’re always told never to leave your bags unattended. They wouldn’t be unattended, but at the same time I didn’t know this person...could I trust him? I decided that I needed to take a leap of faith...he felt safe to me (his wife had taken a walk) so what’s to lose? I decided I would take the bag that had all of my electronics and leave behind the bag that had just my clothes and stuff I needed for my class. My request was granted...when I came back, my bag was in the same place I had left it...nothing disturbed.

About 10 minutes prior to the estimated time to board the plane, I got a call from a beautiful friend wishing me farewell. Again, I broke down crying...I had thought for sure that we had missed one another, but didn’t. We talked about random stuff, and then she asked if she could sing me Hindu travel prayer. I was honored that she would do that for me...It was absolutely beautiful listening to the chant. Although I didn’t know what each word meant, I knew the message behind the chant...It was simply wishing me a safe and happy journey. I couldn’t hold back the tears. It was all so overwhelming. The announcement came over the intercom, it was time to start the boarding.

My seat grouping finally got called so I got into line. When it came time to hand over my ticket, they scanned it...it got rejected. “Oh great, was this a sign?” She ran it again...once again it got rejected. She (I didn’t catch her name) yelled out my seat number...another woman responded that the seat was taken. “Seriously??? There goes my aisle seat.” “33D.” I was reassured that I would be sitting in an aisle seat even though I had been moved. Okay, was this another omen? If so, I was hoping that it would be a good one. I finally board the plane. As they announce that they were closing the cabin door, it dawned on me...Although there was another person sitting in the row with me, there wasn’t anyone between us. We were going to have sufficient room on this flight. Both of us shared the middle seat, piling all of our comfort items up.

I’ve always loved riding on planes. I must thank both of my parents for that...they traveled with my sister and I a lot when we were younger. We took many trips down to South Carolina and Florida to visit friends and family. When most are struggling with the take off and decent I find a sense of ease with both. Once up in the air, it is announced that not only are we going to be getting a snack, but we would also be receiving lunch AND dinner. Yep, both. I know it’s a 15 hour trip, but I only figured we would get fed a sandwich. (I also forgot to mention that while we were waiting at the gate, people went around serving free sandwiches, chips and soda...didn’t get THAT in Boston!) We were then passed a menu...yes a menu. We got to choose what we wanted to eat. The following were the options:

Lunch

Smoked salmon with potato salad (appetizer)

Chicken with black bean sauce, steamed jasmine rice, carrots and broccoli.

or

Braised beef with shiitake mushroom sauce, spinach mashed potatoes, green peas and carrots.

or

Ziti pasta with Asiago cheese, asparaus, eggplant and red bell pepper.

Ice cream (dessert)

Tea or Coffee.

I chose the Braised beef option. We had our snack first...it was the old fashion snack option from when I was a kid...a package of peanuts and a beverage of choice. And yes, you could order alcohol with no additional charge! Gotta love international flying. Shortly after the snack, the lunch came out...It smelled absolutely wonderful. Although it appeared to be ‘frozen dinner’ style, it was fabulous! When I came to the appetizer I got a little nervous. I noticed that there was a cherry tomato in the dish. I had been told by both the Travel Clinic and friends who have traveled a lot, not to eat any uncooked vegetables or fruit that couldn’t be peeled. “Oh $hit, what was I suppose to do? Would it be a safe thing to eat? I am on an Asian airline, but I’m also on (or was on) American grounds. Where did the food come from?” It was then, that I wished I could have called M.C. to find out what to do (My friends M.C. and Greg have traveled all over the world so they would know what to do.) I then noticed that the butter was “Land o’ Lakes” Had to have been an American Cherry Tomato. I was going to eat it...besides, Cherry Tomatoes are like candy to me, I couldn’t pass it up. The minute I bit into it, I was happy with my choice, it was pretty tasty! (I’m still waiting to see if there will be any consequences to my decision. Don’t worry...if there are any, I won’t give details!)

At one point I was surprised to find that we were six hours into the flight. I felt like I was being kept busy. It seemed like every time I turned around I was being offered food. We had had a packet of peanuts, lunch, and now a ‘snack’. This snack was a bowl of glorified Ramon Noodles. I say glorified for two reasons...One, the noodles were served with chopsticks. & Two, there was chicken, celery, corn, and peas in the noodles. It tasted pretty yummy...everything tastes better when eaten with a pair of chopsticks! In between the eating I stayed entertained by the various forms of technology. Like I said before, technology is a good thing. I had watched a movie, did some writing, read part of a book (on the iPad), and watched two tv. shows. Time flies when you’re having fun...quite literally in this case.

Another six hours pass, not quite as quickly as the last six did...however it wasn’t to bad. I attempted to sleep for a bit. It’s hard to sleep in these seats. They are pretty comfortable for airplane seat...they just aren’t an air-mattress or a bed, so sleep really didn’t come. Instead I snoozed off and on in between needing to buckle and unbuckle my seatbelt due to turbulence. When I ‘woke’ up, it was 6:00 am Vermont time, 3:00 am California time and 6:00 pm Hong Kong time. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to keep track of all the times and the dates. I’m currently keeping my computer at the EST...but that starts to confuse me constantly needing to convert. Guess I better get use to it though.

Oh...look a chicken...I’m sure it will be at this point that I start rambling about the random thoughts that flutter through my head. A lack of sleep tends to kick the A.D.D. into overdrive.

The Captain finally announces that we are preparing to land. It is 8:00 am Vermont time, 5:00 am California time & 8:00 pm Hong Kong time...Tonight is Friday. I am so tired that I struggle to understand how I was able to miss an entire day. As we are approaching the landing, my row partner starts talking to me. She is very nice...from Hong Kong originally, moved to Texas 16 years ago. We converse during the entire landing...I hear about her family, who she’s about to visit, how long she’s visiting etc. It’s funny, during the entire ride, we spoke maybe 3 times, but this last15 mins of the ride brings out her story. We wished each other a safe and happy trip and then exit the plane.

OMG it is hot and muggy. I am wearing pants, a t-shirt, and a long sleeved shirt. I can’t get over how hot it is walking into the Hong Kong airport. It seems as though it isn’t even air-conditioned. Sweat is rolling off my body by the time we step foot into the building. Even the employees are fanning themselves, so I know it isn’t a nervous sweat.

My senses are on overdrive. The loud speaker is blaring something but I’m not sure what is being said...the language isn’t English, I don’t see any signs that explain where to go, so I continue to follow the crowed. Finally I begin to see some signs. Thank God they are also written in English. I knew I didn’t need to go to baggage claim so I keep walking. I eventually see a desk with employees standing behind it. I approach them, hand them my ticket. They explain that they have not yet determined a boarding gate for my flight. Come back three hours before the flight and check in. I explain that I am not leaving the airport and that the flight doesn’t leave until the next morning at 9:00...Where am I to go until then. The guy points to a set of doors and says, “Go out blue doors, up stairs, food, shopping, and lounges.” I follow his directions.

The line going out the door is long...I was overwhelmed by the number of languages I was hearing but couldn’t understand...I simply started to tune it all out so that I could focus on getting through the line. The back up was going through security. Seriously??? I have to unpack and repack again?!?! It took about 20 minutes, but I eventually got through I followed the rest of the crowd like a herd of cattle up the escalators. At the top, I got slapped in the face with the bright lights and music. I wasn’t sure where to go, so I simply started walking. I was exhausted and simply wanted to find a place to crash.

After walking through areas of Duty Free Shopping I eventually approached the gates. It seemed that everyone was was awake. I wondered if it was okay to sleep in the airport in Hong Kong. I kept walking and finally found a gate where there were people sleeping I laid down to fall asleep. That was a joke...with everyone around I couldn’t fall asleep. It also didn’t help that there was construction work going on in Starbucks which was right next to the gate that I was at. After 30 mins of attempting to fall asleep I got up and walked some more. I finally found a gate where there was one other person (sleeping). The lights were dimmed and there wasn’t any construction work. Once again I attempted to sleep. No such luck! It seemed as though every 10 minutes someone came over the loud speaker to announce the boarding of one flight or another. It was done in three different languages so it took three times longer to announce than when in the U.S. I rested...never slept, simply rested.

Eventually at 6:00 in the morning (10 hours after I had arrived) they posted my gate number. Number 47...What was the chance that I had spent the last 8 hours camping out in gate number 45? I love how that works. I decided to move to my new gate...fortunately it was evening in Vermont and a number of my friends were online. I spent the next hour or so chatting with everyone. It made time pass quickly.

About 2 hours prior to my flight taking off, this kid comes walking up to me. He introduces himself to me and asks if he could borrow my computer to look at his e-mail. As we start to talk, be figure out that we both are heading to the same destination. We both will be taking the TESOL course given by ATI. I’m not sure how he felt, but I was very relieved. I had feared that I would miss my transportation to the hotel and would need to get my own cab there. Seeing that I didn’t know the language or the area this was causing me some discomfort...now I had a partner. Jay was a pretty talkative guy...so I learned a lot about him over the next 2 hours. It was time for us to board the plane.

This plane ride wasn’t as impressive as the first one. The Airlines was Dragon Air, which was clearly the ugly step sister of Cathay Pacific. The plane was pretty getto. It certainly didn’t have the same comforts of my first ride. No place to plug my laptop in; the seats were close together and ripped; and the food wasn’t as good. It was food though so I ate it. Unfortunately I was placed next to two kids...approximate ages were 8 and 12. They were bratty and loud. Over the next four hours I began to question wether I had made the right choice. If the kids I am going to be teaching in Thailand are anything like these two rich brats I think I’d rather go back to Vermont and teach my spicy students any day. I reminded myself various times throughout the flight that the feelings that I was having were only temporary. The four hours felt much longer that the previous 15 hour flight. I was exhausted and hadn’t really slept at all. I just wanted to shut my eyes.

Finally...the captain of the plane announces that we were beginning our decent into the Phuket Airport. Although I was in the middle aisle of the plane I was able to see out the window. The sights that I were seeing were amazing. It was then that I truly realized that all of my planning and hard work over the past year and a half was finally coming to fruition. My dream was coming true...tears filled my eyes and a smile spread from ear to ear on my face. I thought of my father during that moment, quietly thanking him for keeping me safe on the trip and allowing me to have this beautiful moment.

We got off the plane and had to fill out paperwork to get through customs. Some how Jay and I ended up getting in the slowest line...we were the last two people to leave customs. Yes, we had missed our shuttle ride to the hotel. Now we were going to have to figure out how to get a taxi. -- Didn’t need to figure to long. The second we stepped out of the airport doors taxi drivers swarmed us like flies on $#!t. We first looked to see if maybe our transportation had decided to wait for us...they didn’t. Eye contact was made with one of the taxi drivers...he quoted us 1400 bahts for a ride to Nai Harn Beach. Both Jay and I looked at him and said, “We were told it would only be 750 bahts.” He tried to explain that that was last years prices. Thank God Jay’s IPhone was working and he could show the guy the e-mail we had received...We got a ride for 750 baht. It was at that moment that I realized that I had just bartered for the first time and was successful.

The ride to our Hotel was between 45 mins and an hour long. We didn’t ended up getting to our separate rooms until 2 in the afternoon. I walked into my room and found that my roommate had arrived about 30 mins prior to me getting there...she had been on the shuttle...lucky her. I began to unpack my stuff, and then took a shower. The first shower in 36 hours. It felt freaking amazing! I was still exhausted, but also very hungry. I decided to push through the exhaustion. Jay, Ashley, and I walked up to the lobby of the hotel. We found a group of people there that were in the ATI course too. Some of them were in the course that we were in, while others had signed up for the course before ours. We asked them where we could get something to eat. They suggested Coconuts just down the road.

It was about a two min walk down the road. The restaurant was all open and facing the beach. We sat down at a table and started to look around. The kitchen was in the back...it was a simple dingy shed with a tin roof. I wondered how sick we were going to be the next day...at that point I was to hungry to care. The food was amazing. I had ordered Phad Thai with shrimp. The noodles were nothing like what we have in the States...they were much better. The atmosphere was nothing like restaurant atmosphere in Vermont. The sounds of the waves hitting the beach, which was literally 2 hundred yards in front of us. The breeze off the Sea, the stray dogs walking in and out of the restaurant, and the lizards racing up and down the posts. I was in heaven for sure.

After dinner we walked the beach for a bit and then went back to the lobby. It was there that we got to meet more people from our group. As the evening progressed, more and more folks joined the group. The sun was setting, and there were sounds of waves, birds, geckos, and chatter and laughter from the 20 of us getting to know one another. I was having a good feeling about this group. At 10:00 pm I decided it was time for me to get some much needed sleep. I had been up for approximately 2 days straight, but honestly didn’t know due to the fact that it was Saturday night and I had left L.A. Thursday afternoon. I was to tired to figure it out...My head hit the pillow and I was out before my roommate turned the lights off.

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