I was looking forward to a relaxing Sunday night to have a glass of wine, pack for Vietnam and watch Downton Abbey. Unfortunately my night was far from relaxing. The news predicted an "epic" blizzard to hit the entire northeast coast Monday- Wednesday effecting 6 million people. I was one of those 6 million. I was scheduled for a seven hour layover in JFK Airport and the idea of that turning into a two day layover got me on the phone with our travel company. We had booked our flights to Africa through OneTravel with no issues so Ben booked my flight through them. The travel agency provides cheaper rates by thinking outside of the box. The itineraries they come up with may have you switching airports in Tokyo or a number of other major inconvienences. I realized they also have cheaper rates because they skimp on customer service. While I was on hold most of five hours, I searched online for alternative routes. Seeing that most of these routes would land me with an eight hour layover in Qatar (and I don't own a burkah) only increased my frustration. Eventually I told OneTravel to refund my flights and booked them myself. The only flight with a reasonable price left seven hours from when I booked it. Ironically, reasonable was the last thing I felt booking a last minute flight for halfway around the world.
From Fort Myers I had a 3 hour flight to Dallas. Dallas to Hong Kong was 16 hours and 40 minutes. How do you sit for that long? Well, I slep 4 hours and watched 5 movies. That's right. FIVE. The only one of which I recommend is A Hundred Foot Journey. I also started listening to the audiobook Dad is Fat, but it was so funny I couldn't help laughing outloud. Since no one else on the flight was having that much fun I felt it would be considerate to turn it off.
Now I'm enjoying a 14 hour layover in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong airport is very nice. It's busy, yet quiet. There is a lounge where you can pay for a shower or by the hour for a sleeping room. I'm not naturally talented at very many things, but sleeping is one of my talents. I decided to forgo the lounge and camp out on a bench. It wouldn't have been bad but for whatever reason the airport is freezing (it could be that the last 3 weeks in Florida has deconditioned my tolerance). I slept with all three of my long sleeved items on, used a dress as a blanket, wore Bose earphones like earmuffs, and wore a pair of socks on my hands. I'm sure I looked ridiculous but I managed to sleep 5 hours- waking up each hour to add something to my ensemble. Now I'm going to treat myself to some hot green tea! I don't even like tea but I figure "when in Rome" and anything hot sounds great. While I've been at the airport I've finished reading Snowflower and the Secret Fan (loved it) and One Last Thing Before I Go (hated it). In one short hour I will board my final plane to Ho Chi Mihn City. I'm so excited to see Ben! And to be there!!
(Sorry I didn't include any pictures. It's challenging enough typing on a Chinese keyboard, I definitely can't figure out how to upload pictures.)
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