I have lived, worked, and traveled overseas extensively for the past 13 years. One of the legacies of life on the road is an abundance of travel stories, both good and bad. This is my worst. . . so far.
I had been in Atlanta for a 10 day window for meetings. Directly from there, I had to fly to a conference in Thailand.
My day started out in Atlanta on a Monday with an 8am meeting. The day continued with a few more meetings, packing, and eating with my family. My parents took me to the airport for a 10:10pm flight out of Atlanta. It had been a quick and intense time in Atlanta since I only had 10 days (it was just enough time to get over jet lag, but then it starts over again when you get back on a plane for Asia). In addition, it is always an emotional good-bye for me since I rarely know when I will be back home with family and friends. Getting on the plane, I was already exhausted.
I laid over in Dallas for around two hours and departed from there at 2am Atlanta time. No big deal so far.
The next leg of my trip was 14+ hours straight to Seoul, South Korea. With only a few hours of sleep, I arrived in Seoul at 6am on a Wednesday. I had a 10 HOUR LAYOVER, departing for Bangkok, Thailand at 4pm. This one was brutal.
Have you ever spent 10 hours in the Seoul Airport International Terminal? I would not recommend it. I was told that the airport was a solid two hours outside of the city, so I felt I needed to stay put. The chairs were steel, with a thin layer of rubber. The terminal a flood of humanity relentlessly scurrying around from one flight to the next. No sleep, but I did shave and wash my hair in a public airport bathroom. Judging from the looks I received, I don’t think this is something commonly done in that airport. A little awkward, but I was feeling pretty grimy. I was willing to put up with a few stares of disdain and judgement.
The flight to Bangkok, Thailand was another 6 HOURS of airtime and two more time zone changes. Getting tired yet? I was, as I don’t sleep well on planes (or bustling airports).
There was a moment when I knew extreme fatigue was setting in. It was at the end of the in-flight movie. Remember the Titans ended with me weeping like a middle-school girl that had just been cut from cheer-leading tryouts. I don’t think I had cried in a movie since ET and that didn’t count because I was like six or something. Add to this I had already seen the movie once and didn’t get emotional in the least bit, and I knew I was tired.
I arrived in Bangkok, Thailand at 8pm. Following customs and getting my bags, I took an airport bus to Bangkok’s main bus station. Bangkok is a surreal kind of a city and this was only my second time there. It is balmy hot, with motion and color and sounds everywhere you look. At this point, I was exhausted, tired, and just wanting somewhere to lay down. I have since been to Bangkok many times and feel very comfortable there, but not on that trip. I was alone, zero knowledge of the language, and only sketchy directions to my final destination. My directions, given to me by colleague that was as inexperienced in Thailand as I, let me know that my final destination was 3+ hours outside of Bangkok.
Dreams of finding my hotel and getting in a bed by 1am were starting to come over me, but I still had no idea what was ahead.
I arrived at Bangkok’s main bus terminal at 9:50pm. . . just in time for the final bus of the night going to Rayong, Thailand. From there, I was to find a boat to take me to Samet Island. Again, I had never been there before and spoke no Thai whatsoever.
I was quickly herded to a lone bus at the end of a long walkway. It was dark, the air was thick, and I was in a position of simply trusting people waving me along that had no English and I had no Thai. My bags seemed heavier than they actually were. My shoulders slumped and my head ached.
Two hours into the bus ride, I still wasn’t even sure I was heading to the city I needed to go. Seriously. No one on the bus spoke English, so I was afraid to fall asleep for fear that I would miss my stop (of which I was still not totally clear if I had even gotten on the right bus).
The story continues with My worst travel day ever!!! (part 2). . . please click here to go there now.
eagerly awaiting part 2
Ready for the rest of the story Gunter. For your next career, yoy can be a writer.
Not so sure about that, but thanks for the compliment. . .
Was this the same flight where you were supposed to fly out on TWA but it didn’t happen b/c the company was going bankrupt?
By the way, I live just down the street from the Remember the Titans high school (TC Williams). Every time I drive or jog by there I totally associate that place with your airplane sob story!
Dude, that’s great. . . is the school more athletic than Druid Hills High? I doubt it.
Yeah, they actually have pretty solid football and basketball teams… kind of a regional power.
The school has some nice facilities. I think they must’ve gotten some $$ out of Remember the Titans.
Doesn’t sound too bad so far.. Should have taken advantage of the showers at the Seoul airport…
This coming from the man scared of CQ. . .
Can’t wait for part 2. I hope it’s even worse than part 1. For my entertainments’ sake, of course. I wouldn’t wish such things upon you…
Spoiler alert. . . it’s worse. Now make some phone calls!
dude, at what point did you become such a wuss?
Year of training, cultivation, and, quite honestly, a little luck.
Waiting with baited breath…
What is baited breath?
Thanks Tom . . . great question. No idea on that one.
what scene in “remember the titans” was the emotional tipping point? great post. part 2 will be a masterpiece; I’m sure of it.
I’m pretty sure it was the celebration after the state championship. The tear ducts were on overdrive. Lion tears
“You can’t replace a Gary Bertier.”
You can only ride his inspiration to the title!
Hi John -first time reading your blog -it’s cool! Last summer I had to cross the border from Guatemala to Mexico and: I caught the but at 5:50am (had to wake up at 3:30 to catch it), was the only person who spoke English on the bus, the bus’s tire went flat and delayed us for two hours (and there was one flight into Mexico City that I had a ticket for that day), when crossing the border, someone took my passport in order to “help” me with the border interview until men with giant guns came out and scared the man into giving it back to me. But I agree -yours is the worst travel day ever, Nothing worse than waiting in an airport. Except maybe waiting on a tarmac.
Minna, that is brutal. Glad they didn’t get your passport, as that would have been rough!
“ended with me weeping like a middle-school girl that had just been cut from cheer-leading tryouts.” John did you have a flash back when you were a middle school girl or is this another 1980s line that you are bringing into 2012?
On a more serious note thanks for the graduation words they meant a lot!
If I have to choose one, I think I will go with the latter.
John, you should write a book and I already have a working title for you…..” There is no toilet paper on the Road Less Traveled”. Ha
I don’t think anyone would read it not named Gunter!