For 41 hours this depicts my life:
a. trying to sleep
b. eating plane food
c. eavesdropping on languages I could not understand
d. REPEATING a through c
a. trying to sleep
b. eating plane food
c. eavesdropping on languages I could not understand
d. REPEATING a through c
Vancouver to Beijing was a 10 hour 45 minute flight. Blah. Thankfully, no one sat in the seat to my right leaving room to put my feet up and sleep in a few additional directions. Downfall, I slept the first 2 hours and then I couldn’t sleep no matter how hard I tried. During the flight no one knew [complete] English. Literally, I could only communicate with the flight attendants through gestures. When I arrived at the Beijing airport the process got worse. We got off the plane to a scorching smog of 34 degrees celsius. Again, little to no correspondence in English and there were 3 buses waiting - each going to a different terminal. I couldn’t figure it out so I began saying “Thailand? Thailand? Thailand?” to everyone. It was [hilariously] awful but I got escorted on the correct bus. Once inside terminal 3 the ladies at the Vancouver desks advised me to do the following: “go to the transfer desk, they will be able to help you and know whether you need to collect your luggage as well as direct you to your new gate.” Hopeful, I waited in line at the transfer desk. Once closer it appeared that the line to see an English speaking clerk wasn’t an option this day. Fun, fun stuff. So again, I go with “Thailand? Thailand? Thailand?” to anyone walking by. Again, some wonderful person directs me in the right direction. I am honestly shocked that the airport employees of an international terminal don’t speak the least bit of English. Once begrudgingly through the push comes to shove security line - space is not a concept - I went to the information desk. She was the first English speaking representative I had come across! I was clearly ecstatic and China was lucky. By this point I had decided not to even care about my luggage. If it was floating around a carousal in China I didn’t care. I just wanted to get to Australia.
After a longer wait than expected I finally boarded the plane to Bangkok. This flight was 4 hours and 30 minutes. I was seated beside the window and basically slept the whole way. I woke up for dinner in which as luck would have it they ran out at my seat (I was second row from the front). I therefore, got to choose from the business class lunch menu. I decided to go with the beef and rice. Couldn’t possibly go wrong with that. MMMMMHMMM, Negative. You can go spicy and spicy it was. My mouth was on fire after the first bite. The Chinese lady sitting beside me began laughing. Back to sleep I went.
Then I sat patiently in Bangkok airport waiting to board plane number 3, the final plane. Little did I know that this plane would hold all of Provost and then some. Just kidding, but it was massive. This flight tricked me. I was under the impression Bangkok was much closer to Australia than it is. An 8 hour and 10 minute flight later, I arrived in Brisbane. This time I had great company sitting beside me. A nice German gentleman whom I could actually converse with in more than one word “sentences”. Restlessly and finally I landed in Brisbane. I have never felt more gross in my life. I realized I had been in the same clothes for over 40 hours and that my last shower was 50 hours prior. Ew. With no problems I went through customs and thankfully my luggage also arrived. The University representative was waiting for me and the transition to the hotel took all of 20 minutes.
At the airport I was also able to meet a few other ladies also completing their Masters at UQ. We exchanged emails and it felt nice to know that others were in the same position. I felt much better when I arrived at the hotel that I decided to venture to the shopping centre across the street. I immediately began to deal with getting a SIM card and data plan for my phone. Thanks to the help of a prior UQ Speechie I was easily able to get an Australian number and plan connected to my iPhone. I came back and decided to put on my running gear and go for a short run. It became so enjoyable I went longer than expected (45 min). I can attest already to the fact that winters are not going to be difficult around here. Running along the river was beautiful and the weather just perfect. I am now showered, in my PJ’s and sipping my favourite Davids Tea. I would say Day 1 was a success. It is now just about 7:30pm. I am going to finish getting ready for bed. Tomorrow is a busy day full of orientation, a bank visit & hopefully a few rental prospects.
After a longer wait than expected I finally boarded the plane to Bangkok. This flight was 4 hours and 30 minutes. I was seated beside the window and basically slept the whole way. I woke up for dinner in which as luck would have it they ran out at my seat (I was second row from the front). I therefore, got to choose from the business class lunch menu. I decided to go with the beef and rice. Couldn’t possibly go wrong with that. MMMMMHMMM, Negative. You can go spicy and spicy it was. My mouth was on fire after the first bite. The Chinese lady sitting beside me began laughing. Back to sleep I went.
Then I sat patiently in Bangkok airport waiting to board plane number 3, the final plane. Little did I know that this plane would hold all of Provost and then some. Just kidding, but it was massive. This flight tricked me. I was under the impression Bangkok was much closer to Australia than it is. An 8 hour and 10 minute flight later, I arrived in Brisbane. This time I had great company sitting beside me. A nice German gentleman whom I could actually converse with in more than one word “sentences”. Restlessly and finally I landed in Brisbane. I have never felt more gross in my life. I realized I had been in the same clothes for over 40 hours and that my last shower was 50 hours prior. Ew. With no problems I went through customs and thankfully my luggage also arrived. The University representative was waiting for me and the transition to the hotel took all of 20 minutes.
At the airport I was also able to meet a few other ladies also completing their Masters at UQ. We exchanged emails and it felt nice to know that others were in the same position. I felt much better when I arrived at the hotel that I decided to venture to the shopping centre across the street. I immediately began to deal with getting a SIM card and data plan for my phone. Thanks to the help of a prior UQ Speechie I was easily able to get an Australian number and plan connected to my iPhone. I came back and decided to put on my running gear and go for a short run. It became so enjoyable I went longer than expected (45 min). I can attest already to the fact that winters are not going to be difficult around here. Running along the river was beautiful and the weather just perfect. I am now showered, in my PJ’s and sipping my favourite Davids Tea. I would say Day 1 was a success. It is now just about 7:30pm. I am going to finish getting ready for bed. Tomorrow is a busy day full of orientation, a bank visit & hopefully a few rental prospects.