Up, up and away...or not

Well, my travel day began as mom and I headed for Saskatoon in the wee hours of the 10th.  Okay, it wasn't the week hours, but it was black as night and that made it feel like it was the wee hours.  We left for the airport by 6:30ish and had decent roads all the way into the city.  With the exception of a little traffic, we had no difficulties to report.

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time to make my flight to Vancouver...only to be told that the flight was running about 40 minutes late.  That meant I would likely miss my connection to Hong Kong, so Air Canada wanted to change my flight so I'd fly to Calgary, connect in Calgary and hopefully make my Hong Kong connection.  So my orders were, if I were still sitting at the gate at 9:30 a.m. that I was to report back to the check in desk because the Calgary option was not going to work and we'd have to put me back on the delayed Vancouver flight.  Are you with me so far?

Well, the Vancouver flight ended up being more than 2 hours late, which meant I would definitely miss my Hong Kong connection, so Air Canada switched me to the afternoon Cathay Pacific flight (which is a much more pleasant flight anyway, but still...)  As it turns out, by the time the Vancouver flight arrived and we deplaned, I hauled my but across the airport from the domestic terminal to the international terminal, grabbed a quick bite to eat and arrived at my gate as we were boarding the flight.  As the Air Canada flight attendant in Saskatoon said, "If the Vancouver flight is late, it will be a close call".

Once on the Hong Kong flight, I felt as though I could let my guard down.  The flight to Hong Kong was uneventful - all 13.5 hours of it.  Which, when you're on a plane that long, a little bit of eventfulness would be appreciated...not the bad, plane is going to plumet to the earth eventfulness, but some sort of random flash mob would be great!

Upon arrival in Hong Kong (Friday night in Hong Kong, Friday morning in Saskatchewan), I met up with one of the teachers from Surabaya in the bathroom, of all places.  She had been on a different flight and was connecting in a few hours to Singapore, whereas I was overnighting in Hong Kong and catching my final flight to Surabaya on Saturday afternoon.  I checked with the very helpful Cathay Pacific desk to ensure my bags were checked through to Surabaya and then went to my hotel to crash for the night.

For those of you who have to travel through Hong Kong and have an overnight, I recommend the airport hotel.  It is attached to the terminal, reasonably priced (cheaper than most hotels in Saskatoon) and rather loverly.  It's a great little get away.  AND they offer day rooms if you have a lengthy lay over during the day.  There, that is my PSA for the day.

The trouble with long travel days is that by the time you can finally go to bed, you can't sleep.  Your muscles are achy and your mind is racing and and and.  I did get a few winks and enjoyed a rather leisurely lay-in on Saturday morning.  I checked out and returned to the Hong Kong airport and killed the next 4 hours by walking here and there.  The nice thing about the Hong Kong airport; there is always somewhere you can walk!

My flight to Surabaya was that evening.  It was also relatively uneventful.  I was certainly ready to be home, though by the time the plane landed.  I made it through customs in recordish time, but was delayed at the luggage carousel.  You see, unless they are hiding the others, there is only one luggage carousel in Surabaya.  So, by the time I got there, I was unable to even approach the thing.  As I looked for a little hole in the crowd, I spotted a student and his family.  We chatted while waiting for luggage and I learned a valuable lesson.  When your bags come off the carousel with chalk markings on them, wipe the chalk markings off with a baby wipe.  That way you won't have to open your bag when you get to the other security screening place.  I also learned that it is important to be pushy and that elbowing people is okay when it is a matter of getting your luggage and getting the heck out of the airport.

In the end, the family that I'd met had brought two drivers to make sure they had enough room for their luggage and the family.  As a result, I had a ride home, a clear path through security and was on my way to my apartment in record time.  I was treated to the fragrant aroma of fresh cut flowers (thanks to my amazing nanny)  Once home, I unpacked (this time, I did indeed have treasures to unpack)  At some point, I was all unpacked and settled down for the night.

I awoke bright and early on Sunday morning (as in 5ish), talked to mom (as it was only Saturday afternoon her time), killed a few hours and then went for a massage and a mani/pedi.  Again, if you're experiencing a 40 hour travel day, please plan to have a massage and a mani/pedi afterward...it is just heavenly.

After my pampering, I figured a quick workout would be a great way to ensure I didn't nap the afternoon away, so I went to the gym.  My intention was to go to the 3:00 pump class, but when push came to shove it was 1:30 and I opted for and hour of cardio rather than trying to fill another 1.5 hours before pump.

The rest of Sunday is a blur, but Monday would be the first day of a FIVE DAY WORK WEEK.  Stay tuned, Blog post 3 will come in just a little while.  I need to see if I can get a hold of my momma.

Have a great day.

Until next time (maybe tomorrow, maybe later tonight, we'll see if I feel like writing another post)

Ty