...Getting from There.... to Here.

I woke up this morning quite aware of the stench coming from my right armpit. Why my other armpit doesn’t stink is a mystery, but regardless I think the overall smelliness is here to stay for the duration… I think I’ve stunk more in the last 5 days than in all my years since puberty combined. And of course, what one item did I deliberately not pack? Deodorant, of course. I never stink, why would I start stinking in Thailand? Actually, I can trace this stink back to Newark, the first place I almost missed my flight (15 minutes between landing and the next take off). Houston didn’t help either (4 minutes between landing and the next take off). Follow that by missing my flight in SF and then of course Hong Kong, not sleeping or bathing for 50 hours, oh and that little “lost passport episode” thrown in for good measure.  Yes folks, I have seen hell and it reeks of urine and dim sum. The smell varies depending on which section of the Hong Kong airport you’re frequenting and since I didn’t eat anything the twelve hours I was there, you can take a guess at which scent I was more often exposed.

I won’t elaborate on how I missed my first flight (let’s just say there was a little AM-PM screw up and leave it at that) and ended up spending the night in the Hong Kong airport (first night in her 25 years on the job that all the hotels near the airport are booked according to the flight attendant with whom I shared a bench). Nor will I elaborate on how said flight attendant became the accused “passport THIEF!!” for one and half manic hours of my life. Manic is the only word to describe that frantic and crazed period of time, and while I managed to not only bring my poor mother to tears via a frantic skype call, but also learn that I was known by all desk clerks at Cathay Pacific as “that girl” (“you the one who already rebooked flight, you need rebook again!?”), at least I got a heartfelt handshake, hug, and kiss on the neck from the very happy (and helpful, if only for comfort) policeman at the little police station in Hong Kong airport. He left me with a “Godspeed child!” of sorts and I was off, running to catch the last flight on my trip to Thailand. And believe me, that is not elaborating. I have learned that at times I can be a bit of a… ditz, spazz, space case, and like my mother and sister, a bit “dingy” (I think Dad has now learned that word is no longer solely reserved for only Mom and Paige).

However, dingy-ness aside for a hot second, I am well rested on 14 hours of sleep and  waiting for the sun to rise over Phuket (so I went to bed at 3 pm, who can blame me!?). I plan on going for a jog by the beach to watch the sun rise, come back for a jump in the pool before breakfast opens at 7, and then I hope to get access to internet in the “lobby” (just an open air space under the stairs of the resort) so I can alert the fam to my safety and post my first blog post from Thailand!