Updates from the, errr, way there.

Dec. 25th - 1:47pm local time (PST)

We just said "farewell" to North America. As I type this, I'm looking down at some of the coastal islands and inlets of the West Coast of Canada, with mountains of various heights rising out of the clouds covering the ocean below. Despite being a beautiful site, it also helps me to avoid looking at Anton and Vanessa, as they celebrate this departure, and the start of a long voyage.

The view truly is spectacular, and that, along with the pictures rotating through as my desktop wallpaper, remind me of what I'm leaving behind - the places and people that have become familiar to me while I've been living in BC, as well as those who were further away.

For a moment before we left the airport in Vancouver, it seemed like there wouldn't be anyone sitting beside me - when our rows were called to board, there was no sign of Anton and Vanessa. Kevin, Karina, and I were all in line together, ready to board, and could not see any sign of Anton or Vanessa. We told ourselves that they were responsible adults, but Anton being a poster child for adult ADD caused some doubts in my mind. When we got about halfway to boarding, I finally spotted them, making their way toward the gate. They saw us, smiled, then turned the other way and sat down. Kevin went to check and found out that they had decided to wait a bit longer, until the line was shorter. It makes sense, but has never been something I've tried.

The clouds have cleared below now, leaving visions of majestic peaks rising out of the water, and many more beyond. It is with fond thoughts that I look at this scene, knowing that I will be returning, and that I will be seeing the people who are important to me who remain. I'm also looking forward, to the adventures and friends that await in Thailand.



4:00pm MST

Pleasantly Surprised

So, I contacted our travel agent last week and asked her to make sure that I would be down for a vegetarian meal - ovo-lacto, as per my current diet. she said "no problem" and promptly booked me for a "strict vegetarian" meal (aka vegan). Now, I saw this with a bit of dread and quickly put it out of my mind.

The last time I'd flown with Air Canada and received a vegan meal, well, the results were horrid. I received some dry and oil soaked patty of unidentifiable origin. A taste an texture memory of this flashed through my mind when I saw the booking, so you can imagine the amount of dread I felt when I thought I might get something of a similar ilk.

So, when I was passed the tray with my special meal on it, it took me a full minute to recognize that the delicious smell I was smelling was actually coming from my tray. The daal was actually pretty good, and, well, it was actually a really good meal.

The second pleasant surprise was found in the built in entertainment system. I had been quite happy to find out that the Film Society was bringing in It Might get Loud, but disappointed that it would be playing in January, while I'm in Thailand. So, when I found this movie on the in flight entertainment system, I immediately knew what I would be watching. This is an amazing movie, and a must for anyone even remotely interested in the guitar. It's been such a treat for my ears and eyes, hearing the music of, and that inspires, Jimmy Paige, The Edge, and Jack White.


7:30pm MST

Mother Russia Reign Down

I have no idea what mountain range in Russia we're looking down on, but it's somewhere in the Northeast. It's currently -68.8 fahrenheit outside the plane, we've passed over Anchorage and, according to the pilot, Nome Alaska. Outside, all of the mountains are covered with snow, and there's no sign of human civilization. This is the longest flight of my adult life, and it's not even gone past the halfway point yet!

So far, neither Vanessa nor myself have lost it on Anton - the in flight entertainment systems are a godsend for trips like this. We've all been able to tune out to them, instead of getting on each others' nerves.



11:30pm MST

I've been up for hours now, and didn't sleep well last night either. I had trouble sleeping; it's kind of normal for me to sleep poorly the night before a flight, but then, normally I book myself those crazy 6am flights and such, so I sleep really light, not really trusting myself to wake up on time. Today, the flight wasn't until 11am, so there really was no reason for me to be worried about it.

At this point, I'm not sure if I want to grab some sleep or stay awake. I know that my sleep schedule is going to be completely off for the next few days, but I really don't know what will work better for me. Plus, I'm not sure that I could sleep, even if I tried. I've not had a huge lot of luck with sleeping on planes the last couple of years. It's been kind of weird on this flight anyway, as, even when we flew over Alaska, crossed the Bering Strait, and flew down the Russian coast, it never got dark.

I'm also not sure what to do for a place to sleep tonight. We're going to be flying down to Krabi tomorrow afternoon, and I really, really want to get some sleep tonight, but I'm not sure if there'll be anything taking walk in guests at midnight. But then, apparently most of these flights get into Bangkok around then, so I'd imagine there are places that are used to this. Might be something to do a bit of looking into when we're in Hong Kong for our layover there. Ideally, I'd like some place inexpensive and close to the airport, but I'm aware that, in most places, that combination doesn't exist. Rather, the inverse correlation is generally the case - the price of accomodation is inversely proportionate to its proximity to where you want to go the next day.

I think I may try to get a bit of sleep in. We'll see how that goes.


5:17am MST

I'm sitting in the Hong Kong Airport with Anton and Vanessa, waiting for our flight to Bangkok. Kevin and Karina should be boarding their plane now - they managed to score an earlier flight into Bangkok, and will beat us there by an hour. But, soon enough, we'll be winging off to Bangkok, walking groggily out of the airport, and trying to find a place to sleep, hopefully somewhere reasonably inexpensive and semi-near the airport. I'm feeling much more human after walking around the airport a bit and consuming a very large bowl of ramen, and taking my second dose of Malarone. 13 hours in an airplane is definitely a long flight - longer than I want to do again any time soon. Luckily, after Sunday, I won't be getting on another airplane until we fly back. At least, that's the plan.

Next stop - THAILAND, and ADVENTURE!!!