It was Sunday night, the night after the wedding. I had planned to arrive in Bangkok by 11 am local time on Tuesday. But I didn't get very far that night. I got stuck in El Paso. Robert dropped me off with plenty of time to spare. I was early for my flight, but I unfortunately was flying America's *cough* Worst *cough* I mean America West. *Cough* Excuse me. Something's in my throat.
A few guys told me that America West has been really bad with delays and cancellations. One guy who was going to miss his connection to Ontario said, "If you've got time to spare, go by air."
There was a problem with the plane's radio. So my flight was cancelled to Phoenix, which is their hub by the way. Why wouldn't you have an extra plane at your hub? By the time this was announced I had missed my chance to get on a flight directly to LAX. I was going to spend the night alone in a Microtel Hotel in El Paso. The airline paid for my room and two meals. Luckily, America West is a partner with EVA air. So they scheduled me for flights the next day for no charge.
I called Tan that night to tell her I was going to be late. She answered at lunch time in Bangkok. I couldn't tell her when I would arrive because I noticed that my ticket said I would arrive on Tuesday. But I knew that wasn't possible, so it wasn't using local times. I was too tired to figure out the time zones. So she couldn't meet me at the airport as she had planned.
The next morning I went to the airport early got my new boarding passes to Phoenix and LAX. Since my flights were different than I had originally, my luggage tags were handwritten. I checked them in, and then I tried to call Tan. I was unsuccessful because the toll free number on my international phone card didn't work on pay phones. So I couldn't reach her. I still didn't have a better idea of when I would arrive anyway. This time there was a slight delay, but the airplane was in the port at least. So I knew we would actually get in it this time.
I made it to Phoenix okay, but I had to scramble to board the plane to take me to LAX. I found it just as it was time for people to start boarding. Then we pulled away from the loading port, and I thought we were on our way. But we were halted. The pilot announced that heavy traffic into LAX was causing us to wait. So we sat on the runway for about 45 minutes or longer. Finally, we got out of Phoenix.
Everytime I go to LAX I feel lost. There are so many buildings and so many people coming and going. It's overwhelming. I left America West and was happily rid of them. Then I asked someone for directions. A nice lady directed me to a shuttle to the International Terminal. There I found departures on the second floor. I got into the wrong line before a lady asked me what airline I wanted. She directed me to a much shorter line for EVA air. So I got in it gladly. EVA Air was not open yet. So I waited for about half-an-hour and then finally got my boarding pass and some bad news. I had lost my luggage claim number in Phoenix or somewhere in the vast maze of LAX. So the lady sent out an APB for my bag. I wasn't sure if things were getting better or worse. It certainly felt hectic. While I waited for about 4 hours, I met a few people. One was a guy who was going to meet his Taiwanese girlfriend and her family in Taipei. Another one was an American visiting family in Taipei. He was a graduate of Illinois University. He was going get a master's in San Francisco and go on to do international business. Finally I met a Thai lady on her way to Bangkok to visit family she hadn't seen for many years. She moved to Baytown, Texas 15 years ago with her husband. She spoke heavily accented English. I mentioned my family connection to Baytown, and she thought that was funny. I mentioned my Grandmother's church, and she gave me a flyer from her Baptist church so I could visit sometime.
Finally, after 13 hours and about 7,000 miles I arrived in Taipei. I had watched three bad movies and was about to go crazy from being in a plane so long when I immediately got on another plane for 4 more hours to Bangkok. I arrived at 2 a.m. local time on Wednesday. And I got more bad news. My luggage had been lost.
I called Tan. I had woken her up. Fortunately, she was not working that day. I got a taxi ride from the airport to my apartment. No one was awake except the night security guard. He doesn't speak any English. I tried to use my Thai phrase book to communicate that he should wake up the manager to give me a key, but I wasn't getting through. Finally, I called Tan and handed the phone to him. She explained the situation and I finally got him to let me in. I took a nap. Finally, Tan came over to see me. It was the reunion we had been thinking about for two months. The school let me have a day off. So we hung out and saw Star Wars III. I slept very well that night. I used to Benadryl to help knock me out.
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