29 Hours of Travel

I have arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand with only a few hiccups along the way. My short flight to Atlanta was easy. I sat next to a lady who was having two interviews for two separate companies on the same day. The first interview was in Louisville at 8AM. The second being in Atlanta at 1PM. Talk about being rushed. She works in pharmaceuticals and happens to know Dr. Arla. She was very excited for me and my trip. She even asked for my blog name, so maybe she'll check it out.

The next flight was to Seoul Icheon Airport. The longest flight of my life. I was stuck on that plane for roughly 14.5 hours. Not fun. Especially since for half of that I was sitting in the back of the plane in a two seater row next to some larger white guy who smelled. I could never get any fresh air because it would blow by him first leaving me smelling his odd odor. He was nice though. He teaches English in Korea. He has for four years. Before that he lived in Spain for 10 years and India for 3. Oh and by the way, I was sitting in my preferred window seat, but the window was two feet away! I like to lean against it and sleep the whole way. Anyway, this gap created a little aisle. Well, in front of me happened to be an Asian man who preferred to lay in that aisle and put his bare feet all over my stuff. Not okay. I kept asking him to move. He would for a minute, then next time I looked down he'd be all on my stuff again. It was also super hot in the back of the plane, so half way through I asked the flight attendant if I could move to a seat closer to the front of the plane. Luckily the plane was half empty. Some people had an entire row to themselves. Too bad I wasn't one of them. However, the flight attendant was very helpful and found me a new seat in the exit row. I was finally able to sleep a few hours, but I was sitting next to another Asian man who made weird noises periodically. Having my neck pillow and sleep mask was definitely a smart move. 

The flight was entirely way too long. I started feeling nauseous, missing my pup, Egypt, and just ready to give up and go home. I told myself that I had to give it a try though. I just needed to get to Chiang Mai, so I could be out of the plane and get some rest. 

Once I arrived in Seoul, I had to go through an International Security Check Point which was miserable. I was still nauseous, plus it was like 90 degrees in there. I was sweating, about to puke and not happy with the long line in front of me. The only plus was that I didn't have to take my shoes off or my liquids out of the bag when going through. I finally found my gate, which of course was at the end of the airport. I was feeling terrible. I just wanted water. I finally found a place that sold Evian water. They also had a Smoothie King, but I was too sick to get my usual Caribbean Way. After I bought my water I went to the bathroom and puked. Nothing says welcome to Asia like puking in the airport bathroom. Luckily, the bathrooms were really nice. After about an hour and a half layover, it was finally time to board the plane. I felt a little better, but really just wanted a hotel to sleep in. Everyone boarded the plane, but we were sitting there forever before they announced that we had to wait for one more passenger. Well, apparently someone on the flight got tired of waiting and decided to get off the plane. So that meant EVERYONE had to get off the plane with their bags so they could do a security sweep. This took roughly an hour. After everyone re-boarded the plane, we were notified that we would be having a two hour delay due to a hurricane in the southern part of Korea. I was definitely not happy about that. I was still sick, hot, and tired. They wouldn't even let us off the plane either. I was able to fall asleep though. The delay ended up being about an hour due to the storm, so two hours total. I slept the majority of the flight.

My arrival in Chiang Mai went smoothly. I went through immigration with no questions asked and didn't have to deal with customs at all. I was so happy when I saw my backpack on the luggage belt. I was a bit nervous it wasn't going to make it. I grabbed my bag, found a taxi and made it to my guest house around 1:10AM. 

After roughly 29 hours of travel time, I am exhausted. Good night. 

"You can do anything you set your mind to." -Benjamin Franklin

I can't believe that in just six short days I will be boarding a plane to Chiang Mai, Thailand! These months and months of planning, preparing, and packing have gone by way too fast. In fact, my entire life seems to be flying by lately. I'll be 24 in roughly two weeks. It seems like not long ago I was 17 and packing up my stuff to move into my Freshman dorm at WKU. Then I was 22 and packing up my car to move to California. Now, I'm basically 24 and packing only a backpack and daypack for a three month adventure in Southeast Asia.

Is this really my life?!

I have always dreamed of traveling the world. I want to see as many places as I can. I want to experience different cultures. I want to see what it's like to live in other countries; to live like the locals. This is why I decided to volunteer throughout Southeast Asia. As a volunteer I will not only be helping others, but I will be able to learn their values and customs. My hope is that I will learn to see things differently and find my place in this world.

Many people ask me if I'm nervous about traveling to the other side of the world by myself. My reply is always no. This is adventurous and exciting. I am ready for whatever is to come. I am looking forward to learning new things about myself and being forced to step out of my comfort zone. I love being independent and all the freedom it gives me.

Traveling is the only thing that makes sense to me right now. When everyone around me has careers and are settling down, I just want to travel. I never thought I would be able to fulfill this dream, but all it took was a vision and determination. In six days I will begin my journey to five different countries. Volunteering, exploring, learning, and documenting along the way. I don't know what is to come in my future, but I do know that I can and will do anything I set my mind to.