Back home

I had to get up way too early this morning. I was actually a bit late because I hit the snooze button one too many times. I had a quick shower and got ready to go. The porter came up to get my stuff and I went down and paid my bill. I picked up my tailoring from the concierge (it had arrived at like 2am or something) and then jumped into the car to go to the airport. Ahhh, transport in style – I got a Benz.

At the airport a porter from the hotel came over and took my bags from the driver. He then sent me to wait in the check-in line while he took my bags thru the x-ray machine. He then escorted me to the place where you pay airport tax and then as far as he could go in the airport. Ummm, can I take you with me? I swear I was made for this life of luxury. A personal porter? This is awesome! Oh, I hope I win the lottery soon, because I want to live like this forever!

The only problem with a personal porter, and having your bags delivered to your waiting car, is that you have no idea how heavy they are. That is until you suddenly have to carry them, and you are like, what the heck??! One of the problems was that I had to carry the present for my parents – I refused to check it because it was breakable. So I had this big bulky box. The lounge was also way down at the far end of the airport, so I had to lug it all the way down there. The lounge itself was totally disappointing too. No snacks, very limited drink selection, and no toilet! You had to go across and down the hall to go to the public one. Ok, I know I’m spoiled.

On the plane, I just conked out and fell asleep for the whole time. I didn’t even eat I was so tired. That was the meal I was looking forward to as well. I woke up briefly during dessert and thought about asking for the sorbet, but couldn’t muster the energy and fell back asleep again.

Before I knew it, we had landed in Taipei and I had to transfer. I swear my bags got heavier in the time that we flew from Bangkok to Taipei! At least the lounge in Taipei is nicer. I went to the gate early and asked for a seat change. They had me on the upper deck, and it was quite difficult to carry everything up the stairs, so I asked for a seat on the main level. I should have stayed where I was. They put me in the last row right beside the washroom. The seat next to me was empty, which was good, but the washroom smelled and people were constantly coming and going. Not fun when you are in the middle of eating. Yuck. The meal itself was only ok too (the one on the first flight sounded so much better!). It was beef that was rather chewy. There was pineapple cheesecake for dessert, but even that was mediocre. Oh well.

We landed at Narita and then had to wait 30 minutes on the tarmac for a gate to open for us. So we ended up arriving a bit late. As usual, it was no problem getting through customs. I wrestled my luggage onto the Narita Express – where is my porter? I had a terrible time getting my bags on by myself. Luckily Hiroshi said he could come and meet me at my stop, so that was good.

The train ride itself was a rude end to my vacation. There were two screaming children that everyone was giving dirty looks to. Well, actually they were giving dirty looks to the father who was yelling louder than the children were. This went on for the whole train ride. You know, there is something to be said about a swift smack on the bottom. Those kids were a nightmare.

Finally, I arrived at my stop and met my honey :) I missed him. We grabbed a cab home – yikes! Price shock. Here you pay US$6 for 2 km. After dropping all of my stuff in the middle of the kitchen, we went out and had noodles for dinner. Then it was home to unpack. Now I’m just thinking about going back to work on Monday. Can you hear the loud sigh I am making? Being on vacation was so much fun. I definitely do not want to go back to work!