Traveling is the topic of today's post. The strange thing about this day is that we lived it twice. How, you ask? Well...HK is a 12 hour time difference from Eastern Time in the US, so we left HK on Wednesday morning (HK time) and arrived in the US on Wednesday night (US time) (in HK it was actually Thursday morning); however, since we were on US time now, we lived Wednesday night over again. Is that clear as mud?
It was a long and tiring journey, but I am definitely glad I got to spend it with my sister.
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Wednesday
Meredith and I woke up bright and early Wednesday morning to
get ready to go to the airport - our flight left a bit after noon. When
you live out of a suitcase for two weeks (or for Meredith, two months), it
takes a good bit of time to make sure that everything is packed correctly,
weighed correctly, and where you want it. Also, any time you fly
internationally, you are encouraged to arrive at the airport 2 hours before
your departure time to give you time to get through not only check-in, but also
security and immigration. However, we also had to eat breakfast,
check-out of the hotel, get to a bus stop, and take the Airport Express to the
airport...so needless to say, we had to wake up pretty early.
We had a good breakfast and then were able to easily
check-out of the hotel. Thankfully, there was a free shuttle available at
the hotel next door that would take us to the Airport Express station.
From there we could ride the Airport Express subway to the airport. Easy
enough...however, we would have to cross the street with 3 suitcases and 2
carry-on size suitcases...if you're not good at math, that equals 5
suitcases...for two girls (with only 4 hands) to maneuver…in one of the busiest
parts of Hong Kong. J
Since Meredith basically lived in Thailand all summer, she took 2 big suitcases
and a carry-on suitcase. I had one big suitcase and a carry-on suitcase.
Let's just say, it was quite humorous to cross the streets of Hong Kong with 5
suitcases. Ha ha!
Somehow we managed to make it across the street and were
able to catch the free shuttle, however, I was worried as to how we would make
it on the airport subway with all of our luggage…it turns out, though, that I
had nothing to worry about because when we got to the Airport Express station
there was a flight check-in counter!! Oh
my goodness! I never knew this existed!! This meant that we could check-in for our
flight, drop off our checked luggage, and not have to worry about the insane
lines at the actual airport – we could simply go to security! I was a bit concerned as to how the luggage
would make it to the airport, but I figured the agents knew what they were
doing. Check-in was easy and we were
able to easily board the Airport Express subway with our carry-ons!
Although super early to the airport, we decided to go ahead
and go through security & immigration as we figured it would take a
while. When we made it out and into the
terminal, we walked around and looked at the shops, got something to drink, and
then made our way to our gate to sit and wait.
FUNNY STORY: You know from the previous post that we encountered some
people with some strange names…this continued into today as the person who took
our order was named…get this…Crazy. No,
I’m not kidding…their name was Crazy. I’m
really not sure where these names come from, I mean if I saw names like Justin
(as in Beiber) or Miley (as in Cyrus), I would totally understand, but Crazy,
Machos, and Wicky????!!! No words. J
We waited for a good bit and then were able to line up to
prepare for boarding. It was strange,
however, that we had to go through another security check of our carry-on to
make sure we were abiding by US security standards (liquids, etc.) I made it through okay, but Meredith forgot
to pack her toothpaste (over 3 oz.) in her checked luggage and it was
confiscated. So she likes to tell
everyone that she made it back from Asia with everything except her toothpaste.
It was then time to board.
You remember from the first post how bad I dreaded the 15 hr. flight…the
dread this time was just as bad. The
reward of being back home was sweet, but the thought of being in the same
position for 15 hours was just so daunting.
Thankfully, Meredith & I were able to work it to where we could be
beside each other so we had a shoulder to lean on or were able to share things…it
was definitely nice to fly together!
As much as I dreaded the flight, it actually went by faster
than it did before - I was bit surprised. I think it helped that I kind of did different
“activities.” I read an entire book
(Mary Beth Chapman’s Choosing to SEE),
watched a couple of movies (Mirror, Mirror & the Avengers…which probably would
have made more sense if I had watched the other superhero movies…but I
digress), listened to music, and slept (for maybe a total of an hour – I told
you I don’t sleep on planes).
After 15 hours, we made it to US soil as we arrived at the
Chicago airport. We had to go through
customs, but it was a breeze compared to the other line (for visitors/non-US
citizens). While we waited to see the
customs agent, Meredith said, I really hope someone says “Welcome Home” to
us. Incidentally, after he stamped our
passports, the customs agent looked at us, smiled, and said “Welcome back home!” Meredith and I smiled at each other. J
It was then time to get our luggage and take it out of the
international terminal to be checked in for our next flight to Knoxville. There was a bit more to do in the Chicago
airport this time than there was when I arrived on my way to Hong Kong. It seems like a pretty fluid system, but when
you’re not used to it & it’s your first time there, it’s just a little
confusing. The airline took our luggage for
our next flight and then we had to go to another terminal via the airport
subway.
We made it to the domestic terminal, went through domestic security,
and then were able to go to our gate which was in the downstairs of the
terminal. We waited at our gate for a
good bit of time, and then were told our gate had been changed. This meant we had to take our stuff back
upstairs and also that our flight would be delayed for just a bit due to the gate
change. As we waited at our new gate, we
discovered that our flight would be further delayed due to a mechanical
problem. People were aggravated, but I
told Meredith I would rather be waiting in Chicago than in the air worried
about a mechanical problem. She agreed.
The flight was probably delayed about 30-45 minutes, and
then we were off for Tennessee! Meredith
and I couldn’t help but smile on the flight because we knew we were going to
get to see our family when we got off!
The flight was smooth and fairly quick...and we couldn’t get off fast
enough when we landed.
The Knoxville airport was fairly empty by this time (it was
about 9 pm), but when we exited the terminal, we saw a sweet welcoming party –
our parents & sister. Lauren (our
little sister) had even made a sign especially for us – bedazzled and all! After hugs all around, we went down to get
our luggage. Meredith & mine were
one of the first to come out, so were able to leave pretty quickly.
 |
| Lauren's bedazzeled sign - it says, "Welcome Home - It's 'Bout Time!" |
We stopped for a late dinner and then traveled back to
Morristown and were able to sleep in our own beds. Let me just say, there’s nothing like sleeping
in your own bed! J
Overall, it was a great trip home – no major issues and most
importantly, we were safe. I am thankful
for God’s traveling mercies and for his provision in getting us home safe &
sound. Long flights aren’t fun, but being
able to travel home with Meredith made it SO much better!
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I'm hoping to spend a blog post in short, overall reflection of my trip at some point in the future, but I really hope you've enjoyed my detailed journal of my day-to-day experiences and adventures in and around Hong Kong. I've enjoyed writing and posting these entries immensely and know that it will be fun for me to look back on all these posts and remember the incredible time I had at VBS and with my sister. Thanks for traveling on this journey with me. Be blessed!
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