Lets start at the beginning. The Uber driver to the Atlanta airport was awesome. He was from Bangladesh, and when I
told him where I was going, he was so excited. His words: "All of those
Asia countries are the same, welcome to my neighborhood!" I left my apartment a little before 4am EDT.
Made
it to the gate in Atlanta an hour and a half after I got to the
airport. Security was the worst I've ever seen. American Airlines sucks,
by the way. I am definitely a Delta snob. After some confusion they were
able to check my bags all the way to Colombo, so there's probably a good chance
I'll have clothes when I get there. Probably.
The ramp is currently closed because of weather. Atlanta is
already weeping about my absence. Pilot told us not to be scared of lightening.
Update you on the flip side.
________________________________________
Survived
the longest flight (PHL to DOH)! I sat next a lady going to Kuala Lumpur; she was
kind and showed me the ropes about business class. I went all out - changed
into the PJs, had them make my seat into a bed, and ate way too much off of the
menu. I had a couple drinks to help me fall asleep, but I'm not actually sure
how much sleep I got. Watched some great movies. The whole experience felt
like being in a hospital: laying around and eating meals in bed, just with
the added perk of not being ill! One small problem: my fingers have
swelled and now there is no way this ring is coming off. I am going to have get
lotion and dental floss and really work on it.
Approaching Doha was awesome. Saw a great sun rise and then some
impressive, though smoggy, skyline views on the approach. Also some beautiful
mosque looking buildings. And lots of lots of tankers. The airport is
beautiful, also. Oil money is where it's at.
Going through security once we landed in Doha was pretty
unnerving. I was nervous about my bag getting questioned and having difficulty
explaining about all the training supplies. Fortunately I made it through
no problem. Wondered around the airport briefly, and then went back to the
oasis that is the business class lounge. Currently drinking coffee and eating
fruit I can't really identify. I will certainly be well fed through the
duration of this trip, that's for sure.
________________________________________
In
Sri Lanka! Flight from Doha was not as nice, older aircraft so smaller
business class. Listen to what a snob I've become. I was the only white person
at the terminal, but fortunately not the only woman without my head covered. I
had a scarf in case it seemed appropriate to wear one, but I decided not to.
I am a modern woman, what can I say?
Boarding the plane involved taking a bus into the tarmac,
and then lugging my pelican case (which I very quickly grew to despise) up two flights of stairs to board the plane.
While it was approximately 104 F. Needless to say, by the time I got to my seat
I was hot and nauseous and overall not feeling great. Thankfully business
class wasn't even half full and I had no one in the pod next to me. The
stewardess kept me on a steady supply of ginger ale which helped a little. They
brought out a delicious hummus plate that was good to eat, too.
Approaching Colombo was entirely different than Doha, for
obvious desert versus tropics reasons. I could see a lot of flooding on roads
from all the monsoons they've had recently. Deplaning involved trying to figure
out how to go through immigration and customs, and after standing in a line
where I was once again the only white person (and also the tallest by a couple
of inches) had zero problems getting my passport stamped. All my baggage
arrived no problems, and I didn't get pulled aside at customs. There was a
small hiccup in finding my driver, who was suppose to be waiting with a sign
with my name, but I found another driver picking up for my hotel and he helped
me locate the right person.
And now, let me just say that driving here is nuts. It took an
hour for us to leave the airport. It seems like it may be worse than
Kenya. I'm typing this in the car while we are driving to the hotel to try
and distract myself. It's terrifying to see how close we are coming to other cars
and Id rather just not see anything. My driver is also a tour guide during busy
tourist season (which is not right now because of the rain, unfortunately) so
he sharing random facts on occasion. For a lot of them he says "I would
tell you name but it is too long for you to remember so just pretend".
Fair. He told me about the different cars in Sri Lanka - lots of Toyotas and
Tatas. When I told him I drove a Camry he thought that was the best thing ever.
Good to know that all the way around the world I can get some cool points for
my good ole car.
Arrived at the hotel at 8pm Sri Lanka time (which I believe means I was traveling for about 32 hours...but dont quote me on that time math). Met up with Ellie and had the hotel buffet for dinner. Not sure
how it holds up to other Sri Lankan fare, but initial observations are that
everything is pretty heavy on cinnamon. It's interesting.
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