January 8th, 2007
SINGAPORE
Flying Around the World
Four consecutive days of flying finally came to a close when I flew into Singapore’s airport this afternoon. It was a whirlwind trip if ever there was one as I traveled from Palm Beach to Atlanta to Paris to Hong Kong to Singapore. I brought it on myself as I wanted to see friends in each of my stops. Perhaps it says something about how much traveling I have done when I know someone at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.
Another bonus to my travel is I was able to catch up with several friends during my 4 hour layover in Atlanta. We drove into downtown Atlanta, I stopped to say hello to several Georgia Tech employees who have been my lifeline, and we went to the ritzy Moe’s Mexican Grill for lunch. While there, I ran into several friends from a lifetime ago (high school) and it brought back a slew of memories from the past. Kennesaw Mountain already feels like a distant memory as does the magnificent runs we had in soccer. It feels strange when other people bring them up.
Hong Kong…
When I arrived in Hong Kong (Sunday) I was able to hit the ground running, and it was a good thing because my body was in shut-down mode. It is impossible to sleep for more than one and a half hours on flights because of the rotten air and cabin noise. Somewhere along the way I contracted a cold which had me in fits of pain as the plane ascended and descended. Quite literally, I was feeling my ears expecting blood to be pouring out from the pressure build-up.
I stayed in my old dormitory on UST campus and had over 30 friends stop by to say hello. It was really a good feeling because they are all on vacation, but came by the university because they remembered I would be back today. I feel bad because I was drowsy when I chatted with most of them, but I brought a variety of American snacks (Twizzlers, Twinkies, Reeses, Popcorn, Pixie Sticks, etc) that they ate right up.
Singapore…
There was no one to meet me at the airport so I took a taxi to my university on the other side of the island. After checking into my dormitory, I was unable to unpack my bags because bother sides of the room were full of other people’s belongings. When one of the roommates came back later in the day he asked if I could switch with one of his friends so it was not until 7pm when I was finally settled down in my own room. By then I was nearing exhaustion and hastily unpacked my things (all in all weighing under 20 kilos, or about 45 pounds).