This is the final day of my Southeast Asia Trip - or, should I say, "DAYS"? The reason for this query has affected me every time I've ever been on a trip to the west side of the International Date Line and today was no exception. In anticipation of the very long "days" head, I managed to sleep until 0745 (!) and then spent some time reading and doing puzzles. I even caught up on Duolingo exercises before going to breakfast (pancakes, eggs, sausage, croissants, cereal, beans) at the Hyatt Regency restaurant (0815). Back in my room, I relaxed, read, packed and worked on eBird entries. Overall, it was a very relaxed morning and I made no attempts to go anywhere or do anything outside my room. Meanwhile, outside, the temps were again in the 80s and it was very humid. I finally departed my room at 1400 and weighed my two bags with a handy scale located in the hotel lobby. The results were 14 kg (16 kg actual) & 5.8 kg (same at airport). After checking with the Viking Cruise ladies, I found out that nearly everyone else had already departed for Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok). Thinking I could chance a bit longer delay before going over there, I stowed my bags and purchased a lunch (goat cheese, tomato & lettuce baguette sandwich, Fanta) from a food station in the lobby (1415). About 15 minutes later, I was ready to depart the Hyatt Regency (via hotel shuttle bus). Even though we were within walking distance of the International Terminal, the roads were very busy and it took a bit of maneuvering to deliver me to the correct ticket area. Fortunately, I had very quick lines for check-in, although the EVA Airways kiosk "survey" was quite confusing. From there, I quickly made it through the bag drop and Security lines. Along the way, I was able to choose a better seat (swapped middle for aisle) - I was quite happy about that. Overall, 1430-1500 seemed like the perfect time to arrive! On the gate side of Security, I found my waiting area quickly (not much walking) and stayed there (Terminal G) until about 1610. When it opened, I moved to the authorized lower gate area until boarding time (1645). When the door was opened to passengers for EVA Airways B777-300ER, I got on quickly (Group 2). This was fortunate because the baggage bins filled up quickly - it was a full flight and it seemed that almost everyone had done some shopping while in Bangkok. Probably because of this, we were still at the gate by takeoff time. During this time, I realized we had a totally different entertainment system and I had to really search for things I wanted. This was my second time trying to leave on time from Bangkok and I concluded that it might be a place that is used to delays. We finally pushed back at 1735 but didn't get airborne until 1755 local (40 minutes late). Meanwhile, I realized that I was again surround by lots of sick people. I passed the time by watching movies and using the free WiFi. Went the flight attendants appeared with meal selections, I asked for chicken - somehow, though, I ended up getting Japanese fish, rice, shrimp salad and fruit salad. For the first time in the entire trip, I concluded that the food wasn't safely edible and only ate about half of my meal. I was consoled by a Taiwanese beer and, later, some hot tea. The entire flight was over three hours and things looked good for our arrival in Taipei. Before we could land, though, we had to hold for about 20 minutes. Due to all the delays (Gate, Takeoff, Landing), my two hour layover shrank to one. I started wondering if my checked bag would get onboard the new flight in time… Ultimately, we landed in Taiwan at 2250 local time. After getting off the aircraft, there was LOTS of walking, more security and then even MORE walking before I arrived at the gate for my next flight (2315). Boarding had already started but the announcements mentioned “patience” so I assumed there was some kind of delay. Eventually (2335), we started boarding and I lucked out with an empty seat to my right. EVA Airways B777-300ER pushed back at 0010 of Taiwan’s November 7 and we took off at 0030 local time (more than 30 minutes late). The flight attendants did their park to make things better by bringing around drinks almost immediately (I had some OJ). Again, people all around me were coughing loudly. Like I've done on almost all my flights, I passed the time by watching movies, reviewing social media and reading a book. Our first "official" meal was pretty substantial (kasubi, rice, mixed veggies, kimchi?, fruit salad, cold slaw, roll, blonde brownie, red wine). After finishing that, I spent a while trying to get comfortable for sleeping (the crew turned the lights out). Eventually, I dozed for a few hours (off & on). Meanwhile, our flight route took us close to the Japanese Mainland. Before long, we crossed the IDL and I started repeating my day. Sadly, I was mostly awake by that point and watched the moving map as our aircraft flew near the Aleutian Islands. Soon after that, we were served a second meal (“chicken” pasta with broccoli, cheese & crackers, roll, fruit salad, beer). The food tasted better and I was satisfied. For the rest of the flight, I watched movies and played games on the entertainment system. We started our descent into Los Angeles just after 1900 (Pacific Time) and landed at LAX at 1925. With the huge size of the airport, it then took more than 15 minutes to reach the gate and a further 10 to started the unloading process. Like I'd seen in Taipei, it was a LONG walk to the Customs and Border Patrol checkpoint. After that, though, I had a quick pass through with my Global Entry and arrived at the baggage claim area by 2005. Fortunately, I didn't have too long of a wait on my checked bag. With that retrieved, my next project was locating the hotel shittle for the Cambria Hotel in El Segundo. Starting out, I exited on the wrong level for Hotel Shuttles. With help from some hotel staff, I figured that out and went to higher level - even then, though, I needed more help to find the shuttle waiting area. Meanwhile, I was unsuccessful in reaching the Hotel Shuttle with the number I’d been given by the hotel. Eventually, I called the front desk and they told me they couldn’t reach the shuttle company either. The best they could do was to suggest “try them with text”. I took their advice but had no luck. Suddenly, I saw a shuttle with the actual hotel name on it (VERY lucky) and a driver who was calling out “last call”. Feeling a bit relieved, I got onboard at 2030 and rode around on the shuttle while it made additional stops for pickups and drop offs at the other LAX Terminals. As I'd seen on the first night of my trip, there was LOTS of traffic around LAX. The next phase of the shuttle bus ride was making stops at other hotels. In the end, I arrived at the Cambria Hotel by 2055. After all that, though, I was the only passenger that needed to check in and the processes went quickly - I was at my room by 0910. Feeling out of sorts and completely exhausted, I spent the rest of the evening organizing and repacking (moved stuff from car to/from my room). Somehow, I was able to stall bedtime until 2230 - I hope that gets me back on US time again soon... To sum up, this cruise adventure was definitely quite memorable, with many amazing images, thoughts, smells and sounds to recall when I want to think about it again. I've got a new appreciation for several countries that I'd previously only read about and a deeper affection for the people who live in the formerly war torn areas of the Planet Earth. Their open hearted forgiveness and drive to make their world better was very inspirational too - hopefully, I can take some of what I've learned and apply it to my own life and living environment. Speaking of that, Nomad Life resumes in the morning!
