The Journey Begins

 

Thursday, 2 August 2012

The Art of Travel

I am now sitting in the Calgary airport waiting for my flight to Kelowna. My flight is delayed. Sometimes travel feels like a lot of rushing to wait. (Thank goodness for free wifi at the airport!) I will spend the weekend in Kelowna and then head off to Vancouver. I am excited that I have managed to fit the next 5 months of my life into my favourite backpack. I bought that backpack in 1995 for my first trip to Japan! In the past In the last 17 years I have managed to haul this pack to Asia for 3 separate adventures and also to Europe for two backpacking trips. Now this pack is off to Asia once again.

I weighed my pack and it was 40 pounds. My carry on was 10 pounds so I guess that will be a challenge to move fast through the airport as I lug around 50 pounds. On my flight from Regina to Calgary my carry on didn't fit into the little overhead bins. I am hoping I will be on a bigger plan to Kelowna.

I look around the airport and watch how different people deal with the flight delays. Some people look bored, others stare into space. Many people are on their phones and I can only see 1 person reading a book. There are a few little kids running around and I suspect that their moms are hoping they will burn off some energy before they get on the flight. Of course there is a real mix of people here at the airport. There are people of all ages and all races. I see business men and lots of families. I see people drinking Tim Horton's coffees and reading the newspaper. I see the fidgety people wondering around, pacing back and forth. One thing that is great is there are no annoying announcements about "don't leave your luggage unattended". In any American airport I have been in this announcement is a recording that plays over and over every 5 minutes. I drove me crazy last time I was in the Denver airport.

I am not sure what to expect when I arrive to Macau however, I am excited about this wonderful opportunity. I think it will be hot and humid when I arrive.