An Unexpected Pitstop- SOL #29

Today I had planned a totally different slice, one that I was writing in my head while waiting in the airport in Shanghai and on the airplane on my way to Kathmandu, via Hong Kong. But, due to some unexpected changes, I have a new slice idea.

Like I said earlier, I was on my way to Nepal for a week-long vacation. One thing you have to know about Shanghai is that the airports there are notorious for leaving late. Delays are a way of life, and while they still annoy me, I’ve come to accept that it would take an act of God for a plane to leave at its scheduled time, so to allow for the inevitable delays, I gave myself extra layover time in Hong Kong. An hour plus delay prior to boarding and an hour sitting on the runway made today’s delays even longer than my layover time, and consequently, I missed my flight to Nepal. You may know from my previous post that I am an unplanned traveler, meaning that I don’t really know what is going to happen on my trips, and I tend to just roll with the punches and let adventure come my way. This was one of those punches.

Landing at ten to seven, I knew it was too late. My flight to Nepal departed at 7:10pm, and I was in row 38. There was no way I was getting off that plane anytime soon. The only thing that could have saved me was a delayed flight to Nepal, but seeing as this was Hong Kong, and Hong Kong is efficient, the chances were pretty slim. Upon exiting the walkway from the plane to the terminal, I was met with chaos. Dozens of Cathay Pacific personnel were holding up signs and shouting out locations, trying to gather up people who had missed their connecting flights. People headed to Aukland, Melbourne, the US, Mumbai, a few others, and of course, Kathmandu were all in the same boat.

Louise, the agent helping me, presented me with two new boarding passes, telling me that I’d been booked on a flight that departed in an hour. Great, I thought, I’ll get to Nepal after all. When I looked closer, I realized that I had been booked on a flight to Dehli and then a flight to Kathmandu, meaning that my total transit time had been extended another 10 hours. Hmmm…I didn’t like that. I could tell Louise was disappointed, but nonetheless, vowed to help me. After waiting a while, she presented a new plan. This one involved staying overnight in Hong Kong and flying out tomorrow afternoon. I can handle that. I mean, Hong Kong isn’t the worst place to be stranded, and my best friend lives here, so I called her up and made plans for the morning. The airline put me up in a really nice hotel called the Penta Hotel, and I am on the 30th floor. There’s even a cushioned window seat that I plan on testing out in the morning.

As an unplanned traveler, you have to expect the unexpected. Am I happy that I missed my flight and will be spending one less day in Kathmandu? Not exactly, but I’m not mad either. I get to stay in this posh hotel room overlooking Hong Kong, visit with Shaggers and Jeezy tomorrow, and get into Kathmandu earlier in the evening than I would have today. Cheers to an unexpected pitstop and the fun it brings!