In the Air!

April 13.

Thirty hours was a long time to be in transit.

On the AKL-BKK leg, I created a video of some of the wonderful people I had met along the way these past 15 months. It had something I started compiling together in January. I know I’m missing a lot of people. The simple project passed the time and made me happy.

In BKK, I half considered leaving the airport. Thailand was my haven! The Singhas and Thai food on the Thai Airways flight had me reminisce of all the great times. Songkran – the Thai New Year – was the next few days and promised water-fight fun. Instead, I hung out at Starbucks for the three hour layover.

I was on the two-story plane (Airbus A380?) for the Bangkok-Frankfurt flight. I was confused when my ticket said 78G and the rows ended at 72, until I saw the stairs. I had a row of four seats to myself, which was great. It was almost flatbed in economy! I tried watching some new-release movies that were recommended but found them all stressful to watch. I could handle watching the few lighthearted episodes of Big Bang Theory. Otherwise, I was in Ultra Music therapy mode and tried to sleep.

I really enjoyed landing in Amsterdam’s Schipol and knowing where I was going. The North Sea air was brisk and the sun was shining. The train transit to the Hague was familiar from last summer. Dan, one of my favorite travellers/friends from this trip (who doesn’t believe in hugs), was so excited about my arrival and gave me TWO HUGS! :D I was happy to be back. <3

Last Day in New Zealand!

April 11-12.

Barbara picked me up in Auckland when I arrived from the Bay of Islands. I had met Barbara and her globetrotting son William back in June in Inle Lake, Myanmar, and it was a happy reunion in New Zealand. She asked me what I had seen of Auckland and when I responded not much other than the CBD, she drove along the waterfront in her cool vintage BMW and pointed out marinas (Auckland is known as the “City of Sails” for a reason), volcanoes, and residential areas I had missed. A lot, as it turned out. She and William were incredibly concerned that I was leaving New Zealand in such a hurry and invited me me to stay with them. William and his girlfriend Nicole were keen to go camping that weekend, which I could join. I appreciated their gesture but I had my flights booked and I was ready to leave.

They welcomed me into their beautiful home (loved it!!) and we had a delicious dinner of steak, salad, and pasta. We caught up on travels and life since last June and it was wonderful being with the family. They wanted me to stay longer. They made me feel normal again and I almost regretted leaving the next day. I showed them some of my travel inspiration videos, recounted travel stories, and looked at Myanmar pictures. They made me feel so at home and cared for. That night, I slept better than I had in weeks.

In the morning, William and Nicole took me to the bank – the only location open on a Saturday – to close my account (a regrettably painful experience – there should have been so much more!) and we continued on to Mission Bay, one of the family’s favorite places in Auckland. With Madeleine, the daughter of the family, we had breakfast beers/cider and shared a waffle of fried bananas, bacon, and ice cream, a strange combination I thought. It was a sunny morning and very fun to discuss everyone’s travel plans for Europe and South America. Everyone seemed to have an “OE” or “overseas experience” planned. William and Nicole dropped me off at Auckland Airport in their comically oversized SUV. I was missing the warmth of the family already! I was still slightly relieved to be leaving the country but it was on a much more positive note than it had been a few days ago.

Ahead: 30+ hours of flight/recovery time from Auckland, NZ, to Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Arrival in Amsterdam/Europe!

August 19.

I had unwittingly scheduled an appointment with the US Consulate for the morning of my arrival in Amsterdam. Straight from Schipol Airport to Museumplein for my 10:45 a.m. timeslot. Fortunately, I was not new to Amsterdam and knew where I was going. It’s a nice feeling at times to not be lost. :P The US Consulate was really strict about no electronics (including mobile phones) so I dropped off my baggage at a nearby museum cafe that was apparently accustomed to having such requests.

I had a few hours before passport pickup so I just went back to the cafe and ordered a BLT and hot chocolate for brunch. I was acclimatizing to a six/seven hour time zone difference and just relaxing. Was I experiencing a reverse culture shock after being in Asia for eight months? Maybe less than I thought I would, since Museumplein was one of my favorite places in Amsterdam and it felt familiar/homey.

Gorgeous day. I half wanted to lay out in the grass and just enjoy simply not sweating profusely from being outside hahaha. It was about 25 degrees Celcius/75 degrees Farenheit, which was much more comfortable than the melting 35-40 degrees Celcius I had left behind in Japan and/or Singapore.

Passport pickup was straightforward. Two new sets of visa pages for the rest of my world tour, woohoo! The guard turned out to be quite friendly and helpful once he realized you weren’t an idiot. He warned me about pickpockets and pointed me in the right direction for the tram I needed to take for Central Station.

Took a train to the Hague, about 45 minutes away from Amsterdam. I had met Dan and BJ, an awesome Dutch couple, in the Komodo Airport in east Indonesia back in mid-May. We had been confused about the multiple queues and lack of any structure haha, taken the same flight, and a day later met up in Sanur, Bali, for a day or two.

Flashback to Bali:

Such a blast! It was a sad day when they had left. Anyway, they invited me to stay with them when I came to the Netherlands, yay! They wouldn’t actually be in town when I arrived so I picked up the keys from their good friend Anneke, who was also super sweet and welcoming. Dan had told me if I bumped into the (crazy) neighbors, to tell them I was BJ’s girlfriend/wife, just to mess with them haha.

It would be a few days until Dan and BJ returned to the Hague so I took a train to Belgium the next morning.

Flight to Europe Booked!

After 8.5 months in Asia, I will be flying to Amsterdam on August 18 for the start of my European travels.

So excited to see friends! :D <3