Just 2 weeks before my trip to Thailand I was enjoying the hot sun in Mexico, I was hoping I would arrive before the anticipated winter in Chicago showed up, but it waited for me. It snowed for the first time and the temperature dropped very low. Moreover, 3 days before my trip to Thailand I got sick. I could not think about my trip because my mind was focused on my present pain. Thank the goddesses I got better the night before I was to fly to the other side of the world.

 

My pain went away, but my anxiety started kicking in.

I kept telling myself “I am going to be on the other side of the world in a few hours!” as I packed, re-packed, packed, and re-packed my green backpack. This trip was not a two or three-week trip, but a five-month trip, so I had to pack accordingly. The morning before, I prayed to La Virgen de Guadalupe, and I kissed my nephew and goddaughter goodbye and left for the airport.

I took a last glance at the beautiful Chicago Skyline from my side view mirror as it disappeared into the distance. Planes began flying at a nearer distance from our car, so I knew we were getting closer to the airport. Looking out for the right Terminal, we entered and parked our van at the very top of the five-story parking building. We made our way to the JetBlue desk, and I checked my bag all the way to Bangkok, but I still could not believe this was happening!

 

My parent’s wanted us to eat breakfast at the airport before I went through security, but the overlapping security lines and my watch kept telling me it was not a good idea, so I followed my instincts. Saying goodbye was so hard, this was the first time I would be thousands of miles away from my family for a long period of time. Smothering them with warm hugs and kisses was not enough to fully say goodbye, I wanted to pack them in my tight green backpack. Although my parents did not want to let me go, they encouraged me to pursue my dream and make them proud. I felt tears forming in my eyes, I said my last goodbyes and rushed to the security line because I could not show them how scared I was to leave. That line was the longest line of my life because so many thoughts were running through my mind. I passed security, rushed to my gate, and was soon sitting on my plane to New York. I was thrilled to have received a window seat, but it was located next to the bathroom, so it was stinky! However, I was excited to take off because I had never been in NYC, but it seemed like take off was not going to happen anytime soon.

 

“The JetBlue system is down, so we are waiting for it to come up again because we need all passengers’ information.” With only a two-hour layover in NYC, I was a little worried I would not get to my flight to Beijing on time. As a person who turns all negative situations into positive ones, I kept my cool and sat back, relaxed, and drank my cold Hibiscus tea.

 

45 minutes later….

 

“We are still waiting for the system to come back on, but we do not have an estimated time.”

My neighbor sighed because she knew she would miss her connecting flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico. My nerves, on top of my anxiety, started kicking in. Taking off my tight seat belt, I took long breaths and smiled. With only an hour of layover time, I prepared my muscles to run all around the JFK airport as soon as I stepped out of the plane.

Thirty minutes passed, and the airline realized the system would not come back on that day, so they counted all the passengers manually and we were off to New York. We flew over the Chicago skyline, and it was a very pleasant scene. An hour and something minutes later, we landed, and I grabbed all my belongings and was ready to get off the plane.

People were getting their stuff really slowly. By the time I got out, I only had thirty minutes to get to my next plane. I stepped out, analyzed my surroundings, and realized this airport was HUGE! I went back and asked the JetBlue assistant how I get to my next flight with Air Asia, and she directed me. I had to take the airport train to the first terminal. Without fully understanding the process of getting to my next flight, I realized I had to go through security once again. I went to the Air Asia desk to get my tickets to Beijing, but there was no one to ask.

I asked Lufthansa, the airline next to them, where the representatives for Air Asia were and very rudely they responded that the representatives had left. I followed up and asked when they will be back, “They leave one hour before the last flight, so you have to wait until tomorrow.” Let me just say my flight to Beijing was the last Air Asia flight of the day. In shock, I started crying, The airline announcers made my experience way worse,

 

“Passengers flying with Air Asia flight number,” something-something, “with destination to Beijing, China, the plane is now boarding.”

 

I literally started sobbing! With no service on my phone and no sense of direction, I could not do anything. For the first time in my traveling experiences, I felt lost and scared.

This had never happened to me, so I decided to book a hostel and stayed the night in the cheapest hostel ($45? whet?). Talking with Air Asia the next day was probably my best option at the time. I asked a woman if I could use her phone to call a taxi, but she refused. I could not find a public phone anywhere. However, I found an Internet café on the first floor, and I rented a computer for thirty minutes. I requested a Lyft and booked a hostel My Lyft driver came in less than five minutes and was headed to the hostel in Brooklyn. Magically, I received a message on my phone and realized the service on my phone had not been canceled yet... I screamed a little inside. Calling my mom and explaining my situation to her was very hard because she answered the phone crying. She was worried I never made it to NYC because I promised to call her before my flight to Beijing. Although I was scared and confused inside, I calmed her down and explained that everything was going to be okay. $45 later, I arrived at the hostel, and I checked in. I put my stuff down and called everybody and their mommas.

I tried to call Air Asia but my phone got tired of being on hold, so I called Student Universe, the website I booked the ticket with, and they told me to call JetBlue. One-hour of discussion later, I found myself on another $45 Lyft to the airport because JetBlue got me on a plane to Taipei then Bangkok. I wasted around $115 that day, but I could have wasted 90% less than that if my phone would have received service faster. I smelled like a pig from running around and crying, but I was on my way to Taipei.

I got on the longest flight of my life, chatted with my Filipino neighbor, and arrived in Taipei 13 hours later. I waited 30 minutes for my next plane, took off, and BOOM I was in Bangkok. Thinking my worries were gone, I was wrong.

My bag never showed up, and no one knew its whereabouts. I made a claim, and the airport would contact all related airlines and airports to see where it was. I took a taxi to the hostel, and I arrived $15 later. I wanted to shower as soon as I got to my room, but I did not have any change of clothes, so I went shopping and spent $100 at the mall because I did not understand the conversion rate yet, so I got screwed over. I bought street food and headed to my hostel. That was honestly the best shower I ever had! although it was kinda weird because the shower head was adjacent to the toilet... idk I was confused. I ate, documented my life in my journal, and took a nap to prepare myself for the next 3 days in Bangkok with my friend Ariana before our orientation.

 

Overall, my trip started off on a really bad foot, but the rest of my travels were life changing and unforgettable because I didn't let these hiccups affect my perspective of traveling on my own. I learned from them, and I hope you see it through my travels in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia.