Love Actually

 Dear Friends and Family,

    I actually love airports!  That is probably one reason that I enjoy the movie “Love Actually” as much as I do.  Friends and families and colleagues exchanging farewells and enthusiastic greetings.  I am currently close to the 12 hour mark of the 32 hours it requires to fly from Gainesville, FL to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  I am in LAX at the Star Alliance Lounge (a first for me and quite nice) awaiting the call for a 12:50AM flight from LAX to Taiwan and then Flight #4 to Cambodia.

 Made a big mistake and overpacked my backpack and carry on. The weight was horrible having to roll/ carry the two pieces through GVL, then LAX, then TAIPEI, and finally PHNOM PENH. Nope, need to rethink that.  But I do have a lot of electronics. Sigh.

   Now, during this trip, I was amazed at the opportunities God gave me to do small acts of kindness for my fellow passengers and even an Eva employee. While at the Gainesville Airport,  I was on a College of Nursing zoom meeting, sitting at a table when two different older passengers came up to me and asked me to help them find their gate.  Now, there were quite a few people around me but they came up to me. It was a simple task and a pleasure to reduce someone else’s stress and anxiety with little effort on my part.  While on the zoom meeting, a CON alumni came up and hugged me and after the call we caught up with one another. 

    Atlanta Airport is rather fascinating.  I landed at the C concourse and needed the T concourse which is alllllll the way at the other end.  Since today is filled with a good bit of sitting, I walked the distance to my next gate.  I enjoy reading the murals about the history of Atlanta and love the hall where the ceiling now resembles a tree canopy. 

Architectural Landscapes of Atlanta by a Construction Company/ Architect

Concourse  Ceiling 

 Atlanta Sculpture   Hx. of Atlanta

    I seriously lucked up with my seat mate on the 5 hours flight from ATL to LAX. The lovely lady is originally from India and was a landscape architect until COVID hit.  She has a great love for cooking and her family in India owned restaurants.  She has written 7 (!!) cookbooks, primarily Indian cuisine.  When I shared with her the Indian dishes that I make, she was delighted and the flight passed quickly learning about one another’s very different lives, yet how we enjoy many of the same things. She warmly embraced me as we went our separate ways. 

    At LAX I changed over to EVA Airlines and it required getting my boarding passes there.  Tonight represents my 9th trip on Eva to SE Asia.  I have to leave the terminal in which I arrived, walk about 10-15 minutes to the Tom Bradley International Terminal and pop…. I always feel like Alice in Wonderland, who fell down the rabbit hole.  I am quickly a minority in that terminal. The groups of international flight attendants wearing culturally designed uniforms in a cacophony of colors and styles, the swirl of languages and dialects seasoning the air, the female Buddhist nuns with their shaved heads and long grey or burgundy robes, tranquilly gliding by with a small bag in tow, imperious to the organized chaos around them. I think if I lived in the area, I would rather like hanging out in this terminal to just people watch. 

  

I get excited walking towards the          International carriers.              Where my line STARTED tointernational terminal.                                                                          get my boarding pass. 

  

The line for dropping off the bags           Can you imagine? Over 250 gates

if I had pre-checked in was just as           in one terminal!

long!

    But of course, then came reality. Eva is a MAJOR air carrier to Asia.  Though it was 8:30PM at night, there were easily 200 people ahead of me to get their boarding passes and the line to drop off pre-checked luggage was nearly as long. But peace is an attribute that requires practice and lots of it.  So, my turn came and I efficiently presented my paperwork and passport.  I asked the young woman how her night was going and she asked me if this was my first trip to Cambodia.  I told her no and she sighed and said she looked forward to when she would one day get to travel abroad.  Can you imagine how many hundreds of people she checks in every day and yet, she has not yet traveled but then…. As Paul Harvey would say…. Here’s the rest of the story. I shared with her that it was not a vacation but that I teach nursing there.  Her entire countenance brightened.  She enthusiastically told me after years of saving, she was applying to a BSN Program and was taking her A+ HESI this week. Oh my goodness.  I was in the perfect line.  I held open my two hands to her and she placed her’s in mine, to which I warmly squeezed them and wished her well. Of course, giving her my card and telling her to give me a shout and let me know how things go. 

    Thanks to my Global Entry, security is now a breeze! One of my daughters encouraged me to pay the $75 fee to enjoy the Star Alliance Lounge (Eva is a member of this group.) rather than sit at a gate for 3 hours.  Oh-FYI- it took me a solid 45 minutes to snake my way up to check in!  

  I don’t know if I will do it again, but it has definitely been relaxing and it is a lovely spot.  I think I’m going to try and find a quiet spot for a quick nap before my flight is called. So with that…. “See” you on the other side of the globe. And yes… I really do like airports and Love Actually is my favorite holiday movie.

    Here are some pictures of  the Taipei International Airport, my FAVORITE airport ever.  Due to time limitations, I did not get to take as many pics of the various gates (they call lounges) as I wanted.  Will try upon my return to the States. 

 Freshly made custard creams.  I had just one, but seriously amazing.  Like a thick pancake with custard in the middle.

  How would you like this to be your gate?

 That is real greenery. The airport is filled with live plants to promote clean air and relaxation during one's trip.

Yep, another gate but anyone can spend their 

layover sitting there watching Asia movies!

 Hooray!  Last stop to Cambodia. In Taiwan, Chinese is primarily spoken, though many older people also speak Japanese. I know maybe 3 Chinese characters!  

 Map from LAX to Taipei

 EVA flight attendants.  Pink is for the novice flight attendants, then a light green, followed by the most senior of attendants in red.  The first "two" levels of flight attendants where aprons of corresponding colors when serving the meals.  The most senior, known as a "captain" is always walking about to see that things smoothly proceed during the flight.

 Entering Phnom Penh airspace

The land surrounding the city

  The Pearl of Asia

Where the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers converge  

           My apartment is on the pennisula between them.

Peace to All, Karen