And of course, the problems won't just stop there. When I was shuttle to the airport, I assumed I was flying Air Canada all the way (this was mostly my fault I guess). But the guy dropped me off at the Air Canada counter so I can be told to go to the United counters ("a quick 5 minute walk" she says). Well, it would be a quick walk if I didn't have to carry two 50 lb bags, a carry-0n suitcase, a backpack, and a fully stuffed computer bag. At this point, getting a cart was also not an option since I didn't have any cash on me (stupid on my part) and the credit card machine at the carts were malfunctioning. Plus, it was $3 dollars anyway to get one so I figured I would get a good workout in in the meantime. I am immediately regretted my decision. After about 7 pit stops and one sweaty t-shirt later, I finally got to the United Airlines counter.
The problem continued after check-in. When I was packing, I really wanted to bring everything I wanted so I decided to bring a small suitcase for carry-on. I also forgot you are only allowed two carry-on bags and I had three (computer bag, backpack, and suitcase). To minimize my losses, I threw my backpack away and stuff what I can in my suitcase. Not happy.
Got upgraded to Economy Plus on my first flight to Vancouver which made me happy for a brief moment. I fell asleep right away in the "Economy Plus" section for about an hour which was nice. However, when I woke up, I looked out the window and I noticed we were still at the our gate! It wasn't until an hour and 30 minutes after our scheduled departure time before we took off. It wasn't engine problems, it wasn't weather problems, or anything else that would make it OK for such delay. It was all because of a god damn stamp that they needed to get before flying across the boarder. God damn Canadians! The 1.5 hrs delay pretty much took all the time I had to make next connection from Vancouver to Hong Kong. I was actually given clearance to be the first one out the door (while everyone sat patiently) so I can try to make my connection. Ran across an ugly and confusing Canadian airport in a record time. They have closed the gate but have not launched away from the gate, so lucky me :) My luggage however, did not make it in time on to that flight and will have to be delivered tomorrow. Oh well! My seat on that flight was an exit aisle and window seat (for those of you who have never flew in big planes, this is like the first class of the economy class). I am talking full leg room, get up whenever you want and not bother anyone in front or behind you. I was so excited! But nothing can work out the way it was supposed to. Someone was already sitting in my seat. I obviously kindly asked the man to move out of my seat. It was then when I realized I have started a chain of reaction with a seat arrangement. Apparently, about 7 people moved away from their assigned seats to accommodate for a baby and a mother. Being the nice guy I am, I decided to not make everyone move and settled for a basic, crunched, economy (still window) seat. The flight wasn't bad, had as much free booze as they would give me so I got a little buzzed. I was surrounded by the curse of crying babies, old smelly people, and no one interesting to talk AGAIN. Did I mention that my original assigned seat had a young girl, probably in her 20s', and looked like she actually spoke English? I bet we could've held a semi-intelligent conversation while we stretched our legs FULL extension. God damn it.
Sorry for a long blog and the pessimistic angle. Obviously, if you read this, you probably expected it coming from me :) I do hope that will change soon, starting with my first day in Hong Kong!
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