Thailand Recap

Be forewarned, this will be LONG! This is a week long of information here, so come back and read the rest when your eyes start to burn. Here goes...

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Our Arrival

Thanavin


Our flight got into Bangkok international airport at approximately 11:30pm(Thailand is 12 hours ahead of EST), we took a meter taxi to the hotel for 45o Baht. Some jinnal (read: dishonest or shady) taxi drivers were trying to charge us ridiculous prices but we knew better. We got to Hotel Ibis Siam, checked in with Thanavin, took our luggage up to our room then went back down to eat dinner at the icafe around 1am. I had Thai fried rice with shrimp without hesitation and a peppermint tea. We were both hanging off of the restaurant chairs we were so tired. After a little bit of a struggle we went back up to our room and got ready for bed.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Let the Bangkok shopping begin!

We woke up, showered and went downstairs for the "continental breakfast". Can you say food!!!?? I'm talking about FULL breakfast foods(2 types of eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, home fries, french toast, toast, rolls etc.), pastries and big food like fried rice, pineapple chicken, veggie stir fry and more! After breakfast we walked around Bangkok in the Pratunam area and shopped like madwomen! We justified it though, because we had others in mind as we shopped, it wasn't all for ourselves. We looked around and shopped for prices at the hundreds of tailor shops that lined the street. In the Pratunam Center we found a little store owned by a man who sold nice skirts and dresses. They caught our eye immediately as they were displayed on mannequins...come to find out the skirt and dress were one and the same. The bartering commenced and we bough 4 each! After a long day of shopping and tailor hunting, we got foot massages then went back to the hotel to drop off our things. We headed back out on a tuk tuk(mode of transportation) bound for 1 of the 2 tailor shops we decided on. Our tuk tuk driver took the scenic route, it was actually quite nice as it gave us the opportunity to see some of the surrounding area all or 20 Baht(less that $1 CAD). The first tailor shop was closed so we went to the second and put in our orders. I decided on a dress to be made with Thai silk and two 3-piece suits(jacket, skirt and trousers). The grand total was 9500 Baht (approx $250 CAD). Robin, the shop owner convinced me to get the second suit against my will, so I made him promise to throw in a free neck tie. I left a happy camper once it registered how little I was paying for a 3-piece suit. Next, we set out to look for a shop to get our nails done It was about 10pm by this time. We passed this one shop several times throughout the day and didn't go in. It was still open so we ventured in. They started on our toenails..I should've known from the way the that the pedicure was being done that they were so bootleg and didn't know what they were doing...but I let the madness continue. Tiredness knocked us both out. I have no idea when my girl started my manicure, but I woke up to colour on my fingernails which isn't something I usually do. We paid, thanked them and left. We sure got our moneys worth...200 Baht for a mani/pedi. I think we should've gone with the instinct that was stopping us from entering throughout the day.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Ahhhhhhh the beach

On this day I felt the wrath of the cheap manicure underneath my thumbnails because they were burning whenever I washed my hands or ate. It felt like someone took a knive, sliced between my nailbed and fingernail and poured alcohol over it. I was cursing the names of those ladies all day. We arrived in Phuket about 9am, caught a cab to take us to our hotel, the Seven Seas. For about 15-20mins our taxi driver couldn't find our hotel and he went to such lengths to find it's destination. He got out to ask the locals, used his cell to try and call the hotel etc. I thought surely if this was Toronto....ah well, needless to say we gave him a tip(which they don't really do in Thailand) for all of his troubles. We got to the hotel and checked in, the place was brand spanking new. So new that only the 1st and 2nd floors are complete and work is still being done on the rest. So new that the hotel opened 3 days prior and we were some of the 1st guests to stay there. The manager is a fairly young woman, very nice and accommodating. Our room was pretty much a standard or junior suite by North American standards and it was pristine! As we arrived I had a scare because my bag was gone, little did I know that the service is just so on point they waste no time taking your luggage to the front desk or to your room. We too, wasted no time after check-in was finalized. Within 20 minutes we were dressed and ready to head to the beach. We walked to the 7-eleven so I could buy a phone card to call my Mommy for her birthday (Happy Birthday again!) We then ate lunch and then walked over to the beach, which was not even 5 minutes from the hotel right across the street. We literally spent the rest of the day on the beach. There were some women giving massages etc. right on the sand, so we went to them to have our nails repainted. They were horrible! Khaleelah's french manicure looked like the ones little girls give themselves with whiteout! At about 6:30pm we walked back to the hotel, showered, watched some television, then walked down Patong beach in search of some food. We found an Indian restaurant, ate outside and people watched while firecrackers went off too close for comfort. I had garlic naan,shrimp masala and mango juice. Deeeelish! We took a tuk tuk back to the hotel and fell asleep not too long after.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas butt violation

Christmas morning we woke up relatively early watched tv(shout out to mnet series the greatest station I've seen) and headed over to the same restaurant for some breakfast. I had pancakes, eggs and pineapple juice. After breakfast we walked along the beach to look for the market. The prices were tourist prices to say the least, but we did end up buying a few things after bartering of course. We each got a pair of these VERY cute sandals(see pictures) that are actually quite comfortable. On the way back to the hotel we decided to take a motorbike ride. Maaaaaaaan was I scared. I don't know why, but for some reason I've had this fear of riding on one so I was freaking out a bit. Once the bike started moving I screamed a little bit while holding on to Khaleelah for dear life, but after I let the scream out I felt a bit better. I must say that I'm proud of myself. Not only did I ride a motorbike, I took a picture while riding! How's that for a first timer! Back at the hotel we dropped our things off went to 7-eleven to buy some water and snacks, then headed to, you guessed it, the beach! My wish came true, Christmas on the beach in Phuket. I ran right into the water as our chairs were set up, the water was soooooo warm, it felt like warm bathwater. Again we spent the whole day relaxing, reading, listening to music, swimming etc. We brought our left over food from dinner and left it to heat up in the sun while we swam. I bought an order of Thai fried rice from the food stand on the beach and we enjoyed a good lunch before I fell asleep for about an hour. After little debating we decided we would work up the nerve to go jet skiing for the first time. We didn't have enough money with us, even after bartering, so we left our things on our beach chairs walked over to the hotel and came back in time for our turn. When we signed our lives away on the contracts the guys failed to tell us they only had one jet ski, so we couldn't go out together. Khaleelah went out first and we had one of the guys go out with us for some guidance. We had 22 minutes each. I took pictures along the beach while K was out until it was my turn. I hopped on the jet ski rearing to go. We went out pretty far, within some feet of a cruise ship heading to Singapore. Surprisingly, I wasn't scared at all. I took the reigns and started steering all over the ocean. I learned the little tricks like riding into the waves to jump the jet ski or riding with the wave on an angle for a smoother ride. After about ten minutes of riding, I ask how much time was left. I wouldn't normally do this, but as we were going over rough waves I felt Mr. Man rubbing up kinda close on my backside. I didn't pay it any mind at first because naturally he would shift forward when the jet ski jerks over a wave, but it started to feel a bit different. So, he told me there were 10 minutes left. I took the handles and turned around to head back toward the beach, but he directed me to go toward the ship again. I started going over waves faster and as I did that, I feel the jerking against my butt getting faster. I say to myself "self, could this skinny boy be humping my butt like a dog?" I couldn't believe it! I asked again how much time was left, keep in mind this is about 15-20 minutes later, then he said we were done. This dude pressed up so close on my butt I could feel his pelvic bones. He didn't speak English, but I figure he knew I was onto him because I kept leaning backward pressing my shoulder blades into his chest so my butt would be clear out of reach. I though I could handle it and get some extra time, but I started feeling queasy at the thought of being humped. I had a good jet ski experience overall, but I was more than happy to be back on the sand. I told Khaleelah what happened and she corroborated my story with one of her own. At this time the sun had gone down, so we headed back across the street to our hotel, frolicked in the pool for a bit, showered then went out for dinner. We ate at an Italian restaurant. I had chicken penne with rose sauce and K had pizza. This was the first time in a while I can say the food was just okay. We had a very eventful day so we went to bed soon after.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

In Transit









We woke up, checked out and left the hotel just after 7am. We had a morning flight to go back to Bangkok. While waiting in line to board I glanced over at the jewellery vendor to find her straightening her hair with a flat iron while looking in the mirror. What a sight. Our flight was delayed and we got to Bangkok just after noon. We proceeded to the baggage storage facility and paid to leave our luggage at the airport for pick up later on that evening. The first stop was to the tailor's to get our second fitting done for the suits we were having made. After the fitting we ate lunch and then walked around the city window shopping for what we wanted to buy open our arrival. Next up was the Thai massage(at the same place we got our foot massages). My body was twisted and bent into some interesting positions, but after all was said and done I felt great. After the massages were finished, we caught a taxi back to the airport, got our luggage out of storage and boarded the plane heading to Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand). Once we arrived in Chiang Mai a taxi took us to the Baan Kaew guest house where we stayed for the night. After checking in, we walked over to the Night Bazaar no more than 10 minutes away. We bought some things, and window shopped for the next day.

Dec. 27-Dec. 29

updating...

Happy Birthday Esquared!!!

I'm a long way from Toronto, but I haven't forgotten your big day. I am in the lobby of the Hotel Ibis Siam in Bangkok. I hope your birthday party was a hit and that you had some nice surprises. Plan in the next year to be in Thailand because you would LOVE IT! Keeping this short, love ya and Happy Birthday!!!

Thai vibrations

Back in October at the end of my conversation peace entry I told you I had news of a trip on the horizon.

I didn't post about it for some time because it hadn't actually sunk in, and then it sunk in and I was busy doing other things and forgot to write about it so here I am. Tomorrow Khaleelah and I will be leaving to go to Thailand! Yes, you read correctly...Thailand. I am so super excited that I can't let myself get excited lol if that makes sense. We will be there for one week and we plan to be on the beach for Christmas day in Phuket. I finished packing on Wednesday night and finished all the other necessary trip preparations and this morning I still woke up like "wait a second, we're going to Thailand TOMORROW?!"

I am extremely happy about this because before I came to Japan, Thailand was the ONLY thing I had on my list of things to do while here and it's about to happen. I will take my baby(camera) with me and take lots of pictures, I will eat Thai food to my heart's content, I will not get caught up in the sex trade contrary to what some may believe and I will enjoy myself. Pray for my safe travels and I will try to update while there, but if not catch you when I get back!

It's not my fault, blame that punk Jet lag!!!

It really isn't my fault, you know I'm usually good with keeping you up to date. For some reason this punk named jetlag thought it would be kinda funny to knock me out and mess with my circadian clock for an entire week?! You know how much can happen in a week?!

I arrived back to Japan on the evening of December 11th(early morning Dec 10th your time) and boy was it a tiring day. It started out with Mom and Dad taking me to Pearson airport...actually it started the night before with Mom and I packing all the food and random things I wanted to take back with me. I think I did pretty good with the list I brought. Before leaving the house we already knew my bags were WAY overweight. So as usual, we get to the airport and I head straight to a closed counter to weigh my bags...yup overweight. Keep in mind the weight restriction was dropped from 70lbs to 50lbs...madness yes, but what can you do? So I go to check in and the scale I used was waaaaay off. I thought I would only have gladly pay the excess fee for one bag that was just over 70lbs and the ohter was 52lbs. The lady was like woah! this bag is 85lbs! all I could do was laugh! I had to bring both bags down to 70lbs before she could even let me pay the fee so I did some major shuffling, but got them both bang on. That wasn't the only funny thing. I had like 3 carry ons hahaha. My duffel bag, my small rolling carry on suitcase and a little backpack. The plan was for pops to sit with the duffel bag as I checked in..but after a few minutes of me shuffling and going back to way as I checked in, he walks over with the duffel bag jumpin in the woman's face like "what's up? what's going on?" ahahahah I swear I just gave him this 'get outta here look' and mumbled under my breath...he got the hint. I finished checking in and Moms and I walk over to where he was sitting. I said "you almost ruined the plan!" and he starts laughing. So now, he's like "there's another gate entrance down there, lets walk down there"...I was on that like white on rice because I didn't want the lady to see the extra bag. We walked down and needless to say there wasn't access to where I was supposed to go ahhahaha. We walked back to the proper gate with no problems, said my farewells...surprisingly Mommy was like "oh gosh a second time"..somehow I thought it would be easier this time. As usual they stayed outside the gate until I was in the clear, good thing b/c this schupidee wanted to try and take my big jar of cocoa butter...I wasn't playing that! So they handed it over to my parents. I guess that part fell in line with one of Ian's rules...don't try to get away with the same thing more than once.

Okay so we're back to getting to Japan. Got to Narita airport, went through immigration and all that stuff and headed straight to a freigh company to have my bags delivered to my house. I WISH we had something like that in Toronto. I then rushed down to the train to purchase my ticket to get home. The lady at the counter told me I couldn't get to my stop so I would have to wait until the morning. Good thing I know how to use my grey matter! I bought a ticket to Himeji(4 stations away from mine). I had to take one train from Narita airport to Tokyo station..I knocked out! I then transferred to the shinkansen from Tokyo to Himeji, again I knocked out. When I got to Himeji, there was a train just after midnight. I met some other foreigners there and exchanged info with one girl from New York who was a wealth of info. They were going to Aioi(my stop) to board a ship to entertain on a cruise for 2 weeks. I got home about 12:30...it was so nice to be home. I can't remember when I went to bed but I slept like a baby.

My body had so much eventful activity for the past two weeks, and that added to that punk jetlag folks is a deadly combination. I swear I had a day off to recoup before going back to work, but everyday for a week I would get home after work, fall asleep around 6ish, get up at 1-2 in the morning, go back to sleep by 4-5 and get up for work at 7. Last Friday I woke up in the middle of the night and didn't sleep. I stayed up until Saturday around 11am and I fell asleep for 7 hours on the floor in my study! Yep, jetlag and me are NOT friends. Buuuuuuuut, I'm back on track now! So I'll be back to my updating self (as u can see already)

Wedding Update #2-The Big Day!

Okay so Saturday morning I woke up around 7am to have a bathroom break and Tams, Mums, Tessa and Keri were already up and about. Not me, I went back to bed or at least tried...I couldn't fall asleep because I had butterflies in my stomach! My baby(not really, but that's how it felt) is about to be all grown up. I got out of bed and had breakfast. Karen and Sacha got up soon after. We got ready to go to the Knutsford Court hotel for 11 o' clock. We were so on point with the time, no way we were going to be late on the big day...we pulled into the driveway of the hotel at 11:01! In the lobby while room stuff was being sorted out, my parents snuck up behind me and startled the living daylights out of me. It was such a nice surprise because it was the first time I actually got to see them since they arrived. I called the YUBSA ladies to come down to say hi, not knowing anything about people not seeing the bride. I thought it was just the groom that wasn't supposed to see the bride, no? We eventually went to our rooms where we chilled for a bit, ate some pumpkin soup and waited for the hair and makeup artists to come. At about 12:30pm the hair stylist, Kerry, arrived followed shortly thereafter by the makeup artist, Ryan. We were informed that she had to be out of our room by 1:30pm...I'm thinking to myself yea right...there are 4 of us in here! Anyhoo, WE WERE ON TIME! It was the beautificationista's(hahaha) fault we were running late after that! Tams had a separate room to get ready in, but in light of saving time for the stylists to pack up etc. she came to our room with Mums and sisters to have their hair and make-up done. Keep in mind the wedding is at 3pm in Spanish Town, about a 30-60 minute drive depending on traffic. The bridesmaids waited in the lobby after we were finished with our ride. I can't remember what we were waiting for, but Tamii came out and my heart sank...she looked sooooooooo...man beautiful is an understatement! Fast forward and we get to the church about an hour and a half later, I see Omari waiting outside and give him a big hug and the whole thing starts shortly thereafter. The wedding ceremony was jokes! It's so weird actually saying the wedding was fun, but it was. The processional music that we(the bridesmaids and groomsmen, maids of honour, ring-bearer and flower girl) walked to was Celine Dion's 'Alive'. We all had a practiced bop kinda walk to it, so funny! Then came the beautiful bride and her dapper don daddy! Maaaaan you should have seen the big smile on Angel's face, it was soooooo cute! I'm so proud, I didn't bawl my eyes out like I thought I would. I owe that to the fact that the whole ceremony was nuff jokes! What was hilarious was when the pastor says something like "if there is anyone here has reason why these two shouldn't be joined...blah blah"...Angel turns around and eyes the congregation! Everyone, I mean everyone busted out laughing! At the end of the ceremony our processional music was 'Now That We Found Love' by Third World...did I say the wedding was fun? We took pictures outside of the church and then headed to Knutsford for the reception. The speeches were HIGH-LARRY-US! First were the maids of honour(Tessa and Keri) telling the phases of Tamii's life and then was Angel's brother Andre talking about childhood with Angel. Man I laughed so hard! I know I'm leaving out so many details since I'm doing this so late, but all in all the wedding was AMAZNINGLY BEAUTIFUL and I was so honoured to be a part of this with my girl. LOVE YOU TAMS and ANGEL. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

WEDDING RECEPTION PICTURES!

WEDDING CEREMONY PICTURES!

Wedding update #1

Okay I'm years behind(relatively speaking) on updating this thing, so I'll try to precis the last week as best I can. The last time I wrote I woke up to Tamii and her sisters belting it out with the karaoke machine. Fast forward to Thursday evening, still caught up on karaoke we were running late for the rehearsal dinner in Spanish Town...According to the bride, this was our dry run for the wedding day and we weren't doing too well, but we were better than the previous day. We got there 45mins late, but somehow it still felt like we were on time LOL(especially since we still had to wait on someone). Rehearsal was actually fun, I caught nuff jokes trying to walk to the beat down the aisle with Andre[Angel's(the groom) brother]. After rehearsal, back at the ranch, Karen, Sacha and I helped Tamii as she packed for her honeymoon. Oh man, can you say funny! I laughed until I thought my belly was going to burst! I won't divulge all of Tams' business on here, but lets just say that we had our own episode of "What Not To Wear". Between the 3 of us, a few clothes were confiscated(from Tamii's hands) and put into what Sacha coined "The Birth Control Pile" hahahaha! Sorry Tams, I love you I really do, but you were being ridiculous! You can wear those things when you GET BACK from the honeymoon! Oh how I want to quote some of the things that she said, but she'd disown me! I think we were up until about 3am or something crazy, but we got the job done or at least the majority of it.

Friday was the beautification day. We went to Jencare Skinfarm spa on Old Hope Road. That place is niiiiiice! We had our manicures and pedicures done, went to the bank and then to the salons and yes...we were running late. I got dropped off at the Bob Marley museum to go to the "Just Natural hair salon". Why didn't I realize there was a salon on the grounds the 2 previous times I visited the museum? I love that place and I will go back...I got my hair washed, interlocked and styled for about $40 CAD! Crazy! I ate some Jerk BBQ chicken with rice and peas and pineapple juice from the Legend cafe on the grounds...deelish! After my hair was done I sat around for 2 hours b/c I knew we were tight on time so I didn't want to have anyone rushing for me...so I just walked around and took pictures and looked at the merchandise in the little shop. Mr. Smith picked me up later on and we headed back to the house. Karen and Sacha came in later on, followed by the rest of the family a little later. I think everyone was beat Friday night, but we kept trodding on. Tams did some last minute packing (the birth control pile was hidden) with Keri, Tessa and Mom's approval and I think we all went to bed at a decent hour....at least I know I knocked out early! This is getting long, so I'll write about the big day in another entry.

B is for Beach, Bachelorette Party and Bridal Shower

Monday I went to Hellshire beach with Double. It was perfect, the weather, the setting, the water was so warm and the FOOD! Man, fish and festival is all I have to say....mouth watering. And guess what!? I rode a horse for the first time in my life! It's such a coincidence because I was just saying last week, that I have wanted to go horseback riding since I was little and look! I was ecstatic! Monday night was Tamii's bachelorette party. We went to Chez Maria for dinner and had a scavenger hunt for the bride-to-be to do. On the way home Mums(Mrs. Smith...I call her mums too) was killing us with laughter as she was pumping the breaks to whatever reggae song was playing....in the middle of traffic! I'm talking cars behind us and she's stopping the car to dance and turning corners all the while we are screaming and laughing. We got home and the party was far from over. We got in the door and DJ Keri(Tams eldest sister) had us dancing all night! I'm not quite sure how late we went to bed, but it was late. Tuesday was a day of lazing around, chilling in the house and browsing online. Yesterday(Wednesday) we(bridesmaids)spent the day preparing for Tamii's surprise bridal shower. She had errands to run so she was unaware of the goings on. Keri, Tessa(middle sister) and Karen(cousin) went out to get the groceries etc. from the shopping list, while Sacha(cousin) and I stayed home to rearrange the living room/dining room area and prepare for decorations. We started as soon as Tams, Moms and Pops pulled out of the driveway just before 11am. The rearranging of furniture was finished around 1:30pm and food preparations were under way. Tamii came home about 5pm and we blind-folded her and helped her upstairs. She was aware something was going on for her because Keri told her to keep the evening free, but she had no idea what. One of the ladies at her church said something that convinced her she wasn't getting a bridal shower so it worked out. About 6pm we brought her downstairs to the transformed area, decorations and awaiting guests. The night was a blast. We played games, opened gifts, had words of wisdom and what would a shower be without Karaoke? One of my jobs for the night was taking pictures, go figure huh? The theme of the shower was "health and fitness" so we did things like put dumbells on pedestals, laid out a yoga mat, a scale, tennis raquets, had 3 laptops playing fitness videos behind the scenes, had an ab machine set out etc. Everyone had a great time. The shower was scheduled to end at 9pm at which time most guests left, but the rest of us went crazy with the karaoke until the wee hours of the morning. We went to bed just after 3am.

This morning I woke up to Keri, Tessa and Tamii singing Kiss by Prince. Can you say hilarious!? We all got ready to go to the dressmaker one last time to fit our dresses. Afterward, Tams, Karen, Sacha and I went to halfway tree to pick up some cds and came back to the house. It is 4:58pm and we are leaving the house shortly to go to Spanish Town for the rehearsal dinner. If you can't tell I'm having a blast, no sleep and all. It's all about making the bride happy this week and according to her we get two thumbs up!

P.S. The ladies are now singing 'Gangsta Lovin' by Eve! Jokes!

Quick insomnia update

It is 3:00am on the dot and I'm sitting in the Smith's kitchen, the only person awake in the house. I got to Jamaica yesterday evening just before 6pm. Tamii and Mum picked Danielle and I up from the airport, I got to the house and relaxed and hung out with everyone while Tams and Angel went out. This morning we went to church and came home craven bellies. Our stomachs were growling through the ceremony....actually Tamii's was, you couldn't hear mine hahaha. We had a big lunch, there were a few people at the house, and we listened to music on the veranda trying to decide what songs to use for the processional and recessional for the wedding. I fell asleep probably around 7pm and woke up just after 1am and now here I am. I had a bowl of cereal about an hour ago and decided to update my blog, but I think it's time to go back to bed, so until...

Murphy was testing my patience, but he can't defeat my faith

On November 28th I had set out on my journey to go to Toronto. The morning started off well, my supervisor picked me up and drove me to the station with my luggage and I caught the 10:23am train from Aioi to go to Sannomiya. I got off to transfer trains in Himeji, only the train in Himeji wasn't budging. I found out from these dudes that there was a train accident ahead and we wouldn't be leaving the station until 11:40am (it was about 10:40am at the time). Ok cool, I tell myself..no need to freak out and worry because it is nothing that I can control, I just have to have faith that the Lord will help me get to Kobe airport on time. My domestic flight from Kobe to Haneda(Tokyo) is at 1:25pm, so I still have some time. 11:40am comes and goes, I start to worry, but again there is nothing I can do so I sit tight on the train for an hour plus like everyone else. Just after 12pm the train starts moving. This was cutting it kinda close, but all I could do is go with the flow. Keep in mind that I had planned my departure time from home so that I would get to Tokyo's Narita airport at least 4 hours before my flight. I get to Sannomiya station, walk as fast as I could with luggage in tow to the o and take the monorail, buy a ticket and hop on the 1 'o clock shuttle about a minute before the doors closed. "Okay" I'm thinking to myself..."I don't know about making this flight." Lo and behold I get to the airport 5 minutes before my flight is supposed to leave. I was flying domestically with Skymark airlines. I go up to the counter and tell the lady my plane is and such and such a time, I know I can't go on it etc. and find out the next flight is at 13:35. I cancel and refund my ticket and get one for the next available flight. I briefly tell her my situation and she refers me to the All Nippon Airways(ANA) counter to ask them if they can speak to the staff at Narita airport with whom I will be flying internationally. I walk over and tell the ANA staff person my situation. I have a flight leaving for Toronto at 7:15pm, I won't get there 2 hours before my flight because there was a train accident and I just missed my domestic flight to Haneda(Tokyo domestic) airport. She says she will research and for me to come back in 10-15 minutes. I go back and she apologizes, but says she is still looking and will come and get me from the seating area. So she finally finds the information for the limousine bus schedule from Haneda to Narita airports. She shows me the time of the bus I MUST catch to get to Narita airport at 6:50pm, tells me that when I get to Haneda to ask the grand staff for help getting my bag and taking me to the bus stop. I'm thinking to myself "6:50!!! My friggin' flight is at 7:15pm", but alas there is nothing I can do except go with the flow. I thank her and head to my gate.

Fast forward, the plane lands at Haneda(domestic) airport and one of the flight attendants comes and crouches down beside me and says "I heard about you". hahahah I'm like ummm okay...she says "yes, you have a connecting flight with ANA from Narita to Toronto"...I say yes. She explains that she will help me get off the plane first and show me what I need to do. Cool. I take my carry ons down and wait in the 3rd row where I was seated. The lady comes and proceeds to reach over the people in front of me for my bags, then tells them to move aside so I can get through. So now, I'm literally the first person standing almost plastered up against the airplane door, watching some men unlock and open it from the outside. At this point I'm preparing myself to run to the baggage carousel with this woman and then to the limo bus shuttle. We walk down the airplane steps and she tells me to follow her around the nose of the plane. I look up and there is a van waiting for us and the driver is in the plane cargo area taking my suitcase off. I stop dead in my tracks, look at her and say "are you serious?!, no forreal?" She laughs and tells me to get in the van. I swear to you I almost busted out in tears...at this point if I had to miss my plane to Toronto, I would find solace in the lengths that these people went to to try and facilitate my situation. In the van now, the man is driving like a speed demon on the tarmac toward the terminal where I have to catch the limo bus shuttle. This stuff only happens in the movies! is what I'm thinking. He unloads my luggage, bids me farewell and goodluck and the lady and I start running through the airport to the limo counter so I can buy my ticket. Keep in mind I have to catch the 5:10pm shuttle to get to Narita at 6:50pm. We get to the counter, and God is so good that I caught the 4:55pm bus. I'm feeling very emotional at this point, but I have no time to dwell on those feelings. We walk outside to the boarding line, the driver takes my bags and I am thanking the flight attendant with the deepest sincerity I can exude. I tell her that "I would not have been able to do this without your help, thank you soooooooooooo much. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Meanwhile she is saying your welcome and bowing to me...and I want to say nooooooooo you don't bow, I should bow, but as you know bowing is their custom. I say farewell, get on the bus and watch as she waits outside until the bus leaves! Now as amazing as this story is so far, I am totally and utterly confused by one thing. I flew domestically with one airline, Skymark. I have yet to fly internationaly with ANA/codeshared with Air Canada. How the bloody hell did two different airlines communicate to the point where the flight attendant heard about me, and had a piece of paper with my name, bag tag numbers, flight numbers etc. on it? That doesn't happen...it's two SEPARATE airlines! It just baffled me, and at the same time made me realize that these things can in fact be done. Anyway, I got to Narita airport and was at the check-in counter at 6pm. Thank you Lord. At about 6:30pm I was walking to my gate and I walked right into the line to board the plane. You can only imagine my state of emotion as I boarded the plane. The service I received just blew me away. Honestly if it wasn't for those people going above and beyond their call of duty, there is no way in hell that I would have made it to Toronto. Now...imagine this was in North America. HAHHAHAHAHAH yeaaaaa we all know where that would have went. So yes, a happy ending to a very long and stressful day. God is so good!