I had little problems with jetlag during my trip despite 12-hour difference in Argentina, 8-hour difference in Morocco. Today, back home in Hong Kong, I am struggling to stay awake during the day, and now struggling to fall asleep without nightmares. Talking about time difference, I didn't realize Paris - my city of transit - was 2 hours ahead of Morocco instead of 1, and I leisurely walked around looking for the right gate and terminal until I realized I was only 15 minutes away from flight time.
I have been writing more on my blog than before - in the past I used to tell him everything that happened to me, whether it was something stupid, silly, happy, upsetting. Life is not the same when you are a person so eager to express and share but with no one beside you to share with. It's like your best best friend has moved to North Pole and you can't call him/her up anytime. I wonder how people there communicate with the outside world...
I rarely talk to people on the plane - you don't really expect to make any friendships when you fly like 11 times in 3 weeks. When I get on the plane, the following is my list of activities:
1. Look for space in overhead compartment to put my luggage.
2. Identify nearest bathroom and exit - yes, considering I fly so much the chances of me having a plane accident is significantly higher than the average person. Those who are aware of emergency exits and safety measures on the plane have a higher likelihood of surviving a plane accident.
3. Take off my shoes, turn off my phone.
4. Sleep - I typically fall asleep before the plane takes off, and stay asleep for at least an hour.
These trips really wore me out. Sounds like a brat, but I really feel I have traveled enough for my lifetime - and any new destinations would be a bonus which I would really leave for a later time. I still enjoy exploring new cities and cultures, only that I realized I have seen more of the world than the average person, and I should acknowledge such opportunities. Now, I am just so sick of flying, I want nothing but stability for a while.
Oh, when I went through security (?) in Marrakesh airport, I was stopped by the officer who asked me how much money I had. I was taken by surprise, and I told him "250 dirhams" (equivalent to 250 HKD). He asked me,"What about dollars? American dollars?" I said,"What dollars? I have no dollars. I said 250 dirhams. Why do you need to know? You want my money?" He repeated,"Dollars. How much do you have! You have Canadian passport, you must have dollars!" At that point he was demanding for a different answer, and started searching my bags!! He said I needed to declare if I had more than 100,000 dirhams. More travelers (American) arrived and were standing behind me wondering what was happening and I told them. The man was still searching my bags and giving me a hard time, so I said,"What exactly do you want? What makes you think I have 100,000 dirhams or dollars with me? I may hold a Canadian passport but I don't live in Canada! I am just going home now! Do you want me to give you money or what?" Finally, after finding no money in my bags and with all the people watching, he let me go. I was so pissed. Sometimes you have to deal with this when traveling alone - and worse when you are wear glasses looking ugly.
No comments:
Post a Comment