Hui Chin meets the gang

Pre-journey to Malaysia
As a precaution, Hui Chin and I made sure we were at the airport 4 hours before flight time. We got our boarding passes and checked in our bags quite easily and fairly promptly at the EVA counter. Now, with slightly less than 4 hours to kill, we decided to grab a bite to eat at one of the two Japanese stalls in the food court. The Udon soup we ordered was pretty good but the Chicken Teriyaki bowl was pretty stale and came with mixed veg that tasted like butt lice. But I finished it anyway. It is funny how hunger, combined with the promise of better (Malaysian) food to come, makes the tongue more tolerant. Being in the airport, we paid airport prices for the Teriyaki bowl, and that there was a little hard to swallow.

Hui Chin and I lounged comfortably in the food court before we decided to take a look at what the duty free shop downstairs had to offer. We reached the lower level and witnessed before us 2 hours worth of people lined up to get through the international gate. Hui Chin and I followed the trail of bodies that snaked through the airport, out the entrance, onto the sidewalk and all the way round the curb. When you have to walk 5 minutes to get from the start to the end of the line, it's a pretty darn long line. And we weren't even at Fry's.

The minute hand on my watched did two 360s before we got through the scanners and to the departure gate. When you're in a really long line with nothing to do, even the littlest things bring you entertainment. For me, I found great pleasure in hearing people disbelievably mutter under their breath about the insanity as they passed me and made their way to the back of the line.

Up, up and no way!
As a result of strong headwinds, our plane was diverted to Seattle. Something weird happened as we journeyed north to Starbucks Central. They served dinner. At one in the morning.

At the gas station
Because of the added mileage incurred, the plane had to be refueled once we arrived in Seattle. Refueling took a tedious hour and 45 minutes, during which no one was allowed to use electronic equipment. You could wear the cheap airline headphones on your head but you weren't allowed to plug it into the socket. Actually, I take back the thing about the cheap earphones. Those things probably cost a fortune since they always make sure they rip it from your possesion at the end of every flight. On local flights, they charge you $5 to wear their earphones for the length of the flight. What sucks is that when you have a transit flight, your $5 credit does not carry over.

Refueling actually felt worse than waiting in the line at the airport because you were confined to your half chair. At first, they only announced that handphones were not allowed. So I tried to use my laptop, only to have my ears chewed off by the air stewardess a few minutes later. She refused to hear anything I had to say, responding with a stern "you have to turn it off" each time I tried to get any sort of argument going.

"I only need another sec..."

"You have to turn it off."

"But could I u..."

"You have to turn it off."

"Will it be possib..."

"You have to turn it off."

"Yes drill sargeant. Will turn it off drill sargeant. Right away drill sargeant. Up yours drill sargeant. You're just pissed off 'cos you're not a real air stewardess because we are currently not in the air drill sargeant bitch."

I was actually surpised that men and women were not divided into different halves of the plane and a curtain drawn between them just to avoid any sparks. At one point, I was so bored that I could have started a fire by just twiddling my thumbs.

Making up ground
We took off from Seattle at 3:45 in the morning so we were now about 4 hours behind. We only had 3 hours to spare in Taipei to catch our connecting flight, so the pilot had to really step on the gas pedal. And I think flying in the Northern hemisphere sorta shortens the duration of the flight. Anyhow, by some miracle we arrived in Taipei with an hour to spare. I guess the pilot must have been flying.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but Chiang Kai Shek airport is my all time favorite for places with nothing to do. But I guess airports are built for a purpose, and my expecting an airport to serve as a theme park just shows you how spoiled I've gotten.

The final leg
The flight from Taipei to Malaysia is a short one, but not short enough when you're brimming with anticipation. A new health requirement had to be met by incoming flights to Malaysia on this trip, the plane had to be fumigated while the passengers were in it. What they did was have a flight attendant walk the length of the plane spraying some sort of disinfectant in the air. When they first made the announcement that they were going to do what they were going to do, I thought nozzles were going to be lowered from the ceiling and gas would come hissing out of them. Could you imagine how that would have been like if you were Jewish and in your 60s?

The plane landed safely, we got our luggage without a hitch, and for the first time, I got through customs without them dismantling everything in my bag and sending it piece by piece through the Geiger machine. To date, I think the favorite part of my flights home to Malaysia has been the walk through the arrival gate, partly because you feel like you're a star arriving at the Academy Awards. There's always a huge mob of people clamoring to get a glance of the next arrivee, and if it were not for the half-fence restraints, you'd probably be trampled by the anxious crowd. But even bigger than feeling like a Hollywood Star is being greeted by that familiar face in the crowd.