So Taipei Has TWO airports

Remember all that bollocks I was spouting a few days ago about not planning ahead and doing the wrong thing and how great that was? I retract it. Partially. I mean I stand by it in theory and in general, but retract it when it comes to airports.

I’m tempted to actually relinquish all responsibility for the mishaps of the evening, but that would be . . . irresponsible.

So here’s what happened:

I was trying to get to the airport in TAIPEI to fly to Bangkok with my ticket which said precisely “Departure: Taipei (TEI) to Bangkok (BKK).”

Silly me, I took this to mean that I needed to go to the TAIPEI airport.

So when my cab driver asked (entirely in Chinese and sign language) whether I wanted to go to the Taipei or Taoyuan airport, I told him with absolute certainty that it was Taipei. I said it in my most reassuring sign language. I even showed him my ticket, which also said “TAIPEI.”

Then on the way I started daydreaming and thinking about that Friends episode where Ross is trying to get to the airport to catch Rachel before she got on the flight to Paris to declare his undying love for her. He got to La Guardia only to see that it was her boarding time at JFK.

“How sad that was for Ross.” I thought during this taxi ride. “Lucky that’s never happened to me and indeed is not happening to me right now.”

I swear sometimes I have premonitions, if only I could recognize them as such . . .

So I get to the airport, chuffed at how early I am (as I always am in airports). Seriously. It’s almost a disorder. But today I thought I was reasonable – I got there two hours early. Very sensible for an international flight.

So I get there, look calmly for the airline I need. Don’t see them. Walk calmly to the information desk.

“Where’s KLM please?”

“What?”

“KLM – Royal Dutch – Air France – whatever you call it. The purple one”

“No no, wrong airport, wrong airport.”

Panic. (This is why I’m always obsessively early, I don’t do well under pressure)

Run back out to the taxi.

Stringofprofanitiesstringofpanickedprofanities

I tell the taxi in my best sign language “You need to drive @#$%^& fast, buddy. Go go go!”

At which point he rolls down his window and shares a laugh with his friend at my expense. So I tell myself “Don’t curse at the cab driver, or yell at him or pull his hair, you’d be laughing too if it weren’t you. But it is you that’s the thing. Go go go!”

Then I remember it’s 5:45 pm and rush hour in Taipei. The man inside said it’s a one hour drive and I’m assuming he’s not talking about rush hour. My flight’s at 7:30. What are my chances?”

An hour and 15 minutes later later, and after an hour and 15 minutes of putting intentional effort into not yelling at my cab driver, we get there. I get out. Go inside. Don’t see my airline.

“Where the hell is KLM???”

“Oh that’s in the other terminal”

Final expletive, then serious panic. My flight leaves in 30 minutes and I’m in the wrong terminal. Where’s the terminal I need? You think I know? I didn’t even know which airport to come to and all the signs are in Chinese. I lose. What do you do when you miss a flight? You think I know? Etc etc . . .

Sprint left 50 yards. Sprint right 50 yards. Then left again. I’m telling you I stop functioning rationally in situations like this.

Nice Taiwanese gentleman from unrelated airline approaches me to help, at which point I start sobbing “I’m gonna miss my flight I went to the wrong airport and now I’m in the wrong terminal and there’s no bus where there’s supposed to be a bus and I can’t read the signs!!!”

So after looking at me a bit quizzically, he uses his phone and phones the other airline to tell them I’m coming and ask them to wait (which I’m sure they wouldn’t do, but I allowed it to make me feel better for the time being). Then he points me in the direction of the train and I take off.

Tripping over shoes. Remove shoes.

Toothbrush just fell out of my bag. Leave it it’s just a toothbrush.

Train. Desk 4. Whew no lines. And it seems they instantly recognize the panicked, sweating, sprinting white girl in green with no shoes who the man must have described on the phone. “Ms Cox we have your ticket! Here it is – now go that way!” Seriously that’s not a joke. They were that nice.

Alright customs. Sweet. No forms to fill out. And no line here either. (Well there was, I just jumped to the front of it like obnoxious people do in airports who make you think “I got here on time, you couldn’t be bothered to do the same? Why should I let you go ahead of me?) Except that they were nice about it. Much nicer than I would have been.

No lines at security. And my gates the first one. Plane’s boarding. I’m on.

Sweating and stretching my tight calf muscles and getting all kinds of stares from people, but I’m on.

H2H Photos and Links

Have I told you lately that I’m doing a lot of bike riding? Have I told you lately it’s a fundraiser? Have I told you lately that we’re 38 days away from the start!!!

As promised, here are some more photos of the charities that we work with. Well one of them – they’re all from the children’s cancer hospital.

I don’t wanna say they’re looking to you, cause maybe they’re not, but maybe they are??

To learn more about each of our charities and how we want to help them specifically, go here.

To learn more about our bike ride and follow our ongoing blog, go here.

To visit our website and make a donation, please please please go here.

Thanks love you!

Hello from Hsinchu!

Well I’m in Hsinchu, Taiwan, visiting my Jesse from Davidson for the week. I basically just got here so I don’t have much to report on the city yet except for just a few things:

1) I now know 3 words in Chinese. I consider it an accomplishment. Maybe I’ll reach 5 by week’s end?!

2) I ate my first cheeseburger in a year last night.

3) I’m borrowing a friend’s pink motorbike (thank God it’s pink, seriously) and going to try to find my way into the mountains that are just out the window here. I’ll report back and let you know whether or not I succeeded!

Well and one thing I’m learning about myself, I don’t actually like being too prepared for stuff like this. And by “stuff like this” I mean landing in new countries for any period of time. I landed in Vietnam without a job or any sense of which city I wanted my job to be in. How could I commit to a job if I didn’t know whether or not I would like the place? I still don’t really know how I’m going to get from place to place in Laos when I get there.

Before I came to visit, and on my way here, I ran into lots of terribly helpful people:

Jesse sent me a long email with all the details on how to catch the train to her town. Two paragraphs of wonderful helpfulness. So I jotted down some notes that looked like this: regular train station, Taoyuan, Tsin Chu.

The woman on the plane sitting next to me was trying to be all helpful by giving me tips and writing things down in Chinese and offering rides. I just put on some headphones to get her to stop talking to me. I found her voice annoying, not to mention her hair and proximity.

I think it all goes back to the same part of my brain that can’t listen to directions before I start playing a game. Let’s just get on with it and hopefully I’ll figure it out, you know? Directions are just words that usually don’t make sense to me. When you land in a new country, make sure you have a name of the place where you’re going and some local currency in your pocket. Those are my rules.

So therefore I get lost a lot. But people are generally very helpful and that’s part of the fun of it. I’ve gotten quite good at having a look on my face which says precisely (I like to think) “I haven’t been here before and would welcome your help, but I know enough to mug you back if you try to mug me, and I’m bigger than most of you and this isn’t Chicago so I know you’re not armed, so don’t take advantage.” (This works on everyone but the 7-yr-old girl who snuck out of a cafe with my bag in Saigon, sneaky little child.) But the bottom line: I think it’s good to need help sometimes, and endearing when people offer it. And it saves on prep time.

So, I’m in Taiwan/Bangkok until Saturday, at which point it’s Operation Move Out of the Apartment (change the subject now) and get to Vang Vien, Laos. Ali and I have altered our plan a little bit. Around the 14th of October, we’re going to meet in Luang Prabang, Laos, take a two-day boat ride to Chiang Mai, Thailand, and fly from there to Hanoi for a few weeks of antics in Northern Vietnam. How’s that for a 30th birthday fest?!

Oh also, I have lots of cool new photos from all the charities that we’re doing the bike ride for, and I hope to post those as soon as I’m on a computer capable of doing so, so stay tuned!

Practice Ride T-minus 45 days.

This thursday we were joined by a teacher friend and stellar photographer – Jackie. She rode along with us on our practice ride and took some pretty cool photos which I’d like to share here.

45 days and counting!

www.h2hrfvc.org – help us out!

A Few Reflections on Life of Late

I know I haven’t shown up here much recently. Part of that is lack of internet access. Part of it is busy days. Part of it, I guess, is how normal life has gotten. I haven’t left Saigon, I think, since Chelsea was here two months ago. I would expect this realization to bring me a dismal sense of claustrophobia, as it would have earlier in the year. But really, my life has reached such a nice balance here and my days are, for the most part, immensely enjoyable.

The bike group has really solidified in the last couple of weeks, and we’re doing these long training rides on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. And Ali’s back (!) from a month in the UK, so we’re back to playing tennis in the mornings. So these days, a Tuesday or Thursday looks like this: 9:00 – tennis with Ali. 10:30 – poolside and luch with Ali. 12:00 – 50k bike ride with the H2H group. Sometimes it’s raining. Sometimes it’s pouring. Sometimes it’s nice. But there are always trees and jokes and fast bikes. How’s that for a stellar first half of the day?

And an added bonus: my body can hack this all-day exercise routine these days!

Up-close and personal with the Pink Panther

And on top of that, I’m kind of loving my job. I have some really fabulous classes at the moment, and work days are as good as the other days. The atmosphere there changes so fast with teachers coming and going, but right now we have a really good set of people there which make for some funny times. Below is a picture from a recent barbecue. Not the best lighting ever, but do you see happiness? I think so.

So things are good. In a city with no natural space and very few creative outlets, I’ve actually found a healthy balance that I haven’t had since . . . have I ever had it? One reason I’m having some anxiety about it all changing so soon. It’s funny how such a strange place can start to feel like home, isn’t it? So unexpected!

(PS – not home home, that’s coming in a few months. But just a nice home for now.)

YIKES!

Holy moley things are moving quickly. I just had lunch with Ali and went into a small panic about just how quickly. So instead of DOING anything about it this afternoon, I’m going to tell you about it and this post will serve the duel purpose of being a calendar and to-do list for me over the next couple months! So, here goes:

September 22-25: Go to Taiwan to visit my best bud Jesse.

September 25-27: Meet my best bud Ali either in Thailand or central Vietnam to have one. last. hoorah. together while we’re living under the same roof. [Commence panic attack.] And hopefully we’ll get to do some biking. I’ve been training for months and she can probably still kick my ass on a bike. But bring it on.

End of September: move out of the apartment, ship everything home that I won’t carry with me for the next two months.

October 1-17: learn to be a farmer in Laos and do a little bicycle training in the mountains while I’m there. Maybe teach a little too. This’ll be sweet.

October 17: Meet Ali in the North of Vietnam for some birthday escapades and adventures. (I’m not naming any names but somebody’s turning 30!)

October 30: Meet the biking crew in Hanoi.

November 2: Start cycling South!

December 1: Finish bike ride in Saigon

December 5: Fly home!

All of this means that my time in Ho Chi Minh City, really, ends at the end of September and I have one thing to say about that: holy moley.

New Biking Blog!!!

I am sooooo excited to report the birth of a new blog that will be just for the bike ride! Check it out: http://h2hrfvc.blogspot.com/. Just barely getting started but it’s gonna be sweet. If nothing else, you’ll get to check out a lot of spandex-clad English teachers. Who could ask for more?! It’ll be posted on the right side of this blog very soon.

Out of the gym and on to these mean streets . . .

Well I seem to have disappeared for another month! But it’s been a lovely and productive month. Mostly involving the bike ride.

So the first bit of news – I bought my bike! I’ll post a picture of it soon, but for now all you need to know is this: it’s pink.

The second bit of news – I was riding it home from the shop and c-r-a-s-h-e-d it. Flipped it over a motorbike that pulled out in front of me and landed on my head on the other side. Obviously had a helmet on or I wouldn’t be writing this coherently.

So I decided not to ride it again until I had at least one and preferably 5 other people riding with me. I got the 5 people and we took our first team ride a few weeks ago. Here are a couple of action shots. (NOT taken by me, remember aforementioned crash)

The team (part of it): Ruth, Tina, Ronnie, Me, James, and Sam. You'll be seeing a lot more of these guys!

There's a sneak peek at the Pink Panther now!

It rained. In a kind of torrential way at times. One of the disadvantages of rapid urbanization in a tropical climate is that roads quite often become rivers. Yeah that happened, on this day.

So it’s been really great to take off with this group and explore the far reaches of a city that too often feels a bit smothering. And I’ve never actually ridden road bikes much and these things fly.

Much more to come, just wanted to re-enter the world of the blogging with a minor update on the month. And a friendly reminder that this is aaallll meant to be a fundraiser for some of my school’s partner organizations that work with Vietnam’s children. Please follow these links to learn more and donate.

It would mean a lot and really really help us out.

Love you!