Missing My Flight Home

Sunday, August 30, 1998

I woke up ready to go. Unfortunately, I drank some coffee and hot chocolate. Instantly, I felt bowel problems. And since I haven't learned to go to the bathroom at the right times yet (like when I'm on a train, and I wait till the station, even though I know I'll have to pay to use the toilet there). The point is that I couldn't find a decent, clean toilet at the train station or airport. So I decided to wait for the airplane bathroom. Keeping this in mind, I noticed that my flight number wasn't listed in the place it should be. To make a long story short, I missed my flight because I hadn't called the airline number to confirm the flight time. The flight had been moved from 3 PM to 10:15 AM. Even worse, it had been delayed at the airport until 1:30 PM, but I couldn't get on because of security reasons.

I eventually met up with Bill there. I also found six other people that had missed the flight. By this time, I was tired, angry, and mad that everyone was smoking in the (charter) terminal. I gathered unsure information. Bill and I then went to the main terminal. Apparently we had been in T9 the whole time, a terminal for charter flights only. This explained a lot. The best price quote I could get was $600 for a round trip ticket to Washington, DC for tomorrow afternoon on a United Airlines flight. I figured part of the cost would be offset since I wouldn't have to travel from Boston to DC. I knew I was going to have to buy a ticket, but decided to go see if there were any new developments in the morning. We left, unable to find a TransAir office, or any definitive information.

We went back to the Woodstock hostel for the night. Many of the same people were still there. It turned out to be a good night. I got Thai food for the first time. Chicken with peppers, pineapple, and rice. I actually ate some of the red bell peppers, after being convinced that they weren't hot. Bill was out of money. He had traveled to Switzerland, Belgium, and England. He also met a lot of girls. After exchanging experiences, I realized how alone I had been for the second part of my trip. Anyway, I drank some beer and talked with many fine people, including two German guys who were entertaining. It started off when I noticed one of them playing with his fish skeletons (Thai food).

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Read more of my exciting adventures Backpacking in Europe, or view my photos on Flickr.