Halfway home, but not really.

Wow. Today was a wild one, or maybe I mean yesterday. Even in the midst of everything I felt like there was too much to remember. After going through my morning routine I packed up absolutely as much as I could, weighing and rechecking multiple times that each bag didn't exceed their limits. Who knew that weight limits for a carry on would be the real pain, I mean I didn't even know they checked those bags. Time was flying by, but we wouldn't really know if it would all work out until the food was packed up with it, and we can't pack the food too early because it would go bad. You can see the problem. Not to mention all the workers stopping by, presumably it was mostly for their tips, and kept dropping things off. Well that wasn't the only reason, another one is Erin's son, who became the unofficial king with many, many devotees. After he was put down for his nap, things became a little more quiet, and somehow I found the time to take a cat nap myself.

Erin, running a couple of last minute shopping errands kindly took me with her. The first place we ventured was a place called Luxshme Complex to check out a shop with some traditional looking pieces, at least traditional looking to me. There were a ton of decently priced things, but checking out was nearly a nightmare. You had to be very firm that you were done shopping, and once they started to ring you up, well they were in no hurry. I think the whole process took 30 minutes. Next we were off to FabIndia, which was this amazing clothing boutique, but it was on the pricier side. Totally worth what they had though. I also went to their cafe and got a delicious mint lemonade iced tea (no ice, for safety) and it was super yummy, as well as refreshing. A final stop at the grocery store, and we were back to the clinic in a flash.

From there Erin was finalizing all the details, or more accurately settling the bill and making sure it was the correct amount. I was, once again, reorganizing the luggage to make sure it was the right weight, because like the fool that I am I got too much stuff. Honestly, the whole rest of the night, with the exception of sitting down for dinner (where I finally felt like I could slow down) was a complete blur.

There of course, was the leaving. Normally I feel like leaving is difficult enough, but in this instance it was especially difficult. Srimathy, having gotten so attached to Erin's child, was sobbing, and even as a relatively tough person in those sort of situations, this got me choked up. Though they'd exchanged numbers, WhatsApp is no comparison to being there in person. I gave her a hug myself and said goodbye.

Once getting to the airport we got a porter, for the many, many items we would be bringing with us, and he would help is until our bags were making their way on to the plane. At this airport they have a first screening, for bags that are being checked, and then a secondary screening closer to the gate for carryons Wouldn't you know it, but we had three bags that were being checked that needed to be opened up at that first stop. Good thing we got here plenty early because that took about 40 minutes. Then, we were getting our tickets and checking our bags... another 40 minutes. After that we were heading through security, and four checked backs and another 40 or so minutes later we were finally heading to the gate, with only an hour to spare; of course they started boarding 25 minutes later. This is why you get to the airport at least three hours early for international travel people! In a wildly lucky turn of events, Erin's son slept almost the entire way. Finally we're in Singapore, for our 17 hour flight to the bay area. At least there are no more layovers. Now we just have to get our tickets for this flight, make sure we're seated together, get our carryons through this security checkpoint, and we'll be home free. At this rate I'll just say, wish us luck.Read more