My laptop can probably just last me for another hour, so i'd better make the long story short.
You may be wondering why i am not charging my laptop. Well, the thing is that i do not have the power cable and plug converter with me. Why? That's because it's in my checked-in luggage!
Uh huh, our luggage are still in Chicago. That's the part where our already-not-so-pleasant flight journey turned awful.
Think about it -- after travelling for more than 24 hours, with three stops in between, 21 hours on board the plane, 1 hour on the road, and now missing luggage, tell me if awful is not the right word.
To make things worse, the airlines couldn't guarantee that we can get the luggage delivered to us by tonight. They said it would probably be tomorrow morning, or rather, before noon.
This means that we will have to wear the same casual outfits that we have worn for more than 24 hours to office tomorrow for the first day of the workshop. Besides clothing, i also have my contact lenses and full makeup kit in the checked-in luggage. So not only will i be looking unprofessional with the casual outfit, i will also not be looking my best too.
And this also means that we do not have our facial product with us to cleanse our face that had not been cleaned for more than 24 hours. And trust me, this is BAD for woman of my age. Plus, worse still, this means that we will have to sleep naked tonight, real naked as there isn't a shower robe provided.
Now, this has officially become the worst trip so far in my life!
The journey on board wasn't really as good as we had imagined either, even though we were travelling business all the way. The seat wasn't as spacious as that on SIA, but that didn't really matter. The worst part was the location of the seat. We were seated right beside the pantry, and the flight attendants weren't those gentle type. Throughout the journey, they talked rather loudly (i mean, considering there were passengers at the side, they should have talked softly), and they handled things roughly too, like kept making the banging sound when opening and closing the cabinets, or while preparing the food. Being a light sleeper, i was awaken by the noise constantly.
The flight attendants weren't as polite as the SIA crew either, but this was expected already, as i knew that Asian airlines are always better than the Western ones. And i gotta say this yet again proves that why SIA is indeed the best airlines in the world.
Then when we stopped at Hong Kong, the flight was delayed for more than 30 minutes because it was over the allowable weight and the plane gotta burn some fuel on the ground before allowed to take off. That caused big problem for us, because our connecting flight at Chicago to Philadelphia was only an hour apart.
In fact, when i saw the itinerary, i already noticed this short transit time and brought it up to the travel agent. Being a fan of Amazing Race, i have great concerns in short transit time. But then, the travel agent reassured me that delay hardly happened and many of her customers had taken such route and it worked out fine.
Well, i should have known better i guess. The lost baggage incident was probably due to this delay, because our baggage were too late to be loaded on to the connecting flight.
When we arrived at Chicago, we gotta clear immigration and claim our baggage because that was the first port of entry into USA. The custom officer was VERY RUDE. I was very fed-up because the way he spoke to me was so rude that i felt insulted. Probably it was because of recent terrorist threat that they had tightened their security very much, but then i do not believe that stringent security check means you gotta be rude to the visitors to your country.
I'm not gonna recite the questions that he asked. I mean, it wasn't really about the questions because i know that all those enquiries are necessary (e.g. what's your purpose coming into USA? Why were you here the last time? When are you leaving? etc.). It was actually about the manner and tone in which he asked the questions; it was as if he was interrogating me. I was mad but then there was nothing i could do about it of course. For one, never ever offend the custom officers no matter how rude they are, unless you do not mind being denied entry to that country. And secondly, i can't really blame them i guess, when i carry the passport of "the country that produces terrorists" and with Muslim extremists who attacked churches.
After having my mood totally spoilt by the custom officer, we gotta collect out baggage, check them in again and then rush to another terminal for the connecting flight to Philadelphia. The airlines, probably knowing that the earlier flight was delayed, also pushed back the departure time for this flight.
We were on first class for this leg of the flight, and we realised why the airlines would actually upgrade us for it. It was domestic flight and there was nothing special at all about the first class, probably except they served fruits and drinks for the meals on a 2-hour flight. The seats were just the same as the other seats, probably just a bit more spacious.
Then after arrival, then we waited for the baggage at the belt, and only to find that they left it behind in Chicago. The ground crew wasn't very helpful either, not wanting to go the extra mile to make sure we can get our luggage tonight even though i told him about our predicament. He said to me, "there's nothing we can do, ma'am".
Anyway, just now when we checked in to the hotel, i asked the front desk lady to help me to call the airlines and confirmed the hotel address (because i didn't have the address earlier on at the airport when we reported the lost luggage). Finally we met someone who's helpful and friendly. The lady helped us to call the airlines, and also informed them the address and telephone number. Then she passed the line to me, and i told the customer service personnel that we gotta get the luggage tonight. Again, she didn't commit anything but said that she would try to arrange a special delivery for us. Hopefully she really does it, and that will at least lift up my mood a bit.
For now, i'm just tired, dirty, hungry and in a very foul mood.
(The time now is 8.33pm in Reading)
Labels: travel
