What the @#$%^&* ???

First of all, let me report that I am in Kathmandu and happy to be here. But getting here was a whole different story. This was my first real traveling SNAFU of this whole trip.

I had a flight scheduled with Royal Nepal airlines for April 25 at 6:30 PM. I had been warned that this airline could not take off on schedule, so it was no surprise to arrive at the Bangkok airport at 4:00 on the 25th to find that the flight was delayed until 11:30.

I have travelled quite a bit, and have been through the Bangkok airport about a dozen times in the last 7 months, so I'm pretty comfortable there. I sat down in front of the appropriate check-in counters and waited for the Royal Nepal Airlines sign to appear above the counter, indicating that I could check in for my flight. Every half hour or so, I would wander over to the departure board to check on the status of the check-in counter. From 4 PM until about 10 PM there was no indication of a Royal Nepal sign above the check-in counter, nor was there a change in the status on the board which read only "Delayed" and "Check-in Closed". At about 10:00 the departures status board indicated that the new departure time was 4:45 AM. I settled farther into my seat and continued to watch the counters and to make my semi-hourly checks of the departures board. There was never any change. Finally, at about 5:30 AM, the flight disappeared from the board altogether. When that happened, I made my way down to information, who informed me that the flight had taken off at 5:30 AM.

I was tired, cranky, angry and upset. If I didn't make it to Nepal within a day, I would miss my trek. I signed up for standby on the next (sold-out) Thai Airlines flight to Kathmandu and spent the next four hours in a panic, wondering if I would get a seat. Knowing that there was nothing I could do but wait, I tried to calm my nerves by meditating (worked for about 30 seconds) and chanting "Om Mane Padme Hum" as I walked around the airport pushing my trolley of luggage.

At about 7:30 AM when they opened, I went over to the Royal Nepal Airlines desk to complain that they never opened the check-in counter for the much-delayed flight. They informed me that the counter had been open from 5:00 - 9:00 PM and again from 3:00 - 4:00 AM. I have done stupid things before in my life, and I would certainly admit if this was one of them. However, I would swear on my life that I was sitting in front of the check in counter during the entirety of these time-frames and I never saw the Royal Nepal Airline sign appear in the space above the counter nor the "check-in open" status on the departure signage. In fact, I can tell you with relative accuracy every flight that departed that night from the same set of shared check-in counters. There was never any mention of the Royal Nepal flight to Kathmandu.

Finally 10:00 AM arrived, there was a seat available on the Thai Airlines plane, I bought my ticket and boarded. I was asleep within seconds of doing up my seat belt but only slept sporadically during the flight.

I checked in to my guesthouse in Kathmandu exactly 24 hours from the time I left my hotel in Bangkok. I am upset about the waste of money and, to a lesser degree, the waste of time. But I am absolutely consumed by the inexplicability of the whole thing. I would have fought with the airline, claiming that they never opened the check-in desk. But then how can I explain that the rest of the travelers managed to find it, check in and board the plane. I was the only one who missed it. I know I didn't sleep through this - in fact I read an entire book during the time that I was sitting in front of the desk waiting for it to open.

I was sure that there was some great cosmic reason for the whole thing. I was sure that the Royal Nepal flight would crash or that someone who would become incredibly meaningful to me (e.g. the Dalai Lama) would be sitting beside me on the Thai Air flight. As of this minute, I can't find any reason why the universe would deny me access to the Royal Nepal flight. The whole thing is totally unexplainable and incredibly frustrating.

But now here I am in Kathmandu, loving it and thrilled to be here. Contrary to other places I've visited on this trip, it is exactly how I remember it. I can walk down a street and say "that's the shop where I bought my bracelet" or "that's the restaurant where I had lunch with Dan after the Annapurna trek". Everything is exactly how I left it last time. It feels great to be here and I know that despite my troubles getting here, this is the place I should be right now. I went out for a dinner of pasta with a couple of glasses of wine - I know it's totally out of place, but I was looking for a sleep-inducing meal. I could hardly keep my eyes open to get my key in the lock of my door. I slept for a glorious 12 hours last night.

I met my trekking companions tonight and at first glance it looks like a good bunch. Mostly Australians, with a Brit (my roommate) and a Yank thrown in for good measure. So far, they all seem normal.

I can't explain what happened in the Bangkok airport or why it was so hard to get here. I guess I'll just have to live with the mystery...maybe some day I'll find an answer. For now, I'm just happy I finally made it and can't wait to get into the mountains.