It happened back in May last year. I was on my way to US, for both business and pleasure. And this is how the story goes..
Wan was already in US. He attended a conference in Las Vegas the week earlier. I don't know why some people would organise a conference in Las Vegas, but apparently they did. So his trip was more like a pleasure than to a business for him, unlike mine. Wan does not have a smartphone (he still does not have one). And his stupidphone doesn't have dual-band or whatever that's required in order for the phone to be useful in US. So despite having a phone, it's a total useless in the States... Errr what Wan's phone got to do with this story? You'll know later.. Carry on reading..
So the week that I was supposed to arrive in US was the week that he was supposed to be heading back to Malaysia. It works well for us because once he completed his business-like trip, he could join me. But he would be on holiday mode when I would be struggling with my meeting and presentation. No problem.
Since the company is cutting back on a lot of things for cost savings measure, I didn't fly on our 'Malaysia Hospitality' airline. Instead, I took a Thai flight with a connecting flight in Bangkok. The flight was on a Saturday and the plan was to arrive on Saturday US time as well. It was a good plan. I got to rest on Sunday before the meeting on Monday. It's also good for Wan because he was traveling back on Saturday and we should meet at the airport. Great plan.
The flight from KL to Bangkok was about 2 hours and then transit in Bangkok was probably about 6 hours. It was fine with me. I took the same flight the previous year and kind of know the routine better this time around. I had my time and logistics properly planned. Or so I thought. *insert lagu..kita mampu merancang hanya Tuhan menentukan..*
I had made a hotel booking in Los Angeles for that Saturday because it's planned that we rest in LA before traveling to San Diego on Sunday. I was traveling with my boss from KL and was supposed to meet up with the customers in LA, as well as with Wan.
After the 6 hours or so transit in Bangkok we boarded the aircraft. Everything was still going on as plan. I had called Wan on his colleague's phone and made a date with him. This is like dating on those years where handphone was not known yet, remember? Plan had to be made in advance, and whoever arrived there first have got to wait for the other party to arrive. Somehow it worked most of the time. Once in the plane, I followed the 'schedule' that I have made for myself. It's simply to ensure that I have the least jetlag possible. So far, I can't recall having jetlag problem in my life. So it means that whatever plan that I have had worked or my body just adapt easily. Alhamdulillah.
Just before we took off, the pilot announced that we would arrive ahead of the schedule due to tail-wind. We would probably save about an hour, which was good considering the original flight time was 14 hours. While waiting for the first meal to be served, I just turned on the in-flight entertainment to occupy my time. Once done with the meal, I went to sleep. I didn't bother talking to other passengers. My boss sat on a completely different section of the plane so I didn't see him and he didn't see me. It worked well as well.
I couldn't remember what woke me up but when I woke up and looked at my in-flight entertainment screen which has been set to show the flight route on a globe, it seemed that the destination was Bangkok. I thought to myself that something must have been wrong with the screen. Then it showed that the time at departure was 1am and time at destination was 1am. Again, something must have gone wrong with the screen, I thought. LA time and Bangkok time are not the same and they are not 12 hours different (which could just explain the mistake between am and pm). It couldn't be due to the tail-wind. We can't be THAT fast due to tail-wind, can we? And then I heard the passengers near me were talking about the flight turning back, mechanical problem, bla, bla, bla.. Erk? Problem? Turning back? Erk?? I couldn't keep quiet anymore and so I asked. And so I was answered. Yes, the flight was turning back to Bangkok due to some hydraulic problem. Huh? Turning back? Serious? No kidding??? Can't we just land anywhere and get the problem fixed?? Uwaaaaaaaaa!!! We were more than 3 hours in flight and turning back meant that we would be spending 7 hours in a flight to nowhere. That's 7 hours out of 14 hours!! Uwaaaaaaaa!!!! Gawddddd!!! I coudn't comprehend all that. It was like a drama, in my head. I wanted to let my frustration out but there's a whole plane full of frustrated people, right? So no need to be that dramatic. It's better to turn back and safe rather than landed in the middle of the ocean and nowhere to be found, right? Think positive. Right. Positive.
Besides the drama in my head, I had Wan to think about. You see, Wan was supposed to be separated from his colleagues a few hours after my departure from Bangkok. They would board flight back to KL and he would be left in LA. Alone. With no phone. You know at times when you pray like you've never prayed before? That was one of those times for me. I was praying that Wan would still be with his colleagues and I could still reach them before they left. Besides that I was hoping that Wan would use his common sense in finding out about the flight if he didn't see me land. Well, that's sort of a hope or rather what I would do if I were in his shoes.
After 7 hours of flying, we landed back in Bangkok at about 2am Bangkok time. Flying across time zones mean that I would set my mind to the time at destination the moment I board into a plane. But at that time, I was all confused. I forgot whether Bangkok time was ahead of KL or not or the time in LA. So the first thing to do when we landed back in Bangkok was to get hold of Wan's colleagues. Syukurrrr alhamdulillah they were still together. They were all still transit in LA. I had to rearrange the logistics with Wan, and had him to book into the hotel on his own. That's the first hurdle. I was yet to know what would be the next arrangement and when I would actually arrive in LA and how to communicate with Wan once his colleagues were gone. It was then combined with the fact that my phone battery and my laptop battery were drying out since I had used them during transit. I would need an adaptor in order to plug them to the wall. But my adaptor was with Wan. Brilliant Wan didn't want to get an adaptor for himself. His logic was that by the time I need to use the adaptor, we would be together. So no need to get another one, and he took mine. So there I was, adaptor-less! Gosh. Fenin!
At Bangkok airport, there was not much guide on what to do next, where to go to etc. We were like a herd of cows with no pengembala. We were just following someone else's instinct on where to go and what to do next. Finally we managed to all get together and met at the designated meeting point. We were told that we would be given a hotel room each, to surrender our passport and we would be picked up from the hotel at 9am the next day. By then it was probably 3am. All our checked in luggage were left in the plane. I had to make calls and advised those necessary that were involved in the business meeting due to the uncertainties. At that time, time differences as to whether the other party was fast asleep or whatever didn't matter. It was considered as emergency.
We were all taken in a few buses to the designated hotel. It was amazing that all of us in a plane that's full can fit into one hotel. Of course it's a big hotel. But I didn't get to sleep immediately. I managed to borrow an adaptor from the hotel. I had to rearrange the hotel and car reservation in LA and SD and email the necessary people. Only then I could barely try to sleep, but still worrying whether I had set the alarm clock at the correct time. I couldn't afford to miss the plane.
In this mis-adventure, I am forever thankful to a tip that I learned long time ago. Every time I travel and have to check in my luggage, I would make sure that I have a spare clothing with me, in my hand carry luggage. It's to ensure that I have a least something clean to wear just in case my luggage goes missing. Little did I think about taking a flight that u-turn. Not only clothing, but also basic cleaning stuff like tooth brush and tooth paste.
The next morning during breakfast, it's funny that I saw many of us were wearing the same clothes. And for guys, many of them look like they just got out of bed because they didn't shave. Can't blame them, right? I don't think they can bring shaver into the plane these days.
A few buses then took us back to the airport and again like a herd of cows we were taken through the airport security. This time around, we were led by the airline representative.
Boarding the plane, we were greeted by the same air hostess. Funny gila aku rasa. I said to the air hostess, "Same crew?" She answered, "Yes, same crew, same flight, same passengers". Ahahahahhaa.. Lawak, okeh. We sat at the same seat, and it's like a dejavu. The only difference was on the flight timing. The original flight was at night but the replacement flight was in the afternoon. There was another flight with the same flight number for that night heading to LA. So our flight was numbered with 'D' at the end of the flight number to indicate that it's for the previous day's flight. Just to be sure that other passengers boarding for the night flight won't get confused!
This time around, the flight went on schedule. There was no more announcement on the tail-wind so I didn't hope for early arrival. I couldn't recall how I managed to inform Wan on the flight schedule. I guess I made him find a public phone and call me from time to time until we have the firmed schedule.
It was a great relief when the plane finally landed in LA on Sunday and it was a greater relief when I saw Wan's face at the arrival gate.
The end.
Angah
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