I awoke as my plane came to a smooth landing in Kuala Lampur. It was about 5am local time, and I had slept most of the flight. Still undecided about my next move, I passed through Malaysian immigration and sat at a coffee shop, pretty content. It was startling to be back in the regular functioning world again. My options were to head on with my travels to Thailand, do some more diving and let what had happened set in. The other being, head back to Vancouver, passing through Hong Kong, where I would stay with my friends Hollie and Chris again. I had given Hollie the heads up that I may be arriving this very day.
I sipped my coffee and went with my gut. It was time to go home. I could not face the thought of a 8-9 hour bus ride, or any other of the many less fantastic occurrences of SE Asian travel. My patience was fried. So that was it. I found the Air Asia desk, and bought a ticket in two hours time to HK. I messaged Hollie and she was happy to pick me up at the airport. Back on the airplane I went for another 4 hours.
When I arrived, I was again in awe of the normal activity of life. The HK airport is quite busy and large. All of these people were just going about their business, flying all over the world to continue the living of life. The horrors of Nepal, likely just another piece of news that had come and gone. I didn’t judge them, but it really drove home the feeling that we do an atrocious job of taking care of each as human beings, but I digress.
First up, I sat down at McDicks and had a big mac combo. My first meal back in the new world. Not gunna lie, it was delicious. Hollie rolled in, and we made our way back to her apartment. Back where my journey had begun almost exactly 4 months earlier. That first couple days, I could only imagine what things would unfold before passing back through. At times I felt I would be on the road forever. But for now, the story was written, all but a couple closing pages.
It was fantastic to see her. She is a friend from my young days in Cape Breton, and because of that had a unique understanding of my experience. I told the crazy tales of the earthquake, and later Chris would join us after work, again relieving my adventure with him. But I was exhausted. Being the unbelievable hosts that they always are, they offered me their bed to sleep. They insisted, and I had a sleep I could only dream about. Out like a rock.
The next morning they had ordered the Mayweather/Pacquio boxing match, and 2 other friends were coming over to watch. I managed to get up and join them. We watched the match, and I was reminded what a pathetically messed up world we live in. These guys were pulling something like 100 million to punch each other in the face. Meanwhile $100 would go a long way in Nepal to provide some food and water. Capitalism at it’s finest.
Despite some challenging emotions, it was really great to see these friends of mine. I needed to worry about me for a bit, and let the world take care of itself. Next up was to get my flight to Vancouver sorted. My Cathay flight was not until a month later, so I tried to reschedule. They would not do it. I pleaded that I just fled that earthquake and needed to get home. Nope. More Capitalism at its finest. They wouldn’t put me on a fight earlier than a week later. So I bit the bullet, and bought a one way ticket back.
For our last day together, we all hopped on the ferry for a day trip, and had some beers with some of their friends that were in town. Fellow Cape Bretoners, we all exchanged some travel stories over beers. I must say I was in a bit of a state of shock still. The traumatic experience had taken its toll and I was slowly returning to my normal form. It was however, a great afternoon with friends.
The next day, I packed my bags up for the last time, bid farewell to my dear friends Hollie and Chirs, who took great care of me, and prepared for the flight home to Vancouver. I stared myself down in the mirror. I had lost over 20 lbs since I began. A seeming infinite stream of thoughts passed through my mind. I hopped in my last cab ride of this great adventure, and soon was at my familiar gateway of the Hong Kong Airport. I was passing through Tokyo for a layover, but a few Sapporros and a sleeping pill later, and the 16 hour journey was behind me. We landed in Vancouver on a nice spring morning. Back home again.
Stay tuned for a closing remarks entry.