Today I woke up at 2:15 a.m. in order to make it on time for
my flight. Security was a breeze and then I got in line in the A gates area.
This is the area I always use for all of international flights. Then, when I
got to the front and gave TSA my boarding pass, he politely reminded me that I
was at the wrong gate. I forgot I was flying domestically. I had a 5 a.m.
flight to Chicago and then I was planning to go to the Hilton and use their gym
while I waited for my 1 p.m. flight. I have learned in my life that plans
almost never go according to plan. Silly me. Once I picked up my bags and
reached the international terminal, I quickly realized that these stupid
counters are not going to open for a while. I thought, at the latest, I could
get to the gym by 7 a.m. and have five hours to swim, play, and relax. Instead,
I spent that time waiting for the counter to open and then waiting in a HUGE
line that went nearly down half of the terminal. Then, my priorities were
bathroom and water. As I was reaching into my bag when I was in the restroom, I
sliced my thumb on a piece of metal I use to hold my cross-stitch pattern. It
bled and bed and bled. I kept wrapping it with tissue and it kept bleeding
through. So asked about five different people for a bandage and no one had one.
Finally, I went through TSA and they gave me some. So, I bandaged up my finger
as best as I could. When I got through security, I realized that I had bled
through the bandage, so I re-bandaged it and found some much needed coffee.
Then, I relaxed on the floor outside the gate because there were thousands of
people standing around.
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| a sad site for a coffee fiend |
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| empty terminals at 6 a.m. |
Even though the wait was long, the flight was so worth it. I had a seat all to myself, so of course, I ate, drank, took some sleeping pills and slept like a baby. This is the first time I had taken Etihad and they were absolutely wonderful. The food, snacks, and beverage service was excellent. They gave you a blanket, pillow, and sleeping kit (earplugs, eye mask, socks, and toothbrush/paste). It was super relaxing. The entertainment was impressive too. They had the latest movies and tv shows including live tv. They had beautiful music playing and the deplaning was seamless.
I worked my way through immigration and made it to the taxi area. Immigration here is simple and fast. No questions, just stamp your passport and you are on your way. When I reached the taxi area, someone was waiting for me with a sign. I always wanted to see someone waiting for me with a sign, so it was really cool. I exchanged money and we headed to the hotel. Before setting off, the taxi guy took my bags, gave me a bottle of water, newspaper, and the wifi code while in the taxi!! I was able to check email and text friends all on my ride to the hotel. Talk about luxury! When we reached the hotel, I was so impressed with the grand scale of everything. It just looked so prestigious. One of the employees brought me to my room and showed me around. The room is stunning. Probably the hardest thing to get used to is the controls for the room. They are all on a touch pad.
This is the same picture, just one I took in the day and the other one at night. The next picture shows you the local, traditional dress. This is from the lobby of my hotel.
After I got settled, I fell asleep waiting for my friend Joseph. Joseph graduated from the university I worked at in Uganda and we worked on ROHP together. He is working here. I am so, so, so thankful for friends around the world. I feel safe traveling just about anywhere as long as someone is there to greet me.
I worked my way through immigration and made it to the taxi area. Immigration here is simple and fast. No questions, just stamp your passport and you are on your way. When I reached the taxi area, someone was waiting for me with a sign. I always wanted to see someone waiting for me with a sign, so it was really cool. I exchanged money and we headed to the hotel. Before setting off, the taxi guy took my bags, gave me a bottle of water, newspaper, and the wifi code while in the taxi!! I was able to check email and text friends all on my ride to the hotel. Talk about luxury! When we reached the hotel, I was so impressed with the grand scale of everything. It just looked so prestigious. One of the employees brought me to my room and showed me around. The room is stunning. Probably the hardest thing to get used to is the controls for the room. They are all on a touch pad.
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| controls for the room |
We met, walked around the hotel, took pictures, and went out for dinner. The food was really good. There are a lot of Indians here, so we had a restaurant recommended to us from the hotel. It was absolutely divine and reasonably priced. The restaurant was very formal and they were very much about perfect service. It is crazy to see people falling all over you.
After dinner, we walked around the mall a bit and then Joseph caught up on email while I went to the spa. I had book an appointment earlier in the day for 8:30-10:00. They had a special running for three treatments (30 min each one) for a low price. I felt the price was reasonable and I really wanted to try the services here. I was blown away. They have a really tranquil pool and hot tub area and it was all mine. No one else was around. Then, they provided robes, slippers, and disposable underwear...that was interesting. I had a body scrub, a massage, and a facial. I seriously feel like a new woman.
Well, I guess that is all for now. I posted all of the pics on FB, so didn't want to repeat them here. I leave tomorrow morning for Uganda, so I will try to post when I can.
