TO AN EXPERIANCE WORTH HAVING...
As a first time traveler you can only imagine how excited I was, but man oh man I was not ready for the journey that was about to hit me straight in the face!
With a bumpy start due to overweight bags at check in (yes, you are right my bags were wayyy over the limit, I am a girl afterall :) ) my plane took off! As a very suspicious person who watch way to much action movies, I was completely convinced that the bold headed gentleman sitting beside me, busy on his phone, was conspiring some sort of plan trying to kidnap me! Yeah I KNOW, totally ridiculous but can you imagine what that long 8 hour flight to Doha felt like...
After losing my kidnapper and getting on a Shuttle towards the airport I made sure I have all my documents, over and over so many times that passenger 2.0 next to me asked me if i maby need assistance to hold my hand luggage!
It's 2am in Doha, humid like just Qatar can be and everyone is going their own way...which left me standing infront of a screen with no clue where to look...FOR 10 MINUTES. Starstruck and baffled with no idea what to do next I'm pretty sure the security guard with those curly hair and square glasses saw the utterly confused look on my face and helped me out of my misery. FINALLY, in zone 1 sitting and searching for some wifi, my flight number got called and off we go again...
Finding my seat at the very back of the plane, which is NOT first class may i remind you, struggling to get in my handluggage I sat down and yes...I checked all my documents AGAIN! After a quick snack of nuts proudly from Woolworths South-Africa I am ready for this 17 hour flight. So much movies to choose from and guess what...i slept for 10 hours straight only waking up every time a very neat flight attendant in a maroon pencil skirt walked by knocking my now bruised elbow with the drinks trolley. Neck pillow, comfy socks and a blanket where my best friends.
With 7 hours left I ate my very tasty plane food (not a joke it was delicious) and decided to buy some wifi and message my family back home! After a nice stretch I checked my documents AGAIN and decided to watch the new Tom and Jerry...which was very amusing let me tell you.
Finally in the windy state of Illinois we landed in Chicago for my 10 hour layover.
I waited for an
hour and a half in the line with people from the west to the east to get their documents checked! My turn came after I chatted the time away with a very sweet lady from Palestine. Got that documents I checked every 5 minutes and then...it happend! Imagine writing down your worst nightmare and then make it come true...then you will know how I felt in these next moment!
It was like someone throwed me with a bucket of ice when the very professional Police Officer checked my documents and asked me to come with him. Standing in the Immigration Control office, surrounded by scared immigrants from the south, I watched my documents go to the back left me confused and stressed! After what felt like an eternity another guy came, called my name, smile and said there you go everything is in order. I almost fainted...
Getting my very overweight bags and heading toward the check in counters I though what else could possibly go wrong...I had it in for me. Wrapped bags that are 5 pounds overweight are no joke that i can assure you. So kneeling infront of 100's of people i started to repack my bags, and i dont know whether the skinny lady at the back felt sorry for me but she let me go afterall.
Now I jumped on a shuttle headed towards my gate. For what felt like 15 min we drove away from the airport and back...after going through security I got lost...to make this nice and short I can tell you that i was completely lost for 4 hours in an airport, walking down the same two halls past the same shops and people, finally deciding to just go sit, eat something and go search some more.
In hallway B I finally decided to ask for some help and realized i need to be at gate F21 (at the very very very end of the airport). With 4 hours of layover left i promised myself that I will not move a muscle and stay there checking my documents until my flight get called! Man luckily there where a bathroom and Dunkin Donuts a few steps away you know! With a 180 view over the runway I stayed seated!
On the plane to my new home town the sun were setting over the Blue Ridge Mountains and a sweet grey old lady chatted about her grandchildren, and I knew I'm gonna make some memories!
My experience were crazy and overwhelming, but I truly loved every single second of it!
"And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul" - John Mur
A FEW TIPS FOR FIRST TIME TRAVELERS:
Always ask someone to help if you dont know where to go...its not worth getting lost
Keep documents in a safe place and dont check them every 10 minutes...they might just get lost!
Instead of traveling with a backpack that will hurt you back, get a spinner suitcase with wheels!
SOCKS on a long flight is mandatory because your feet will be cold!
Fresh clothes to change into at layovers are a supper good solution to feel fresh.
TAKE PICTURES EVERYWHERE!
Know your gate and flight number by heart.
Travel in comfy shoes like Tennis shoes, cause its long walks!
Traveling in leggings girls are the most comfortable thing to fly in!
Get a nice neck pillow so you will be able to get some rest in on that long neverending flight!
BONUS TIP- weigh your luggage before hand and make sure to take out unnecessary items!!!
Go check out these tips on what to pack:
REMEMBER TO LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE!!
Ag shame Wilmari! Dit klink scary om so te verdwaal op ñ tussenstopvlug in ñ lughawe! Hoop jy geniet dit daai kant😄
Ons was almal verlig dat jy veilig by jou bestemming uitgekom het. Geniet jou tyd daar. Mis jou baie🤗
This is awesome. The smell of airports, the excitement of new destinations. Thank you for sharing. I can't wait for your new post. It is so true to how you feel when you travel alone for the first time.