Toad's Wild Ride

It is a running joke among my friends that I have the worst luck of any known human being. This “joke” extends to just about every area of my life, the appliances at my home, my “relationships”, utilities companies, etc. My recent trip to Cambodia is no exception to that rule. I left my house for Atlanta on Tuesday morning at 7am. My flight didn’t leave until 3pm but I’ve inherited this weird obsession with the idea that you can never be too early for a flight from my father because “you never know what could happen.” Initially my trip was perfect, the shuttle service dropped us off right next to a curb side check in with no waiting. We made it through security with no delay and thanks to my handy American Express Card was able to wait in the Delta Crown Room.


Our first flight was delayed an hour so we had to run through the Houston airport to catch our Plane to Singapore. Other than that, we landed in Russia rather uneventfully. The Russian airport was a little overwhelming. It was small but very crowded and no one was very pleasant or helpful. Luckily I met an American oil driller who worked all over the world and took this flight 100 times before. He helped point us in the right direction.


We boarded the plane to Russia and started on our way. It was supposed to be about a 10 hour flight. About 3 hours had passed, I had watched a couple of movies and had started to read when the captain announced that there was a bit of a mix up and we would be returning to Russia. He said we had too much fuel to land so he would be releasing some over the ocean. “Please don’t panic, this is completely normal.” I’m not quite a world traveler yet but I’ve flown enough to know this wasn’t normal. His ambivalent reasoning behind the reason we had to return 3 hours in the opposite direction of Singapore scared me a little. I know its morbid but everytime I get on a plane, I watch everyone put their luggage away and chat with the people next to me, all the time imagining that this is how every flight that crashes starts. I immediately thought of the people I had talked to before the flight, many of whom were returning home after long trips to foreign lands, anxious to see their families again. I hoped they would make it back. I hoped I would make it back. I was traveling with a 16 year old girl who I was responsible for and I couldn’t verbalize any of this. So I sat quietly and tried to watch bride wars (which I couldn’t finish not because of my impending doom but because it truly sucked.) As the plane descended and prepared for landing, it was almost silent. No one knew what would happen.


Thankfully we landed safely and the captain asked us to remain seated. 4 or 5 people in security jackets quickly boarded the plane and headed to the back. All of the stewards were running around like crazy. We have no idea what is going on. Suddenly a new man boards the plane and immediately starts complaining that someone is in his seat. An argument ensues and the man finally reclaims his seat and angrily sits down. The captain announces that during our stopover in Russia a passenger had missed the flight; However, his luggage had not. Apparently there are federal regulations that prohibit luggage on a plane without the passenger who checked it so our entire plane had to turn around and pick this guy up. He was sitting a row over from me so as he chuckled about what happened he told me he had fallen asleep at the airport. He said this with a smirk. Are you kidding me?! Probably 200 people missed their connections in Singapore because this idiot couldn’t stay awake during our 1.5 hour layover. I couldn’t believe it. Talk about bad luck.


So, we arrived in Singapore about an hour after our plane for Siem Reap had left. It was 9:30am. There were no more flights to Cambodia that day so the airline gave us vouchers for an hotel in the city, a taxi ride and 3 meals. I was honestly thrilled. I had never been to Singapore and was so excited to have a whole day to explore the city. Our hotel was beautiful and the restaurant served us a 5 course meal of delicious Asian food. After exploring the city, I was able to sleep for almost 10 hours before returning the next morning for our flight. It was wonderful. I usually arrive in Cambodia exhausted and in desperate need of a shower. Due to our forced layover I arrived in Cambodia rested and ready to go. I had already adjusted to the time change and was able to have a long and busy day reconnecting with all of my old friends. I finally arrived Thursday evening at 12pm.

I realized on my last flight that what had seemed like the worst luck ever had ended so positively. While the extra 3 hours on a plane were frustrating and miserable, as a result, I was able to spend a day in an amazing city free of charge. Who gets a free trip to Singapore? Ultimately I was lucky. This made me think about all of the other “unlucky” things in my life and why I have labeled them that way. I think about relationships that ended for no apparent reason that broke my heart and realize in hindsight that I’m probably better off that they didn’t work out and that I didn’t waste any more time. I think about the time that my friend lost my keys at a concert in Atlanta and while it wasn’t fun in the moment what a great story it is now. I think about every hard time I’ve had and every tough situation I’ve had to endure and that these are the things that have got me to where I am today. I’m content with where my life is and the person I am and I don’t know how accurate the unlucky description is. Interesting maybe…but unlucky? Not so much.