Some people are just jerks. Plain and simple. I'm sure most people understand exactly what I mean but for those still a tad unsure, allow me to help you out, its not everyday after all that you get the pleasure of meeting someone so utterly contemptible!
Now aboard my first of what was to be many flights over the forthcoming year and have myself a nice little aisle seat and a spare seat next to me. To my right a seat further down is an American, whose name I would be leaving out if I did in fact know his name. Readying for take off and our American friend is playing with his phone, fair enough of course but not so fair after the third time the air stewardess has asked him specifically to turn it off. Each time going to put the phone away, waiting till she had gone and continuing where he had left off.
Shortly after take off, phone now finally immersed in pocket for good he gets his book out. Once again, no problem here, why should there be? Oh right, yes, he's reading aloud. Mumbling the words to himself, and of course, to those around him. Following this came another incident with the air stewardess who he seemed to completely ignore when she was bringing round food. The air stewardess had finally had enough, "I do speak English you know, so you CAN look and talk to me!" she verballed at our American friend. His response? Oh yeah, to take up the seat to his right, the one to his left and the one he was on. Leaving him with 3 seats and me, with his smelly socks far too close to my face for comfort, with just one. All I could do was shake my head in astonishment and ponder just how much spit the stewardesses had managed to get into his food!
Other than our American friend, the flight over to New York was long and uneventful. I was tingling with excitement and unable to really settle and watch a movie or do anything constructive for longer than about 10 minutes at a time. Eventually, after what seemed like 14 hours, not 7, we arrived at JFK International airport.
Fortunately I'd been through all this before, having spent some time in New York in 2003 but now, unlike then I was on my own. Unlike a good few that were turned away at customs for incorrectly filled in forms (American Airlines did a wondrous job of not even mentioning these forms on the plane) I was accepted into the Land of The Free for no longer than 90 days, sharing a chuckle about baseball with the customs officer along the way.
Taking the shuttle from the airport to my hostel was painless enough although when the bus pulled up outside an old dilapidated building in what appeared to be a not too good looking part of town I was just think how I pitied the person staying here before realising it was in fact I who would be inhabiting this building for the next 5 days.
Thursday 31 May 2007
Monday 28 May 2007
Departure
Excitement and nerves were hitting me in equal measure as the day of departure got nearer. I had done a fair bit of planning for the, what was essentially a fairly structured, North American leg of the journey. There had to be some considerable planning going on in this one as I need to make sure I was in St Louis and Portland at fairly specific times. There was of course room for some flexibility but I had a certain need to be in those places at pre-arranged dates.
The rest of the trip was largely unplanned. I had figured a vague route and highlighted places that I would like to go to if nothing else came up but there was plenty of room for plans and routes to change along the way. hopefully I'd get a few hints and tips along the way!
I had a fairly small leaving party in London at the beginning of May and a dinner out with my family back home a few days before I left. With just a day or 2 remaining it was to late to really change much now and just a case of packing and making sure everything I wanted to take was there and ready. Stuff went in and then back out of my backpack like a yoyo in those last couple of days. Eventually it was set and there was room at the top of it for my day bag.
My flight out of Heathrow on the 12th was at a pretty sociable time, however having to be there 3 hours early and having to make the one and a half hour trip up to the airport meant an early start and away by 6.15am! My parents and sister had come up to London with me to see me off, I have to admit I did feel more emotional saying goodbye than I thought I would. Now it was just me, alone, in Heathrow, the next year staring me straight down!
The nerves were in full swing despite having been abated for a few minutes as I checked in. The very sweet girl at my desk was startled at how many flights I was about to take and proceeded to confirm, with a smile, every single one of them. She was also kind enough to book my seats on all my upcoming American Airlines flights! I could have sworn the airport must have heard my heart pumping as I passed through security into the departure lounge, the realisation of what I was about to do now firmly taking a hold of me.
The rest of the trip was largely unplanned. I had figured a vague route and highlighted places that I would like to go to if nothing else came up but there was plenty of room for plans and routes to change along the way. hopefully I'd get a few hints and tips along the way!
I had a fairly small leaving party in London at the beginning of May and a dinner out with my family back home a few days before I left. With just a day or 2 remaining it was to late to really change much now and just a case of packing and making sure everything I wanted to take was there and ready. Stuff went in and then back out of my backpack like a yoyo in those last couple of days. Eventually it was set and there was room at the top of it for my day bag.
My flight out of Heathrow on the 12th was at a pretty sociable time, however having to be there 3 hours early and having to make the one and a half hour trip up to the airport meant an early start and away by 6.15am! My parents and sister had come up to London with me to see me off, I have to admit I did feel more emotional saying goodbye than I thought I would. Now it was just me, alone, in Heathrow, the next year staring me straight down!
The nerves were in full swing despite having been abated for a few minutes as I checked in. The very sweet girl at my desk was startled at how many flights I was about to take and proceeded to confirm, with a smile, every single one of them. She was also kind enough to book my seats on all my upcoming American Airlines flights! I could have sworn the airport must have heard my heart pumping as I passed through security into the departure lounge, the realisation of what I was about to do now firmly taking a hold of me.
Thursday 24 May 2007
Leaving
In May 2005 I handed my notice in at the job I'd been doing for the last 5 and a half years. I had no other job to go to , a house on the market that had already been there 3 months without any development, a stack of bills to pay and no income. This is the moment I had been dreaming of for the last 3 years!
It appeared as a rash decision to my employer who, perhaps if they had been slightly better at their job would have realised this was going to happen sooner or later especially given the crazy circumstances that had been developing between us over the previous 24 months. Needless to say I was glad to be out of there and with a chance now to follow my dreams.
Things certainly didn't run smoothly over the next few months. I had decided to have a proper break from work and had to take out a loan to cover me until I could eventually get rid of the flat that was now hanging round like a bad smell. It, of course, took far longer for my flat to sell than I had originally figured for and my plans were slowly but surely being scuppered. Despite this, I was enjoying the first real freedom I'd had in 6 years and feeling much more like my old self for the first time in just as many years.
Th flat sale did eventually go through and once I'd found y buyer things flowed like never before. Strangely in this situation the buyer and I got on well to the point where we would still consider each other friends 2 years down the line.
With the flat now sold it was time to get on with what this whole thing had been about in the first place! Debts were paid off and within 10 days of the sale being completed I was on the Eurostar out of London hurtling towards Lille at over 100mph!
For the next month I proceeded to travel across France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Holland and Belgium before returning home full of beans and even more determined than ever to get on with the real deal - A magical year travelling the world! The European taster had worked out just perfectly! I had seen more of Europe which had been a huge part of the plan all along, I'd found that travelling WAS something I loved and that going alone WAS for me!
I now had 8-10 months to get myself planned and together for the trip of a lifetime! Guides were read, travel shows visited, travel agents hounded and websites scoured all in an attempt to actually figure out where I wanted to go, what I wanted to see, if indeed it was all possible and just how much hard earned would be going on it!
A few months later with the help of all of the above (a special mention to www.bootsnall.com for endless streams of quality information) I walked into Trailfinders on London's Piccadilly to book my ticket....
...4 hours later (yes, really, 4!) I walked out of there with my itinerary set and details of each flight I would be taking. A total of 24 flights across 5 Continent's in 12 months. I would begin my journey in May 2006 with a flight from London to New York!
It appeared as a rash decision to my employer who, perhaps if they had been slightly better at their job would have realised this was going to happen sooner or later especially given the crazy circumstances that had been developing between us over the previous 24 months. Needless to say I was glad to be out of there and with a chance now to follow my dreams.
Things certainly didn't run smoothly over the next few months. I had decided to have a proper break from work and had to take out a loan to cover me until I could eventually get rid of the flat that was now hanging round like a bad smell. It, of course, took far longer for my flat to sell than I had originally figured for and my plans were slowly but surely being scuppered. Despite this, I was enjoying the first real freedom I'd had in 6 years and feeling much more like my old self for the first time in just as many years.
Th flat sale did eventually go through and once I'd found y buyer things flowed like never before. Strangely in this situation the buyer and I got on well to the point where we would still consider each other friends 2 years down the line.
With the flat now sold it was time to get on with what this whole thing had been about in the first place! Debts were paid off and within 10 days of the sale being completed I was on the Eurostar out of London hurtling towards Lille at over 100mph!
For the next month I proceeded to travel across France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Holland and Belgium before returning home full of beans and even more determined than ever to get on with the real deal - A magical year travelling the world! The European taster had worked out just perfectly! I had seen more of Europe which had been a huge part of the plan all along, I'd found that travelling WAS something I loved and that going alone WAS for me!
I now had 8-10 months to get myself planned and together for the trip of a lifetime! Guides were read, travel shows visited, travel agents hounded and websites scoured all in an attempt to actually figure out where I wanted to go, what I wanted to see, if indeed it was all possible and just how much hard earned would be going on it!
A few months later with the help of all of the above (a special mention to www.bootsnall.com for endless streams of quality information) I walked into Trailfinders on London's Piccadilly to book my ticket....
...4 hours later (yes, really, 4!) I walked out of there with my itinerary set and details of each flight I would be taking. A total of 24 flights across 5 Continent's in 12 months. I would begin my journey in May 2006 with a flight from London to New York!
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