It took 4 flights, 3 countries, 2 airlines, and 1 outfit to travel from Omoa, Honduras to Kluim, Malaysia.
We started on the morning of Monday, January 5th bright and early at 4am. We loaded up into our shuttle buses for our 5 hour trip to the airport in Tegucigalpa (or as I would refer to it, that T city) for the 1st of our 4 flights. I slept very little the night before as I was outside on my sleeping pad while the little house puppy played around and on me all night long. At one point he actually nudged my off the pad and just laid there looking like yep I rule this. So I slept the majority of the trip across the country of Honduras to the airport.
Getting 37 people through an airport can be a very over whelming task, but I am going to give Jasmine and myself mad props!
Also because of our large group we also require that we are places early, you never know what might happen. We worked great together to get everyone checked in, handle exit fees(BTW it cost about $40 to fly out of Honduras), and get through security. We sat in the very tiny airport for about 2 hours. And when I say tiny I mean it, 4 total gates, you could clearly see from one end of the terminal to the other. As we sat around we got some snacks, talked about the month behind us and the journey ahead, and also had eyebrows done by Laine(they so needed it). Once we boarded our flight I slept the majority of the 3.5 hour trip.
As we descended into ATL my heart began to fill with emotion. I was almost in tears. I was so glad at that point that I did not have any of my family or friends waiting to greet and visit me. It would have been to hard, to confusing. It made me imagine what it would feel like when I land back home after the race in 7 months. Wow…mind blow
Along with Tara and Eryn we rented a car so that we could take care of some earns and get food during our 12 hour layover. Yep it happened I drove for the 1st time in 4 months and it felt AWESOME and I was TERRIFED. I was so worried that I was going to forget how and cause and accident, but we were good, no close calls and I could still park straight in a space. WooHoo! We had 40 minutes until REI closed at 9pm so we hauled it there. Oh yeah we made it there with 15 minutes to look and get what we needed. Once we left there we made stops at Chick-fil-a (I had to have my nuggets, waffle fries, and Dr. Pepper) and Chipotle (for Tara) for dinner. We than sat in the Target parking lot inhaling our amazing food. (probably not the best idea, but it was so good) We walked around Target looking at everything and did some shopping (There are some things that you can’t get in other countries, like non roller deodorant, pretzel sticks, and sour patch kids) until it closed at 11. We than stopped by CVS, just because they are open 24/7 and we could. Though our time was short in ATL the city lights made me so happy. We arrived back to the airport around 12:30. I returned the car to the same lady that released it to me just 5 hours earlier. (She thought we were crazy & she was right; we are lol) Once back at the airport we unpacked and repacked our packs trying to make it all fit better and maybe even weigh less. I slept for about 45 minutes on the floor. We were all going to be meeting back up at 4:30am to start the check in process for the next leg of the trip.
We left ATL for NYC around 8:30am and arrived in the Big Apple around 10:30am. NYC was blanketed in snow when we landed and it was currently still snowing…Yep I got to see it really snow! I had never really been around this weather (remember I’m from Florida) and the ski slopes don’t count as it was mostly fake snow. I was freaking out to say the least. As I bundled up in as many pieces of clothing as I could (t-shirt, zip up jacket, hoodie, scarf, capris leggings, full leggings, 2 pairs of socks, tennis shoes, and some make up; I didn’t want to look like a completely hot mess)to prepare for what I was getting ready to step out into.
So Ashley & I headed out for the city for some hours before we had to return by 6PM. 1 train and 1 subway later we arrived at The Penn Station. We lucked out that there was a post office right outside, so we got in there and had some things shipped home (sometimes on the race you realize that you just don’t need everything, and that STUFF takes up a lot of space and weight) We turned into such tourist and headed straight for Time Square. Our day was full of walking wide eyed through the city; we made stops at Starbucks in Time Square, Victoria Secret, Barnes & Noble, and the Public Library. I was so cold but it was so beautiful! I only wish that we had enough time to go to Central Park. My body was so sore from all the walking and lack of good sleep, but I am so glad I went out into the city. I love the city and decided that my bucket list now includes that I will live for at least 1 year in the Big Apple.
We all made it back into the airport and through the check in/security process and then hung around our terminal. I found a place that had a salad bar and I went ham. (well I actually had chicken in it, but you know what I mean) I didn’t even care that it was a $10 salad. It had been so long since I had a good salad and who knows when I will again. It was sooo good!!!
13 hours later we were in Dubai & what an adventure that was. When we landed our next flight was already boarding. Once off we had to run through the airport and had to go through security. When we finally made it to the gate I realized that part of my ticket ripped off and could not find the other part. The gentleman at the gate was very nice and patient with me as I was so flustered. I was so worried about ensuring that all 37 of us made it aboard, but the Lord took care of it all. I can’t wait to go back and actually visit Dubai, or at least the airport.
The last flight of the 4 day trip was 7 hours to KL Malaysia. BTW fly Emirates when you can…they are rocking awesome flights with personal tvs that have too many shows, movies, and games to choose from, amazing food (I loved my white wine with dinner), and free candy.
We arrived in Asia…Malaysia!!!
Almost to our ministry site!
For the last leg of the travel we than took a 5 hour freezing bus ride (it wouldn’t had been as bad if I had not packed away my hoodie) to Kulim. Even though I was so cold I still slept the entire time. We finally arrived at our ministry around 9PM on Thursday, January 8.
Approximately 77 Total Hours
Approximately 12,850 Total Miles
This was for sure my most exciting travel experience on the race and in my life!! Not every travel experience on the World Race is like this, most of the time it is 12 hours on a bus and pray that it has aircon. Since being on the race the Lord has been reconfirming that I have a heart and passion for travel. I really can’t get enough of it. I miss my family and friends but I am exactly where the Lord wants me to be at this point and my heart is continuously filled with excitement for what is to come. So don’t be surprised when you hear that I am here and there, I found something that has to be a part of my life. I am also realizing that I can so live in one of those small IKEA spaces.
