After about 50 hours of traveling, I’m exhausted. It’s strange how so much waiting and sitting still can make one so tired. Here’s a brief summary of how these initial days of travel went:
Flight from Chicago to Hong Kong; approximately 17 hours. Unfortunately I had to eat McDonald’s before boarding the place. I watched two movies on the plane and slept probably about 1-2 hours. We flew westward over Canada and the Arctic, running from the sun at an average pace of 530 mph. We were provided with two meals on this flight. Both times I chose the pasta, and both times I was somewhat surprised when it came doused in a white sauce, similar to an alfredo sauce, which my body typically rejects (fingers crossed).
Once in Hong Kong, we had a layover of about 6 hours. Our squad gathered in one area and set up camp for a long nap and lingering conversations. The wifi was patchy but allowed most of us to contact people back home. Again, I became the unfortunate customer of McDonald’s (why are you pursuing flight passengers so fervently?!) Once again we boarded a Cathay Pacific flight headed to Kuala Lumpur.
I spent more time reading on this flight. While there were screens on the backs of the headrests, I did not watch any movies or shows. This flight did have many vacant seats, so we were able to spread out and get slightly more comfortable. Still no quality sleep however.
Finally we arrive in Malaysia. Once we stroll through Customs we board an express train from the airport to KL Sentral station in Kuala Lumpur. After we arrive in a zombie-like state, our team leader informs us that we have to wait another 13 hours before we can take a train to our destination town. ‘Hurry up and wait’, as AIM staff would say. Well, we’re getting real good at that. During this lapse of time we ended up meandering through the city in search of food, our search for which brought us to Chinatown. My team and I settled on lunch at a local open-air restaurant (most are open-air, meaning no exterior windows or doors… mmm good for keeping out flies). We shared chicken and rice while a few of us shared fried frogs. Nope, it doesn’t taste like chicken; maybe a cross between chicken and catfish? Additional hours were spent walking around local markets saturated with street vendors trying to lure in us white people. We ended up standing with our heads pointed straight up, staring in awe of the Twin Towers, the world’s second tallest building(s). This developed portion of the city sits curiously juxtaposed among the sprawling undeveloped portions, almost making the mind forget exactly where you are. The shopping mall that sits in the shadow of the monstrous buildings is perhaps the nicest I’ve ever visited. A plethora of Western stores and franchises fills its hallways, like Chili’s, McDonalds, and Godiva. The exchange rate keeps most purchases in our favor.
After sitting at some tables with my team and others, and after enjoying a berry smoothie, we make our way back to KL Sentral. Our final stretch of this ridiculous travel relay ends with a 9-hour train ride to our host’s town. And of course the ride kept us anxious and guessing as no announcements were made to indicate what stop we were approaching. Oooh, hey can some of you gentlemen please stand in the back of the train and smoke behind the No Smoking sign with the door open? Thanks.
Finally, after about 50 hours of traveling, we make it to our host’s town. Pastor Thomas picks us up in his van and shuttles us to his brother’s house where we will be staying. Most of what we need is within walking distance, and I am pleased to announce that we do have showers. I’ll do my best to keep you updated as our ministry begins here. Thanks for your continued support and prayers. We need it!
