Oops... Missed my flight!

11th of October 2006 - 12th of October 2006

Short blog entry, for once. When Morgan and I came back to K.L., I had a flight at 17:00 the same day, which was no problem, even though the train was two hours late. Spent a couple of hours hanging out at the Red Palm, and jumped in a cab, early enough to get to the airport in time. But... My cab got stuck in a huge traffic jam, which I kind off should have thought of with the crazy traffic of K.L., but didn't. So when I tried to check in in the airport, the guy behind the counter just said "You are too late", smiled and looked back at his computer screen. No mercy.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. What do you do in a situation like that? Well, you call your excellent insurance company and explain the situation. Then they tell you that they are going to cover your missed flight, and book you on to the very next flight going from Kuala Lumpur to Hanoi. When it turns there's no flights going until next morning, they check you in to a 5-star hotel for the night, and your completely miserable day turns out to be a good day after all. A very good day indeed. Because you have been backpacking for eight months, you have been sleeping in bunks in rooms with seven other stinky, snoring people. And the only time you have privacy is when you go to the bathroom... If you're lucky. So once you're in your room, and you realize that you actually ARE staying in a 5-star hotel, for free, you grin from ear to ear. The smile doesn't wear of when you eat the biggest buffet you've had in your life, either. Neither does it wear of when you realize the hotel has a gym, when discover that your room has a huge bath tub - or when you get the biggest breakfast buffet in your entire life next morning. No, you leave the hotel as a happy camper, check in at the Malaysian Airlines desk and board your new flight.

Then you smile and realize that the "ridiculous amount of money" you paid for your travel insurance wasn't a total waste after all.