Flight 8501

It's been a horrific year for air travel in SE Asia. Each of these accidents has moved me deeply. I find it particularly chilling looking at the flight path for flight 8501 and thinking about how many times I was in a small plane flying over that very patch of water. It could have been me --my family--scattered like leaves in the water.

Our friends here in the US see the CNN images and regard it as just one of the many tragic events of the week. But not for our family. We're sifting through the articles and discussing the details as if part of us is still back in Singapore. We do this every time something happens in a place where we've lived. Our circle of caring is wider, our potential to be devastated is greater. I never thought of it this way before but it's true.

Expats collect experiences and friendships and lay down tiny roots that we never fully pull away when we leave again. I don't think I'll ever stop leaping to my feet when I see "Singapore" run across the screen on the evening news. Our thoughts are very much with the grieving families of the people lost on flight 8501.

Traveling light

So Joel left for New Zealand the night we got back from Bintan. Two bike races, a ferry ride and then an hour to re-pack, switch bikes and go to the airport... Sounds like a Joel day to me! And people wonder why I have a hard time keeping up with this guy when we travel.

Anyway, I came home from an exhausting weekend and rather than taking it easy I made some lists. I tackled all of the Christmas shopping, to couple of design contracts and accepted nearly every invitation I had from friends to go out and eat. I shopped and buzzed around and for some reason wasn't really sleeping more than 6-7 hours at night. No big deal right? I got to Thursday and booked my usual Pilates session and went for a night time walk on my own because I just had so much energy...
Needless to say I was not doing a very good job of taking care of myself and it all hit the fan on Saturday when every annoying pain that could possibly be attributed to pregnancy hit me all at once. My midwife put me on bed rest and there I stayed for three days to fully comprehend my stupidity.

I checked in at the hospital on Monday to see my Dr and he just said "well you can travel but REALLY take it easy and don't lift ANYTHING."

I went home and lay back in bed and tried to imagine travel without lifting anything. It's a logistical puzzle. I decided to pack my clothes in two carry-on size rolly bags so in a worst case scenario I wasn't lifting much. Then I turfed my laptop and my EOS1 film camera from my purse. (Doesn't everyone carry those in their purse?) That left me with just a wallet, phone and a snack... Not so bad. I packed up Kopi-o's things which were less small and manageable but he was off to a friend's place and could he really go without his bouncy tunnel and his stuffed toys? In the end he had considerably more packed than I did.

My friend took a cab over and brought everything down to the car for me! After dropping off Kopi and her the driver took me to the airport and, on my friend's firm instructions, went and got a trolley on arrival and put everything on it for me and even offered to push it for me. So at check in I managed to get the airline staff to remove the bags and then I was free to not lift anything again to my next transfer at Christchurch.

The flight was uneventful. Singapore airlines staff were more than helpful at every moment of the trip. It helped that I was in the first seat at the front of business class and there were three attendants to look after about 6 people in that nearly empty section.

In Christchurch they arranged a Meet & Assist and I was treated to the kind help they give disabled and elderly getting off the plane. My attendant who meet me at the gate asked me what I needed help with and I said "I'm not allowed to carry anything" And she chuckled which is when I realized she was also pregnant. "We'll ask for more help at baggage." She suggested. It all worked out. The guys x-raying my bags were happy to just take my cart and unload and reload my stuff. The guy at the bag re-check was terse but agreed to let me just leave the cart with him to put the bags onto the belt.

My final two flights were on the smallest plane I've ever been on -- and that includes float planes. It was a wonderful scenic tour of the Marlborough wine region on the brightest sunny day I could have hoped for. Flying under the clouds I was treated to a birds eye view of Blenheim and then the Queen Charlotte Sound and then the scenic seaside landing in Wellington. Joel was waiting and ready to collect my bags so my journey was completed. No lifting. It wasn't easy. I had to ask for help far more than I ever want to again but it worked and I was again ready for bed.