The trip wasn't too bad overall. I was able to make it through one movie before passing out completely on the plane, courtesy of a few Tylenol PM's, then I woke up as breakfast was being served, fell back asleep and then was woken up by a flight attendant who told me I had to put my seat back in the upright position to prepare for landing. Besides having to sleep sitting up, it wasn't a bad experience at all.
On my way to baggage claim, I walked through the duty free shopping area. I was warned in advance that booze is expensive and if I had a poison of choice, I should get it here. Naturally, I got a set of Absolut Vodka bottles, which in american dollars were NOT a bargain, but for over here, I guess it's pretty good. I got to baggage claim, got both of my bags immediately (Thank God, no luggage left behind like last time) then I got in line to exchange the cash in my wallet for Australian money. I had $97 american dollars and when I exchanged them, I only got $87 Australian dollars. Who do I blame for this? America for having such a weak stupid dollar? The guy exchanging my money for having way too high of fees? Either way, I feel ripped off.
I went outside to get a taxi and immediately noticed how nice the weather was. It was only about 7am at this point, but it was warm. Not too warm. Just beautiful, perfect weather. This made me happy. The 7500 person long line for a taxi I immediately spotted after did not.
45 minutes (and $47 Australian dollars) later I was at the Grand Medina Hotel. I went to the desk to check in and the guy couldn't seem to find my reservation. He questioned if I was sure I was at the correct Grand Medina. This was not what I wanted to hear, especially after a 14 hour plane flight and wearing the same clothes for going on 24 hours. I was jet-lagged, tired and smelled like feet. I wasn't completely sure of my name, much less if I was in the correct location. I told them if I had internet access, I could pull up my confirmation number. They informed me of where I could find a pay-computer to use the internet.
I paid the $1 for ten minutes, and pulled up my confirmation number. I wrote it down but then realized I had 9 more minutes to surf the internet. I checked my email. In my email, my phone backs up my text messages so I was able to see that right at 10:36PM the night I left, I had gotten a text from someone that said 'Goodbye.' Maybe it was the Tylenol PM induced delirium I was in, maybe it was the amount of overall sheer exhaustion I was experiencing, or maybe it was because I smelled so bad that it was literally making my eyes water. Whatever it was, I burst into tears again at seeing this. In that moment, when I saw that text, something about my move seemed so final. Around this point, my 10 minutes of internet time elapsed and I had to go back to the front desk. Jet-lagged. Exhausted. Stinky. And now crying. I don't think I'll be winning any 'guest of the month' awards from these front desk guys. I gave them my confirmation number. Still nothing. This was not a good sign. Just as I was about to make sure these front desk guys thought all americans were unstable cry babies, another front desk guy jumped in and realized I had been pre-registered (whatever the hell that means) and wasn't in the normal reservations. But the good news here is that I was in the right place. Thank God.
I'm not sure if it's just cause I'm so out of it, but it has still been relatively challenging to figure things out since I've gotten in the room. At first I thought every single light and plug in my place was broken, until I discovered you have to put your door key in a holder near the front door to make them all work. Definitely never seen anything like that before. I'm definitely a little out of it now and not confident that what I'm writing right now even makes sense so I will update later...maybe once I've had a nap.
Hahaha. Sounds like you need a long nap! The place looks great though. My recommendation is to find a way to separate the power key from the hotel key so on hot days you can keep your air con running when you leave and not have to come back home to a sweat box! Let me know when you get up with Ben. I still have a bag in his garage Im curious to know what items you will find in there. Love you. Ben
ReplyDelete