For a revised version of this post, go here.
Sept
14, 2009 - I am sorry to say that my trip ended as inauspiciously as
it began (luckily the in-between part was tremendous). The morning
was interesting. My ride to the airport was a tuk tuk with a sound
system probably a third of the value of the tuk tuk itself. The
driver kept it 'for shisel my nisel' with a little rap ditty
straight from the hood……..yo. We made our way to the airport to
the beat of, ‘Don’t know about you my nigga but the streets
been good to meeeeeeeeee…..Don’t know about you my nigga but the
streets been good to meeeeeeeee.’ Reminds me of my youth on
the tough and gritty streets of Upstate New York.
That
was fine. In truth it put me in a rather good mood. I even thumped a
little with a member of the military at a check point on the way to
the airport. As he checked the driver’s ID we bounced. Don’t
know about you my nigga but the streets been good to
meeeeeeeeee. Excellent.
And
then I checked in and it all went to hell in a hand basket. Up until
this point I’ve been getting by (one might say miraculously)
without having to check my bag. In fact I’ve been on numerous
flights (including the one from Kuala Lumpur to Colombo on Air Asia)
without even getting a second glance. I have also had no problem
(with a bit of reorganization of course) with fitting my stuff in the
over head compartment. Don’t know about you my nigga but the
streets been good to meeeeeeeeee. Honeymoon over.
For
the first time they decided to actually weigh my bag (20 kg).
Subsequently, I received the ‘tough titty said the kitty to the big
brown cow’' look. The limit for a carry-on bag is 7 kg. I
himmed. I hawed. I played the drama queen. I explained that I had
flown Air Asia five times in the last three months (actually two but
who is counting) and had no problem. After all, they let me on the
plane in Kuala Lumpur, right?. The guy came close to calling me a
liar but I convinced him of the truth when I invited him to look up
my flight to Colombo to see if I checked a bag (I should have been a
lawyer). I told them I could not afford to lose my bag, that I was
traveling the world with few items that were indispensable (computer,
camera lens, etc.). I tried to emphasize the ‘up shit creek
scenario’ I would face if I lost my bag. We laughed. We cried.
Emotions ran high. I had better chance of bringing the Rock of
Gibraltar on board. Don’t know about you my nigga but the
streets been good to meeeeeeeeee.
