I Brought the Wrong Passport to the Airport
I brought the wrong passport to the airport.
Well, technically Kyle did, but it’s my fault.
People close to me know I’m not a good flier, even though I fly “a lot”. So having something chaotic happen like this was the last thing I wanted to happen.
The night before we left for our trip, Kyle asked for my passport to check us in for our flights, and I must have asked him twice before we left if he had it.
Of course when he says yes I’m not going to second guess him or ask to see it.
Ruh-roh, raggy….
We left for the airport with plenty of time for our 6:00am flight. (gross)
We got there and there was a long line for the bag tags - shocker, but we see this sheriff operating the lines, and oh my god…
You know when you go to the bag tag kiosks there’s like a million of them and then once you’ve printed them off and put them on your bag you go to the bag drop line?
Well, the sheriff was only letting one family go to the kiosks at a time.
W H A T. People were annoyed and confused.
I love police officer’s and have a lot of respect for them, but I’m sorry, we cannot have a sheriff operating the kiosk line. We need someone who is employed by the airport who knows how the lines work. I’m just saying…
Anywho. I’m in line for the bag drop while Kyle is getting the bag tags because … divide and conquer.. When Kyle walks over to me and says;
“Your passport expired.”
Naturally my heart sank to my ass and the room turned into a dark tunnel.
There was absolutely no way. We got married three years ago and I changed my name and got all new identification.
I opened the passport and … Kyle, I love you.
He brought my old one and registered me with my old one online.
Sir, did we not notice the last name on that passport said Kesian, and not Kell (facepalm here)
So, what do we do?
Luckily, Aunt Michele (IYKYK) was staying at our house to babysit our fur babies, so I call her at 4:00am, ask her to go into the office and open my desk and find it, and sure enough, it was right there - next to where my “old” passport was.
She flies to the airport like a bat out of hell while Kyle and I are stuck in the international check-line which isn’t moving.
Back to the sheriff.
The reason I mentioned him was I also wanted to thank him.
If it wasn’t for him not knowing what the hell he was doing, we would have zoomed through the (correct) line and had time to spare before boarding.
But because he was a butterfly caught in the wind, we had time for Aunt Michele to teleport to the airport before we checked in.
We were waiting forever in this line and when we were just about to the front, this group of 10+ men created their own line to the side, and one (out of the only two) of the front desk agents started to take them!
Oh my gosh the whole line was pissed.
One of the Delta (yes, Delta, I’m calling you out) agents’ managers even walked up and asked what this second line was, and the agent said “Well, there’s a lot of them, so I’ll take them.”
And her boss let her! We were pissed.
We were then next in line and the girls in front of us were taking FOREVER, so Kyle asked one of the non-international check-in agents to please check us in because at this point we had been in line for an hour and a half AND our flight was currently boarding to Minneapolis.
If we miss this, then the whole trip is off.
She takes us (not a nice lady, by the way) and instantly goes,
“Why did you wait in this line? You already have your bag tags.”
WHAT THE HELL, DEPUTY DOOFUS?! (I blame him, but I’m also grateful for him - or the universe for looking out wink)
Needless to say, we fly through security and walk straight on to the plane.
All crises averted. Minneapolis, here we come.
3.5 hours later we touched down in MInneapolis and naturally, our flight was delayed 3 hours.
Awesome.
We go to the lounge because, yes, and kudos to the Minneapolis airport for having a beautiful lounge with an outdoor area. 10/10
3 hours turned into 5 hours of waiting, and my flying anxiety was rising, yet I just wanted to hurry up and board this 12 hour flight to Tokyo.
WOOF.
12 hours. I’ve never been on a flight that long, but once we got on the flight, I realized we were literally flying over land 90% of the time.
Look it up. It’s a thing.
We got on the plane, I drugged myself, and basically zonked out the entire time.
Thank you, Kyle, for being the most uncomfortable and letting me lay on your lap the majority of the time. It really helped me, but I know you hated it (haha)
We finally landed in Tokyo at 7:30pm when we were supposed to land at 2:30pm, and by the time we went through customs and took a cab to the hotel it was almost 10:00pm, so the day was shot. Damn it.
But let me tell you, their cab drivers are so kind, wear 3 piece suits and treat your belongings with respect.
America, take note.
We get to the hotel, and it’s stunning, everyone is so kind, and our room is perfect.
Kyle and I tipped the man bringing our luggage - and we shortly found out tipping isn’t customary and often found to be rude. SO SORRY!!!
We immediately lay on the bed and Kyle begins to tell me that the airport we fly out of the following day to get to Guam isn’t the same as the one we came into today, but it’s 90 minutes away by train.
Flames come out of ears and nose here
I decided to take a bath because this was one of the cleanest bathrooms / hotel rooms I’ve ever seen, and I needed to put out the fire in my soul.
Like I said, I’m not a good flier, and adding a train ride into the mix didn’t help.
But this bath saved my soul.
The next morning we wake up at ungodly hours because our bodies have no clue what planet we’re on, so we wait before breakfast.
The breakfast in Tokyo was very interesting.
They had a mix between what I would consider “American” style food (pastries, eggs, bacon, etc) and then had rice, ramen, fish amongst other things I was unsure of.
Needless to say, it was FANTASTIC. If you go to another country, try eating how they do.
I didn’t, but Kyle did (haha!)
We decided we needed to figure out how to get these train tickets to get to the airport, so we walked to the station across the street where Kyle and I looked like the biggest idiots.
I wasn’t aware before going to Japan that they operate on the other side of the road, street and car like England
We stuck out like sore thumbs
Kyle’s about a foot taller than everyone wearing the most American thing he could find apparently, as if it wasn’t obvious enough (a Bass Pro hat lol), and because we don’t know how to walk on the left side, we were swimming upstream on the right side.
We make it to the ticket kiosk and we’re staring at it like it will all of a sudden turn to English, when it’s CLEARLY WRITTEN in Japanese.
Thank GOD they had a ticket office where a very nice gentleman who spoke English helped us.
We magically made it with 4 suitcases, and two carry-on bags in the rain through this VERY busy station with multiple platforms (which all play music when the doors open - nice touch).
We got first class tickets on the train because I needed a little extra room and zen for another day of travel, and it did not disappoint.
They don’t check tickets - respect to the people of Japan for having trust
The seats reclined SUPER far and had a foot rest
The train was soooo smooth
We made it to the Narita airport forever early, and thank God we did because the friendliest lady at the check-in desk told us that our original flight was very delayed and we could get on another one.
We went to their lounge to kick rocks for 3 hours (we never get there this early but because it was pouring rain, we had to take a train and we couldn’t sight see, we just went), and it was very interesting.
Nothing like Minneapolis, but I respect it for being simple and zen.
My anxiety kicked in, and because I don’t eat (land) meat anymore (1.5 years going strong, guys!) I couldn’t really eat any of the food. Just “ketchup rice” and Miso. This lounge was not my happy place.
I blame sleep deprivation and travel stress.
3 hours later, we finally boarded the plane that’s 90% US military - WOOP WOOP! LOVE YOU GUYS!! So naturally I felt like the safest girl on the planet.
Drugged myself once more for the coldest flight that’s every flown with seats that didn’t recline, and 3.5 hours later:
WE FINALLY LANDED IN GUAM!
The island is beautiful, the people are friendly, and our hotel has a gorgeous view with its own beautiful sandy beach - which I hear isn’t common here.
So sorry you have to work Kyle, but I’m here on a little adventure that I can’t wait to share with all of you.
And then we’ll be back in Tokyo to actually visit in a few days on our way back to the US!
Stay tuned!
