Planes, Planes and More Planes

February 18^th – or is it February 19^th???  

Somewhere over the Pacific between Los Angeles and Tokyo, Japan...

The sun never sets and the flight never ends. Every time someone on the south side of the plane opens a window shade, everyone on the plane cringes and shields their eyes, like vampires caught in the light of dawn. By the time on my watch the sun would have set by now, but halfway through this flight there is still another 5 hours and 40 minutes to go and I know now that the sun will actually never set on this trip across the endless Pacific and that it feels like more of a curse than a blessing.

When I flew across the US it was just the opposite; if you fly west at dusk the night goes on forever, the darkness extending for hours beyond the length of time it should actually last, like midwinter in northern Scandinavia or midsummer in Antarctica. So really it is all a matter of being in the right place at the right time, or more like leaving the right place at the right time. Fucking profound, isn’t it.

So far - 7 hours, 2 movies,2 crosswords, 2 Kindle chapters, 1 meal, 2 snacks, 2 trips to the bathroom and one mondo glass of wine. But who’s counting. I seem constantly saddled by with seat mates who have no need to pee. Or stand or stretch or move. On the way from Boston to L.A., one of them spent 5 hours working nonstop on a powerpoint presentation about dengue fever in the Solomon Islands. I stood for a while on this plane looking over the cabin which was completely dark at what was really 4 in the afternoon in relation to when we got on. Most people were asleep, the rest were glued to their TV screens, no one seemed to be doing anything interactive or productive, and almost no one stood up. The majority of passengers are Japanese, many of whom are wearing protective face masks, but all of whom seem fine to sit quietly and well-behaved for hours on end, making the restless blonde woman with the bad tailbone stand out even more.

Here in my protective cocoon at seat 46A I am cushioned on all sides by inflatables – behind my back, under my feet against the window wall. Even under my seat, in the event of a water landing (pull the tabs or inflate by mouth through the red tubes). If not for the ongoing ache in my lowest vertebrae I would be fairly comfortable.

And what about that day of my life I have lost in crossing the international date line? What parallel universe did that chunk of time fall into? And will I ever get it back?

Flying over the Aleutian Islands now, hurling through the atmosphere at 565 miles per hour and 32,000 feet. I think I will lift my window shade half an inch and let a shaft of blinding sunlight pierce the hearts of my vampire travelling companions.

February 20th - Changi Airport, Singapore
How can it be another day already - I still haven't gotten to my destination yet! 
The Singapore airport is all about passengers in transit - it is an elegant Disney-esque experience, sometimes with a highly refined sense of design - look at this ladies room I happened to wander into:

And of course the Snooze Lounge where anybody can sleep for free as long as they can find a open chair. 

All very modern and very accommodating. 

There are dozens of computers everywhere for people to just get online with and use. There is even a butterfly garden and a pool on the roof.

Switched from Delta to Garuda Airlines here for the final leg to Indonesia, and even though there is no share agreement between the two, they told me not to go through immigration, just leave my checked bag at the luggage carousel and in the morning Garuda would pick it up and make sure it got to Bali with me. When I asked if they were sure this would work, I was told this was standard proceedure in Singapore.

So...12 hours to Tokyo, 8 hours to Singapore, 6 hours in the airport, 2 & 1/2 more to Bali and then another hour or more  in a car to Jati Homestay in Ubud...