Heart of Darkness

Japan Airlines was a wonderful experience. The food served and the warm hearted hospitality of the Japanese crew has left a lasting impression on me, even if the long 10 hour flight from Vancouver to Tokyo was at times difficult to bear. 5 hours into the flight I found myself going numb and feeling the need to walk the aisles in a sometimes futile effort to find relief from sitting for so long.

Landing in Tokyo and walking off the plane bowing to every person who bowed to me was uplifting and I immediately felt my spirit soar. Chad and I were finally in Asia and I grinned from ear to ear. My new life was beginning to find legs.

Going through security was different as I was accosted by two female security guards who grabbed my hand and would not let me go. They loved my Eye of Ra tattoo and wanted to know about it and me, where I was staying and how long I was here for. I was a bit bewildered but Chad best summarized it as, "The tattoo and its location, on your hand, showed character. A character that they were not used to but loved."

The time changes and the corresponding fatigue that comes with it are difficult but Chad and I are determined to zombie walk through everything. With each passing moment the destination looms larger in our minds and we long to walk the earth period, free from time changes and airport shuffles.

Asia rocks. Next stop Bangkok, where our real journey begins. I'm loving this trip and I am loving my life right now.

As we sit in Vancouver International Airport watching a window washer casually sweep a squeegee back and forth across the plane of glass that separates us from the plane that I long to sleep on, I sip on an extra large double double and remind myself that caffeine truly is the gateway drug. It is found naturally in over 60 plants worldwide but Tim Hortons has refined this natural stimulant into a very potent narcotic and for that Chad and I are grateful.

2 hours until we board our Japan Airlines flying bed to Tokyo. I cannot wait. I haven't slept in almost two days, but I am conditioned to this. My mind still functions, at least that is what I tell myself mentally, in an internally self absorbed, soothing manner.

The terminal was near empty an hour ago, but I can see the hordes of Prada wearing Japanese frequent flyers starting to file onto the 'lazy walker' and head in my general direction. I have some time to kill trying to stay awake until I can officially clock out for 8 hours of the next 10 hour flight.

Our wallets now hold a motley collection of currencies in them. Japanese Yen, Thai Bots, American and Canadian dollars.

We wait and I grow tired of writing seemingly semi incoherent thoughts. I should wander the terminal in search of 'something', even if that 'something' is the mere continuation of this conscious condition I find myself in.

Soon I will be in a seat that I can call a bed for hours on end and then I will sleep. Cheers to the near future.

Sleep, that suspended sensory activity state that I long to be in, eludes me. I listen to the rain fall and my mind randomly wanders like it always does when I am this tired.

It is 3:30 in the morning and I have to catch a puddle jump flight to Vancouver in 3 hours. I should nap for an hour, but striptease sleep isn't really an option for me, it's all or nothing, and a one hour siesta will barely remove a garter belt. There will be a 10 hour window for rest on the flight from Vancouver to Tokyo.

Foolish thinking I know, but the sudden lurch back to consciousness would be a far greater jolt than the zombie shuffle, which is easily cured with coffee. I keep staring at my packsack wondering what I missed besides everything. I packed virtually nothing, travelling light for speed and freedom of movement. I have more camera gear than I do clothes.

Chad and I still have no idea what route we are going to follow in our quest to get the Vietnam visas. Our original plan was to apply in Thailand right away but the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok is closed on the weekend. Once we get to Thailand we will pause and decide if it is worth the wait by applying for them there. I highly doubt that we will wait. We have too many options.

3 flights and we are there. Somewhere along the way I will sleep.