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There's no place like home . . .
BACK IN L.A. -
Much as I enjoy the travel (and I DO like
travelling to foreign lands), it's always nice
to get home and be in familiar surroundings. We
got back Thursday afternoon but it's not quite
as straight-forward as getting there:
Maldives-Singapore, overnight in Singapore,
Singapore-Tokyo, short layover in Tokyo
(Narita), Tokyo-LAX arriving early-afternoon.
From the time we left the boat to the time I
actually got to my front door, it's about 42
hours of travel time. But I like that we
overnight in Singapore (Transit Hotel within the
airport) because it not only breaks up the trip,
but you get to sleep during that extended
overnight, so you begin the final two legs
somewhat rested. But some of the jetlag has
caught up with me today (Sunday) as I'm a bit
tired. At least, I hope it's the jetlag. I
certainly don't want to think it's old age.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DIDN'T AFFECT US -
Flights were relatively on time and there was no
perceived slowdown at LAX. (I also had the Holy
Grail of Flying Economy - an empty middle seat
next to me for two of the three legs!!!) In
fact, it was one of the quicker trips through
Immigration/Customs that I've had lately. Part
of that was that it was relatively uncrowded in
the arrival hall but a lot was due to a new
system of facial recognition rather than handing
over your passport. There was an Immigration
officer by a video monitor, you look into it, it
recognizes you, he asked a few questions, and
waved me through. Took all of 30 seconds.
BAGS HOWEVER . . . -
As trip leader, I always wait for everyone's bag
to come through before I exit. Glenn Suhd and
Don Banas got their quickly and left. Mine came
out right after theirs did, less than 5 minutes
after I got to Baggage Claim. Now we just needed
Patti Wey's bags and we were good to go. Guess
whose bags were literally the LAST ones to come
down the chute, over 30 minutes later? Oh well,
the best laid plans. But overall, coming back
was a breeze and the government shutdown didn't
seem to be having an effect.
SECRET TAXI STAND -
I always taxi in and out of LAX so this is a
good time to remind everyone of the two "secret"
taxi stands inside the horseshow traffic loop.
You don't have t take the LAExit busses. The
first is right across from TBIT and there's a
sign. Use the crosswalk, turn slight left, go
inside the parking garage, and there's a sign
with a dispatcher number to call. Taxis were
there in five minutes. The second one is outside
the United baggage claim (T7/8). Exit baggage
claim, turn right, go about 50 yards, and you'll
see the sign. MUCH quicker both times that the
LAExit busses.
TRIP REPORT, PIX, AND VIDEOS -
Links are at the top of this page. But here are
six shots to get you interested:. |
