One 100-pound suitcase, one lost sister, one clean colon.

I haven’t even left yet and it appears there will be no shortage of material for these blog posts. These entries are going to practically write themselves.

Mom arrived at Tan’s house on Monday evening in advance of their 7 am flight … with a suitcase that weighed nearly 100 pounds. (When Mom read her ticket info, she saw that we were permitted two bags at 32 kg each. She assumed that meant that one bag at 64 kg would be fine. This is the same unsuccessful analogy that says if a turkey needs to be cooked at 300F for 3 hours, then turning it up to 500F for 2 hours equals the same result. This would explain my Mother’s cooking skills. )

Tan, in a surprising yet inspiring move, played the disciplinarian. Tan whittled mom’s suitcase down to a more reasonable 50 or 60 pounds. Tan, in the process, has gained new respect from her sisters as one who can evolve beyond travelling with three suitcases, cargo trunk, and 20 pairs of shoes. She’s also gained a bald spot where Mom pulled her hair out, fighting for every last pair of socks.

All was good in the end, but Mom has learned that packing for this trip way back in August was not the foresightful thinking it appeared to be when you're pulling half the stuff out of your suitcase six hours before your flight.

Next came the FREAK OUT email from Kimbo. Apparently her flight from Halifax to New York was delayed, resulting in a missed connection to Tokyo/Bangkok. To refresh, this is a woman who has never traveled alone – never mind traveled period. She’s a wee bit nervous. Luckily, she has been booked on the next day’s flight, has a hotel room courtesy of the airline, and has been adopted by a more adventurous retired couple on their way to Asia for four months of backpacking. My sister has that affect. People just want to take care of her.

I spent my last day before leaving finishing up work, running some errands, and having my colon flushed out. Long flights are dehydrating, so I took a preemptive measure and got a colon hydrotherapy treatment to plump up for the 16 hours on a plane. I’m not kidding.

You'll hear from me next from Bangkok. As of Thursday night, I'm outta here.

Tonya

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