Not long in Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong at 15.05 on the Wednesday and I had already become pretty well acquainted with the passengers next to me. And so, having again imposed a few heartfelt goodbyes on myself at the airport, the lovely boy from Singapore hugged me and directed us to Passport Control. Neither Danni nor I had slept in the twelve hours it took to fly there, so we spent the next hour and a half rubbing our eyes, bustling through corridors and bizarre shuttle systems, trying to navigate our way to the Gate. Once found however, we had time to freshen up and slap life into our cheeks before boarding.

Fijian Airways was amicably quirky; the tail of the plane was Aztec print and Fijian air hostesses wore turquoise shirts and pink flowers in their hair. Whilst collecting our food, they also had the generosity to offer us more of our favourite snacks (which always bodes well with me.) My only complaint - the chicken was under-cooked. But at least I had extra bread to supplement it.

This flight took ten hours. With an aisle seat again, I couldn’t lay my head on the side to sleep, but I did manage a good seven-hour slumber with my knees tucked up inside my blanket and my head rolling around on my knuckles. I remember waking up one time, under no particular circumstance, to my fellow passenger with one leg over me, one leg on her seat, mid-struggle, clambering towards the toilet. I probably should have pretended not to notice but, Bewildered-me stood up and apologized.

During descent, when I finally awoke, I began talking to the woman properly. For two weeks she had been on holiday in Hong Kong and was now on her way home to Australia, starting her new job as a music teacher the next day. We spoke for ages, powering through all of life's major topics, including Think Pacific. And then, through the window over her shoulder, I saw the coast and sand and mountains and the palm trees. It was in that moment that I realised that I really was in Fiji and that, for a whole month from now, I wouldn't be returning home and there was no taking it back. As we landed, the woman wished me luck with my endeavours and I wished her luck with hers. I dug my fingers into my palms, told myself this was the best thing that had ever happened to me.... but I didn't have to, because I was smiling already.