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Part 60: Off again....
Fast forward a few months, and skip the obvious difficulties I had in having to cut short my travels, as once again my departure was upon me.
But not before that new found resilience was put firmly to the test back in sunny Swindon, because at times it seemed like it was a distant pipe dream to make it back to Asia.
It was always the plan to get back traveling as quickly as possible, and not run the risk of slipping back into old habits, or the dreaded comfort zone I spoke of so frequently in my previous blogs.
On a positive, it was fantastic seeing my family and close friends again, who were wonderfully supportive of me, and probably a little patient in hearing me talk continually about my journeys.
On a negative it took slightly longer to sort out some of the business problems than I originally anticipated - It did however manage to give me the opportunity to raise some extra funds by selling unwanted belongings and collectibles, like my comic book collection, also my car which had been sat in my brothers drive for months gathering dust.
The experience of my previous travels taught me how to prepare better, and to pack light, unlike before - I was understandably naive back then.
With the day fast approaching I wondered how different things would be this time. There were a few inevitable lingering thoughts - like if this was the right thing to do again.
Especially when some of my closest and best friends arranged a farewell get together.
It made me realise how good the people in my life are compared to before. The lessons I learned were harsh and the previous mistakes in the past are precisely the chain of events that led me to escape in the first place.
Occasionally I cast my mind back to before I left, remembering how miserable things were back then and afforded a wry smile to myself. It gave me all the motivation I needed.
Saying goodbye to my friends and family doesn't get any easier second time around, especially my nieces and nephews. I was a little emotional but held it together quite well. Everyone was very supportive and happy for me.
The weather all over England was horrendous in the days leading up to my departure. Non stop relentless wind, rain and severe floods meant the possibility of delays or cancellations.
I made my own way to the airport via national express bus, booking it so I arrived several hours before my flight, just to avoid any unwanted stresses and to start my travels relaxed, even though It was hammering it down with wind and rain all the way there.
I arrived at Heathrow a full four hours before my flight, and so far, despite the bad weather; the plane was still on schedule.
My first stop would inevitably be my spiritual home Manila to catch up with old friends, and I would reach there via Qatar and then Singapore - it was the cheapest ticket I found.
The lay over in Doha was only 2 hours for my onward connecting flight which gave me a decent amount of time, but meant I wouldn't be waiting around for to long either.
After a light meal it was time to make my way to the gate for boarding - and everything seemed to be going smoothly for a change which was a nice feeling.
The Qatar Airways plane was brand new as it prepared for clearance to take off, just as I was making myself comfortable for the journey, removing my shoes and enjoying a few snacks. Two young girls were sat to my left, they were pleasant enough ensuring that the flight would at least be fun based on their joyful giggling and playing.
Just to my right I noticed an irate large arabic chap complaining to one of the cabin crew, but at this point I wasn't exactly sure what he appeared to be so upset about. His voice was getting louder, the crew tried to calm him down which only made him irritated.
Astonishingly he had a problem with a black lady who arrived on the plane late and was trying to take her allocated seat next to him. But he refused to allow her to sit there. The crew even tried to move him to another seat but he plainly refused, asking them to move her instead!! But trying to reason with this ignorant man was serving only to aggravate him even more.
One of the senior cabin crew intervened, to no avail - you could sense the tension. Especially from some of the passengers behind me.
I wasn't sure exactly what happened next, assuming they moved the poor lady who by now was understandably quite upset.
Next thing 2 police officers boarded the plane and abruptly asked this man to leave the plane, to which again he refused, shouting at them in Arabic. One of the other officers appeared to be of Arabic origin and this irate man asked him if he believed in Allah.
'I'm sorry sir, you are not flying today. One way or another you will be leaving this plane' the officer replied.
The anxiety started to spread with a lady behind me using the dreaded 'T' word.
Still this man lodged himself against the window and was going nowhere. He was a burly chap that kept looking directly ahead and appeared to be preying, ignoring the officers warnings. This was now making a lot of people really nervous - me included.
One of the officers was radioing for back up because this was getting nowhere. Cabin crew were doing their best to reassure the passengers as a few children started to cry.
A few moments later, several more officers including armed airport security rushed into the plane and were far more aggressive in their approach.
'Move....now!!!!!' One shouted.
Me and the surrounding passengers were quickly ushered off the plane to make space for the ensuing fracas, I didn't even have time to put my shoes back on. Not only was I beginning to feel really uncomfortable, but also began having serious doubts as to wether or not I'd make my connecting flight in Doha now, which would be a nightmare. I mentioned it to one of the cabin crew, however he assured me it would not be a problem, because the onward flight had been made aware of the problem and it would wait for connecting passengers.
In the meantime I saw the officers struggle with the man before cuffing, and finally bundling him off the plane. It was a huge relief to see the back of this ignorant petulant man.
The cabin crew and security then proceeded to try and find his hand luggage which took a long time. In total it must have been at least an hour and a half delay. I couldn't help but ask the cabin crew for more reassurances about my connecting flight, but once more they told me not to worry and when it finally took off, there was bad turbulence for the first two hours at least, making it really uncomfortable, and to make matters worse one of the young girls next to me vomited everywhere, including my leg!! The smell was terrible.
All I could think about was my connection and when we landed in Doha a full two hours later than schedule, I wasn't feeling optimistic at all.
There was a shuttle bus taking passengers to the main terminal of Doha airport which resembled a construction site, and it took absolutely ages to get there. I couldn't make sense of the signs!
Dashing as quickly as possible towards gate J where my flight to Singapore should have been waiting, which of course it wasn't. In-fact it had left on time more than an hour ago, in complete contrary to what the cabin crew told me!!
This was fast turning into a joke, because what this now meant was I'd also miss my connecting flight in Singapore to Manila. I was now officially stranded, seriously p***ed off!!!! and just to top things off, I stank of sick. I was not happy.
Then after composing myself it was time to figure out what my options where.
I spotted the black lady in tears, wondering what it must have felt like for her after that ignorant fool messed up her travel plans as well. All I could offer her were a few comforting words.
Now the Qatar airways desk were about to get a piece of my mind especially after the cabin crew flobbed me off.
On explaining the situation they appeared very unsympathetic at first explaining to me it was not their fault.
'The circumstances were unforeseen sir' she said.
It really took for me to kick off for them to actually take me seriously, so the duty manager came out to speak with me.
He said he could get me on the next available flight to Singapore, which departed 10 hours later.
But that would have meant I would have had to buy another flight to Manila from there which at short notice would have been super expensive.
We argued for a while until he offered to fly me straight to Manila from
Doha, bypassing Singapore all together. Only thing is it was an 11 hour flight leaving in 27 hours time!!!!
They also would arrange a hotel with all food and drink paid for, plus transport - now we were getting somewhere.
I calmed myself down and figured this was the best I was going to get before a Chauffeur took me straight to the hotel.
It was surprisingly cold outside and since all I had was my hand luggage, the sick stained clothes would have to do till Manila.
I wasn't really in the mood to explore Doha, instead I chose to fully take advantage of the hotel's facilities and ate so much food. Yes it was a slow 27 hours but better late than never.
The chauffeur arrived 3 hours before my flight taking me directly to the departure lounge - plus there was no need to check in as they already issued me with a boarding card, so I strolled through with no stresses whatsoever, thank goodness.
Finally, and nearly 2 days later than schedule, I was back on course heading for the Philippines.
Manila baby, here I come.......
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