So far the day has started off pretty rough with Tanya rapping on my door and saying "Hey Jun! Wake up! Aren't you going to miss your plane?". With these words breaching my semi inebriated and sleep induced mind, I awake with a startle and jump out of my bed. Into the shower, toothbrush in hand, soap in the other, I wash and brush the night before away, who's idea was it to stay out till 5am after snowboarding all day with Lebo anyway? Oh right, mine. Out of the shower I quickly throw on my clothes from last night. Giving them a wiff, they reek of cigarette smoke from 1st Floor (the local pub we frequented for drinks before and after a night out). Vague memories of drinking shots with Jeff, Kristin, and John at 1st floor came to mind. Then I remembered that it all started at Miga's, drinks with little miss Mai, the proprietor Edu, Adam, Kate, Lebo and Susanna (who had surprised me with some pants, and an electronic dictionary for my trip). Later on meeting Jeri and Johny White and Sabina at Punk.
Quickly I dismiss these memories to make room in my capacity limited mind to make way for more vital thought processes at hand. Did I pack everything? Did I tie up all my loose ends? Ah crap, forget it, just zip up the bags and go. I grab my 80 liter pack, my skate bag filled with my computer and other important things, my knife bag (which my sisters had sent to me via Lemur). Mind still blurry, I run out the door and downstairs to hail a cab. As the taxi pulls up, John runs out of the building in a huff, and in nothing but a towel. As we bid each other farewell, I remember I had forgotten my boots and run up to retrieve them, I put them on hastily and pack my sneakers up. Ding, elevator, ground floor, cab door, and I'm off.
I call Hang Fei, our cameraman, and I inform him of my late departure from the guesthouse and that I will be arriving at the studio tout suite, to which he replies that I should just go ahead and meet him at the airport. "Shi Ji! Jiu dao ji chang!" Down the airport express, pull up at the gate, out the door, bags on my back and my front, I rush in and meet the Hang Fei. He smiles a panda smile, one that I'll get used to over the days I'm sure, he's a bit on the rotund side, and with a jolly demeanour to match it. We check in our gear, and meet up with Shan Shan, the assistant to the crew, and Liu Hang, our producer. Shan Shan is an ever cheerful woman, with a bit of a zing in her attitude when the mood suits. Liu Hang, our producer seems like he'll be a positive addition to the crew through the journey as well. As I walk up to shake their hands, I catch a wiff of myself and hope that they won't be able to smell the night before on me through the soap, and spritz of cologne I sprayed on before I left. "why's your face so pale?" Liu Hang asks me right after I've shaken his hand. "Ah.. I just woke up" "Oh, right" He replies with a knowing look on his face. With only 15 minutes left to board, we make our way for the gate. When we arrive at the gate, we meet up with He Lao Shi, the other cameraman, he's seems quite cheerful as well and in a good mood, we exchange greetings and board our plane.
On the plane, I nurse my hangover while coming to the realisation that this was all really happening, that I was really going to Guangxi, to travel, eat, learn, explore, trade my skills for other skills, accomodation, adventure, and share while being followed by a film crew. I was finally getting paid to do what I've been doing on all my travels for the past 5 years.
I promptly fall asleep after this contemplation, and awake to the sight of the beautiful scenic limestone hills and cliffs, winding rivers, and tiled rice fields which are the iconic symbols of this serene province outside my cabin window as our plane lands in Guilin. We have arrived.
One word that can best express my sentiment at this time "AWESOME", and another to describe the feeling "NAUSEOUS".
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