My Worst Travel Experience To Date If you have ever traveled more than a couple of times, you know that eventually something is going to go wrong. It is simply a part of traveling and especially if traveling overseas. So sit back and get ready to enjoy my travel nightmare. These will go down as the worst travel days I have ever had, or to quote the philosopher, Homer Simpson, the worse travel days…so far. Please keep in mind that I have traveled internationally quite a bit. In fact, I have made this same trip four other times, but never like this, and hopefully in defiance of Homer Simpson never again will it be this miserable. June 16th 10:57 am Like many times prior, I leave my house in south Georgia and headed to Atlanta to catch a series of flights that would eventually land me in Nairobi, Kenya some 23 hours from now. My flight leaves at 3:30 so I have plenty of time to get to the airport, park, hop on a shuttle and get to my gate. While I have made this trip several times before, this trip carries a little more significance, at least for me. It is on this trip that I will be launching a test site in Kenya for Peanut Better. This is to be the first permanent feeding program location in Kenya. This is it, this is going to be the start of me finally doing what God called me to do. 1:39 pm After an uneventful trip, I arrived at my usual parking deck only to find it full. All traffic is being diverted to another deck 8 minutes away. While thinking this is strange, because I have never seen this deck full, I press on and head over to the other recommended parking deck. I should still have time to park, get through security and catch my flight. 1:47 P.M. I arrive at the recommended parking deck and I am greeted with the largest traffic jam I have ever seen at the airport. No worries, I thought. I just need to get to the parking deck just half a mile up the road, park, and head inside to catch my plane.
2:00 P.M. I have now reached the entrance to the recommended parking deck only to find it is full too. Now frustrated, I decide I’ll park in the premium lot located just past the deck. This will cost some extra cash, but I am running out of time and options. 2:07 P.M. I reached the premium parking lot and, you guessed it, it was full. Let me pause and say that I have never ever seen a parking deck full at the Atlanta airport and now I have seen 3 in one day. We are directed by a sign to the west lot. I now have some serious trust issues with the airport and am seriously doubting the availability of parking at this newly recommended parking deck. 2:14 P.M. I exit the airport and come to a literal fork in the road. I realize I have very little chance of making this flight but I am hoping that I can pull off a miracle. Yogi Berra once said, “If you come to a fork in the road, pick it up.” But at this point, if I had a fork, I would have probably shoved it into my thigh to take my mind off the fact that I was going to miss my flight. Back to the fork: left goes to the new recommended parking garage, and right goes to several off-airport property parking lots that I have used before. With only seconds to decide, I choose right and head to the off-airport property parking lots. I am resigned to missing my flight but I still need to find somewhere to park and try to get rebooked. 2:18 p.m Arrived at No Park & No Fly (the name has been changed to protect the guilty) lot full! Again, I have never seen this lot full before and have used this same lot several times. Pressing on. 2:24 P.M. Arrived at No Park & No Fly #2. Also full. 2:29 P.M. Arrived at Parking Spot Not Found (again name changed to protect the guilty at least in my mind). Full. 2:35 P.M. Arrived at You Should Have Reserved A Spot Before Today, that lot full as well. At this point, I am feeling pretty frustrated. I must say, I am still keeping my cool. Which for me is pretty amazing— just ask my wife. 2:38 P.M. I have been upgraded on my flight, the flight is boarding and I am sitting at a gas station 3 miles from the terminal trying to figure out what my next step is. 2:39 P.M. Calling Delta to see about getting on the next flight to New York so I can catch my flight to Paris with the rest of the team. 2:44 P.M. Informed by the Delta agent that he will need to speak to another department to get the ticket changes since it was purchased by the organization that I am working with on this trip. Placed on hold. 3:00 P.M. Still holding… 3:15 P.M. Still holding… 3:30 P.M. I have made it back to the recommended parking deck that I passed on over an hour ago and of course, now it has parking spaces. To say I feel stupid would be an understatement. I would have still missed my flight, but this mistake still has some more pain to inflict. Still on hold….. 3:35 P.M. Informed by the Delta agent that I need to call the travel agency that booked the ticket to get them to change the ticket because he can’t change it himself. 3:37 P.M. I speak with a booking travel agent and after a few minutes she informs me that Delta has rebooked me and I am to fly out at 5:30. In fact will now be flying from Atlanta to Amsterdam and then to Nairobi. I will actually be landing in Nairobi at about the same time as the rest of the team. 4:05 P.M. Arriving at Delta ticketing, it is going to be tight but I should be able to make this flight. As my luck would have it, I get an agent who has no clue how to confirm my flight change and she has no urgency to help me. Fortunately the agent next to her steps in to help. 4:35 P.M. Still at the ticketing counter. We now have two minutes to get me booked before the system will lock me out because the flight is about to board. We quickly get my 3 bags checked and on the conveyor belt. 4:45 P.M. Still at the ticket counter and we have now called in a supervisor to solve this most difficult task of changing my flight. The flight is now boarding and the gate has taken control of ticketing for that particular gate thus we are unable to print a boarding ticket. After some phone calls and rapid typing, my boarding pass printed for a 5:30 flight that is 3 terminals away. 5:00 P.M. Ticket in hand and headed through security. I really enjoy that the security procedure changes every freaking time I travel. Yes, I am a moron for not having a pre-check! It would cost me once again. On this particular day, the TSA found a new way to make the screening process even less efficient. Everyone had to be sniffed by a dog! Hundreds of people had to be sniffed by a large German Shepherd that has a nose trained to detect drugs, explosives, diabetes, or something. What he was really good at was making sure I missed my second flight of the day. 5:26 P.M. Arrived at the gate and of course was told I was too late and would need to go to the Delta help desk. 5:35 P.M. Arrived at Delta help desk. After a quick search, she tells me the flight I just missed was actually delayed and they should have let me on the flight. Of course, now they are pulling back from the gate and I have now officially missed my second flight of the day. I am informed that they can get me on a flight to JFK airport in New York at 10:00 A.M. and then a 2:00 P.M. direct flight to Nairobi, Kenya. This is great news, as I will arrive at 10:30 Sunday morning local time in Nairobi. Keep in mind that I am the only physician on the trip and I have to make it to the clinic in rural Kenya Friday morning. 6:30 P.M. Arrive at my hotel room for a quick bite and a good night's rest. I have the luxury of easily choosing my clothes for the next day because all I have is the clothes on my back. Again, I am a moron and should have packed extra clothes in my carry on. But no worries. I will be in Nairobi in about 36 hours with the opportunity to shower and change shortly after arriving. We always spend the first night at a hotel very close to the airport. June 17th 8:30 A.M. Arrive at the gate for my flight to JFK. Board the plane without issues for the first time this entire trip. 12:15 P.M. Land at JFK and proceed to the Kenya Airlines gate in preparation for my nonstop flight to Nairobi. Things are looking up and I am beginning to think my luck has changed. 1:30 P.M. Well, Lady Luck sits on a throne of lies! The plane was oversold and I was on standby along with 5 others. It doesn’t look like I am making this flight either! The flight was also held for 4 Muslims to finish praying. I just want to get to Kenya to join the rest of the mission team to help spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I have to watch a group of Muslims be given accommodations. Let me be clear, I have nothing against these individuals but the irony of the situation was not lost on me! This is now my 3rd missed flight in two days. 2:00 P.M. My plane to Nairobi leaves without me on it and I and 5 other would-be passengers are left to negotiate with one of the most incompetent airline providers in the world. Kenya Airlines does not rank tops among air travel providers and now I know why. 4:50 P.M. After nearly 3 hours of negation and constant roadblocks, I am no closer to getting a flight to Nairobi. 5:00 P.M. I have been told that I can catch a 8:30 P.M. flight to “Addis” and then a connecting flight to Nairobi that would arrive at around 10:30 Sunday evening in Nairobi. I have no idea where Addis is located and when I ask the Kenya Airlines rep she tells me “It is on the same continent as Kenya”. I don’t know if you know much about geography but Africa is a pretty big place. I quickly google Addis and learn that I will be flying to Ethiopia and then to Kenya. This is not ideal but I am desperate. 5:20 P.M. I am informed that Kenya Airlines had trouble booking my flight on the luxurious Ethiopia Airlines and now that seat is gone too! The very helpful and competent gate agent then informs me that I won’t be able to get on a flight until the next evening thus not putting me in Nairobi until Monday evening. This is unacceptable! 5:30 P.M. I arrive at the Delta assistance desk and I am told there are no flights until the next day on any airline affiliated with Delta. Opening my Delta app, I find a single seat on a KLM flight leaving in about 30 minutes. When asked about that seat, the Delta agent then tells me that the flight is oversold and I would be placed on standby once again. Now the ticket is $4,200 and will get to Nairobi Sunday night. Seeing no other option, I purchase the ticket and start running to the KLM gate. 5:40 P.M. Arriving at the KLM gate I am told to give them about 10 minutes and they will let me know if I can get a seat. After 10 nervous minutes, I return to the counter and the agent tells me that not only do I have a seat, I have been upgraded to first class. Finally, something positive.
June 18th 7:10 A.M. I arrive in Amsterdam and check in with the KLM gate agent to get a boarding pass for the flight into Nairobi. I was pretty sure that my luggage wasn’t going to make the flight because I had purchased the ticket so close to departure time. Unfortunately I was dead on. My bags were still on Carousel 3 at JFK in New York. The KLM agent was very helpful and told me that my bags would be marked for urgent transport to Nairobi. With a little luck, they would be there Monday morning. However, I would likely need to file a report with Kenya Airlines upon arrival in Nairobi. Not only were all my clothes in my checked luggage, but I had also checked 2 bags containing medicine and medical supplies. No time to fret, I just need to get to Nairobi. I texted the leader of the trip that I would be arriving in Nairobi at 10:30 am on Sunday. He would arrange a room for me at the airport Hilton Garden Inn. There would also be someone waiting for me to give me a ride to the hotel. 9:15 A.M. I have now been in the same clothes for 48+ hours and I am feeling less than clean. I have no other options than do some shopping at the airport. While very tempting, I pass on the I Love Amsterdam T-shirts and tight-fitting European fashion options. I find a store selling Polo and pick up a few items. 3 T-shirts, 2 pairs of shorts, 3 pair of underwear, and 3 pair of socks for a grand total of $515.00. 9:45 A.M. Now having just spent more in one day than I typically spend in 6 months on clothes I make my way to the Mercure Hotel and drop another $25.00 for a shower. I would have paid double at this point. Now no longer smelling like a mixture of body odor and laundry hamper, I head to my gate to wait for boarding. 10:30 P.M. Arriving in Nairobi, I join the mass of people waiting to clear immigration. 11:15 P.M. I arrive at the baggage carousel praying that my bag had been put on the direct flight that morning from JFK. Of course, the bags had not arrived so I make my way to the baggage claim “experts” at Kenya Airlines. 11:55 P.M. I finally get my turn to talk to the agent and learn that my bags are still in New York, probably still going around and around Carousel 3. June 19th 12:20 A.M. With my lost luggage form completed, I make my way outside of the airport and of course, the guy that is supposed to be waiting on me is nowhere to be found. I grab a taxi ride with a guy named Steve and say a silent prayer that he isn’t some kind of serial killer looking to add another victim to his tally. 12:40 A.M. Arriving at the hotel and relieved that Steve is not a murderer, I make my way to my room. Thankful to finally be in Kenya but exhausted. I will need to leave at first light in order to make it to our first clinic site that is about 4 hours outside of Nairobi. 10:30 A.M. After a 4-hour drive from Nairobi to rural west Kenya, I arrived at clinic in less than my normal medical attire.
Shorty Shorts MD June 23rd While the majority of the team was finishing up their safari, a close friend and I had opted to spend a couple of days at a remote children’s home to do some Peanut Better feedings. The plan was to fly from the airport about 90 minutes from the orphanage to Nairobi. The flight would be about 40 minutes and allow us to join the rest of the team in Nairobi before flying out together. 1:15 P.M. Arrived at a tiny airport in rural Kenya for a short flight to Nairobi. Cutting close for a 1:30 flight, but we were basically the only people in the airport. Breezing through security in about 38 seconds, we get to the ticketing counter only to learn that for the first time in history, a flight in Africa left early. Missed flight #4. 1:35 P.M. Call pastor Tonny for a ride to Nairobi. Fortunately it will just be a little 6+ hour ride for 3 people in a single cab stick shift pickup truck.
Monic and I enjoying our 6+ hour commute to Nairobi.
7:30 P.M. Arrive at the hotel and meet up with the remainder of the team. Grab a much-needed shower and some food. 9:00 P.M. Head to the airport and fortunately no more missed flights. I keep debating the cause of all this. Was it a spiritual attack, dumb luck, or dumb me? Regardless, I was determined that nothing would stop me from doing what I knew God had called me to do.
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