Remembering Event in My Life - Essay Example

Remembering Event Traveling is an interest that I picked up several years ago. Since I began perceiving traveling as a hobby, I have visited very interesting cities and towns both within and outside the country. Even though I have had fun in every trip I take, some of them have left me questioning my decisions, choices, or interests. It is important to point out that my interests in traveling have been successful and fulfilling so far. However, this realization has come amid uncomfortable and awkward situations that I have faced from time to time. One event that remains fresh in my mind happened in the summer of 2013. During this time, I decided to go for a trip that could connect me to Qatar, Italy, and finally bring me back to the United States. To do this, I chose to leave the country for South Africa, where my family planned to visit that year. After successful planning, the trip was one of the best I have had in years. After some good vacation time with family, it was time to head back home. Personally, I decided not to accompany my family and take a different route that would fulfill my desire to set foot in Qatar and Italy. To achieve my interest at the time, my family had no choice other than leaving me alone to take my preferred route home. When my family took their flight and left, I went back to the drawing board in a bid to determine how to make my flight back home longer, through some places that I wanted to see. I contacted a travel agent and asked for any available flights that would go through Qatar and Italy before heading to the United States. I was not surprised to learn that these flights were available, but each stop would require me to connect to a different airline after waiting for at least eight hours. This to me was thrilling. After an hour-long phone call, I finally had my itinerary. I would leave South Africa for Qatar, the n leave Qatar for Italy before heading back home. Even though this sounded interesting, there was a surprise to the story. I can get impatient at times, and the long wait between flights was not going to be easy for me. However, I convinced myself that this was the right thing to do because I wanted to do it in the first place. Bidding South Africa goodbye and looking forward to a great long way home was all my mind clicked. Eight hours after takeoff, we landed at Qatar’s Doha Airport. The airport was beautiful and well maintained. It was easy to navigate around because airports are more or less the same. They have signs, directions, and persons who are ready to assist you at any time. I went through the immigration process and had my travel documents checked and verified. Once this process was done, I sat down at a nice bench calculating my next move. I took some time to observe the surrounding. I must say that everything around me was simply a nice view. Nicely curved walls and roofs welcomed passengers into the terminal. The airport was well lit, flowered, and arranged with an attractive modern décor. My eyes kept shifting from one side of the building to the other, and I could not get enough of it. An hour passed before I looked at my itinerary papers. Going through the papers, I came across an interesting statement. The statement said that passengers with a layover of at least 8 hours may be provided with hotel rooms, but this offer is at the discretion of the airliner. I was convinced it would be obvious that the service would be available for me. My layover was 13 hours. This statement caught my attention and I proceeded to the customer care desk for assistance. Architectural surroundings around the building were amazing and crafted around Middle Eastern architectural history. The building promoted Middle East architectural designs while incorporating cultural diversity because Doha is an international airport. The agent was polite and welcoming. She asked questions that undoubtedly meant to make my presence there as comfortable as possible. After engaging in a conversation for some minutes, I learned that reservations had to be made three days prior to travel for the offer to apply. In an interesting twist, my ticket was issued 48 hours before travel, a situation that warrants hotel room offers based on availability. This meant I qualified for the offer. However, the airliner’s partners who operationalize this offer confirmed that they were fully booked and nothing could be done at that time. Missing the room offer was disappointing, but I sought solace in the fact that the travel agent had not mentioned it, and so I did not expect it anyway. Since I would be stuck in the airport for up to 13 hours, I decided to walk around and pass time. It was not long before I got tired and started contemplating on how long the night would be. I settled for a comfortable adjustable seat in a secluded point in the airport, where some other people were taking naps before their flight times. Five hours into the night, I cannot say I was comfortable by any means. Most of the people had left and they were three people in this secluded area. This was at 1:00 am. The thought of being in the airport until 9:00am was increasingly becoming too much to bear. I had seen everything there was to see in the terminal, and I was tired and need of some good sleep. The chance to venture out and into one of Doha’s hotels was thwarted and there I was stuck in the airport. Even though this had seemed like a good idea at first, I had no doubt that I had made the wrong decision. I could bear the thought of flying to Italy and going through the same thing. The next morning I kept checking my watch to keep track of time as 9:00am came closer and closer. Finally, it was time to head to Italy. At this time, I had the desire to step into Italy, but not be stuck in the airport for 16 hours. My layover in Italy was 16 hours long. Four to five hours after leaving Doha, we arrived at Italy’s Fiumicino Airport. The airport was modern in respect to architectural planning and execution. The walls and the furniture around the airport were sleek and attractive. It was also spacious and allowed for easy movement during high people traffic. After having my travel documents checked and verified, I hurriedly pulled out my itinerary in the hope of seeing a potential hotel offer due to the long layover that I had chosen while in South Africa. It was not surprising to see none, but discomfort, fatigue, and anxiety were setting in quick. This was going to be a long wait and I had no idea where to start as far as making the experience positive was concerned. Just to be sure, I sought assistance at the customer care desk. The response was not different from what I expected. I was going to have another episode of a long wait. A long day and a long wait were inevitable at that point. Even though my hobby and travel instincts tried to calm me down, the number of hours I had to sit and wait for the next flight home were just too much. Nevertheless, I had no choice other than waiting until 6:00 am the next morning. This was the scheduled time for my flight to depart Italy for home. This experience had undoubtedly taken my interest for travel outside my comfort zone. However, I decided all was not lost and I needed to redeem myself and to gain enough patience for the long wait ahead. I knew my social skills would save me this time. I walked around the airport calculating my next move. Soon I came across a bunch of friends playing friendly pool games. This was a good way to pass time. I excused myself and in no time joined the group. Fun moments kicked in and we enjoyed our time until it was time to try to take a nap on the benches. The next morning I felt as if I had not had some good sleep for days. Even though I was tired and ready to take a long rest, I still had a 10-hour long flight ahead of me. Despite the discomforts, relative disappointments, and prolonged layovers, I had learned an important lesson as far as travel and touring plans are concerned. As I left for home the next morning, I knew for sure that my desire to travel does not accommodate prolonged layovers as far as flights are concerned. Read More