At the Airport

After a lot of activity over the past two days, including moving her bed to another house, our dog, Chai, is on to us. One of the great hardships of these next four months will be leaving her behind. Because we both work so much at home, she has spent a lot of time around us, and we around her. After only two years and four months it is hard to remember (imagine) life without her. Actually, we had trouble with that after only a few months. She is a dog with a lot of personality, and has been a constant companion. In the car at the airport she wants to get out (not surprising) and won’t interact with us in her usual way. She is used to sending off one of us at a time, but never both. Our last view of her is her looking out the side and then back window as our friend Mary-Lynn drives away. Frequently over the next few days we check the time and ask each other, “What do you think Chai is doing now?”

Inside the airport we discover our baggage is overweight. We are way under the total allowed for two passengers, but there is a maximum per bag. Fortunately, Anna-Marie’s sister, Carole, has lent us a large knapsack that we had packed in our suitcase—intending to fill it in Cambodia and return with two bags. So we dig it out of our suitcase and repack on the airport floor. We now understand why airports have luggage stores.

Our flight to Phnom Penh is via Seoul, Korea, where we will arrive at 2:30 am (their time) for a16 hour layover. My friend Glen has suggested a neighbourhood to explore for the day, and I have booked a hotel in the heart of it. They will be expecting us around 3 in the morning.