The 25+ hour bus ride from Hanoi to Vientiane? Pssh. My journey home was atrocious. I had a five hour flight from Bangkok to Seoul. That was FINE. Then a 12 hour layover in Seoul. That was DANDY. Then a SCHEDULED 12 hour flight to Chicago. BUT there was a storm over Chicago so my plane circled the sky (on the 12th hour) in Wisconsin for about 45 minutes before landing in Milwaukee. We were held captive on the plane for another hour and a half, the storm subsided and we flew to Chicago where all the connecting flights had been canceled. OK, I thought, these things happen. I had no idea a tidal wave of clusterfuck was about to occur.
I was FINE when I waited in the long immigration line with the "wrong" documents filled out. I was OK when I waited another hour for my luggage at a incorrectly-labeled conveyor belt. I was INDIFFERENT when I kept being passed off from person to person for help. My confusion ELEVATED with each step. I ACCEPTED that I, unfortunately, was not going to meet up with my brother as originally planned. I was somewhat RELIEVED when an Asiana worker made arrangements for a free hotel stay and rescheduled my flight for early the following morning. I was EXHAUSTED when she informed me that a shuttle to the hotel would be free and it would be waiting outside for me.
I went outside with my three bags and there was no shuttle. I waited And waited. Surrounded by crowds of clueless people with countless unanswered questions. I pleaded with one of the workers. He didn't speak English. Where the hell am I?
After about 45 minutes, I was finally informed that one must call the hotel for the shuttle because Radisson does not do pick-ups at the international terminal. THAT pushed me over the edge. I managed 9 weeks in SE Asia without any TEB (total emotional breakdowns) and I had one within my first couple hours on US soil.
The lesson of this story? Chicago O'Hare International Airport=Hell.
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