Tale of Travelling

Always have a backup plan when travelling.

I arrived in China after a long day, made longer by the 2 hour flight delay leaving Shanghai. It was a little bit nervous-making when I got off the plane in Jinan, picked up my luggage and there was no one here to meet me. The luggage area emptied directly to the outside of the airport. It was 1:30am, the airport was closing up behind me and I found the expected waiting friend was not there. 'Eeep, what should I do?' The fog was thick, adding to the Twilight Zone feeling. A few dull street lamps over a small parking lot lent an eerie illumination to the night.

A few taxi drivers offered to take me to a hotel and then, realizing I was looking for someone, one offered me the use of his cell phone. So I called my friend, the one who was supposed to meet me at the airport - the one who was then taking me to Taian - at his mobile phone number. Thankfully, he answered. He said the airline didn't know when the flight was getting in (they had only told him it was delayed) so he was waiting at the airport hotel. He said he would be there to get me in a few minutes. Two more taxi drivers offered me rides and then left when I repeatedly refused. So I sat on the sidewalk alone in the dark for another few minutes. Somehow time stretches out in the dark when you are alone. Should I have let the taxis leave? What if I for some reason my friend couldn't find me. How would I get to town then? Just how far away was Jinan anyways?

Then out of the fog, my friend's form took shape. Setting worries aside I loaded my luggage into the waiting car, but not without setting a resolve to make sure I had a backup plan for future journies.