A lesson in losing

by Kiyona Miah (United States of America)

I didn't expect to find Thailand

A lesson in losing I am THEE planner among my circle of friends. Although we used a travel agent to plan my birthday trip to Thailand, I still created my own spreadsheet, researched extensively, and created packing lists and itineraries for me and my friends. I packed extra of almost everything just in case a friend forgot a necessity. We departed the US, bags in tow, for my first Asian adventure. After enduring my longest flight to date (14 hours) to Beijing for our layover, I was ready to disembark from the plane. In all of my planning, I somehow overlooked the fact that we only had an hour layover in Beijing. We began the journey to navigate through a seemingly never-ending maze of security checkpoints, trams, and long corridors. With a few minutes to spare, we made it to the last security checkpoint. I watched as my belongings went through the scanner. The security officer repeatedly removed items from my bag and said that the items had to go back through the security scanner. After a few rounds of this and her unpacking my belongings into multiple bins, she finally said I could proceed. I grabbed my belongings and made a mad dash for the gate. We were some of the last passengers to board the flight. We silently breathed a sigh of relief because we made it! Then the proverbial “sugar honey iced tea” hit the fan. I went to reach for my phone and realized that I left behind my brand new coat with my phone in the pocket at the last security checkpoint. I felt a meltdown coming so I went to the bathroom to gather myself and realized I can get the coat on the way back to the US because we had a 7 hour layover in Beijing. I sat in my seat and reached for my lip balm. Now here came the waterworks. My lip balm along with my purse (which had all of my cash and credit cards) was also at airport security. I jolted from my seat and begged the flight attendant to let me get off the plane to grab my belongings. She asked the pilot and he denied my request saying that the door had already been closed. My pleading fell on deaf ears so I slumped in my chair and cried from Beijing, China to Phuket, Thailand. My seatmate tried to console me, the flight attendants tried to give me wine, my friends checked on me. Nothing could stop the tears because all I wanted was my stuff. I mentally beat myself up for being negligent. I worried about how I would navigate 10 days in Thailand without a Baht to my name. We arrived in Phuket safely and everyone was tired from traveling. Throughout the night I stressed myself out because my perfect, dream trip was falling apart. The next day my friends tried to lift my spirits by giving me some of my birthday gifts early. They covered my portion of meals and cab rides. I emailed my sisters back in the states and had them wire money to me. I can’t remember the exact moment when something clicked but it did. I was the only person in charge of my experience and I had to wake up every morning determined to enjoy my trip. At one point I felt sad because I did not have my own phone to take pictures but my friends took plenty and I had already booked a photographer who took amazing photos I will cherish forever. Not having my phone forced me to capture moments with my eyes and store them in my bank of fond memories. I was more present on vacation and enjoyed the freedom of not constantly looking at the time. The greatest lesson I learned from this experience is that nothing in my life has been taken away from me without being replaced with something greater. I also learned that no man is an island and that it is alright for me to be the friend in need. My belongings were never returned to me but the lesson I learned was priceless.