The Hardest Flight to Make

This time there would be no immigration officers, unsympathetic airline agents or other conspirators to keep her off the plane. This final delay in boarding the aircraft would be self-imposed. The tears were welling all around as the final boarding call was made for Thai Airways Flight 992. It didn't seem real after nine and a half months of travel together that this was really good by...the proverbial and literal end of the road.

When we booked our tickets over a year ago we had the decision to make as to where we would both end up. Because Radka's U.S. visa is firmly affixed to her old passport (and U.S. visas are not transferable) and because it would be a crap shoot at best applying for a new one as she is no longer a student and, technicaly, unemployed, we decided to go seperate ways at the end of the trip. Besides, to be completely honest, we couldn't even be sure that we would be still on speaking terms by the end of our voyage so it seemed practical to book our final flights back to our home countries. Now it just seems like a cruel joke.

But this whole post isn't a big downer. Perhaps I should back up a bit to fill you in on our final few days in New Zealand....at least the high lights.

After arriving from Fiji to the brisk and blustery city of Auckland, we headed straight to our hotel. Because it was to be our last two nights, I booked us into a funky little bed & breakfast called the Aspen Lodge in city center. With a little cash still in the bank, there would be no more budget bungalows or dorm-style hostiles. After relaxing in the room for a bit we headed out to spend the day strolling through the city, exploring the Viaduct Basin and the Americas Cup Village along the water front. The city, with its clean streets, crisp air and surprisingly friendly inhabitants, quickly had us charmed.

Back in our room that evening, the Sky Tower (a futureistic, space needly type structure) was clearly illuminated outside our bedrrom window. I had made reservations for us that night at The Observatory Restaurant on the top floor.

The setting could not have been more breathtaking or romantic.With the city twinkeling below us, we dined on king prawns, oysters on the half shell, baked salmon and beef medalions and toasted our accomplishment of surviving through it all together with a couple bottles of a local Shiraz (although the 360 views and the lovely, smilling lady accross from me were intoxicating enough). After dinner, we descended one floor to the observation deck.

Throughout this trip Radka had asked me several times about when would we see each other next and how would she ever get a visa back to the States. Each time I assured her that if we still wanted to be together at the end of the trip, we would make it happen. So, feeling even stronger about each other than we did at the beginning of the trip and secure in the knowledge that we can survive and overcome almost any obstacle, from the top of the tallest building in the Southern hemisphere... I proposed to her and she said 'Yes'.

So there it is...your fairy tale ending to a story book adventure. I could go on but it's all really minor details after that. And so as one voyage ends, another begins.
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i stil have a bit of time left on the computer here so here, with appologies to Harpers, is the "Trip Index"

307 - total number of days
7,368 - hours spent together without killing each other
35,000+ - miles covered
12 - countries touched down in
55 - number of different guest houses
2 - number of quality hotels
3 - friends houses
1 - number of succesful robbery attempts (Radka had some cash nicked in Sri Lanka)
1 - number of unsuccesful attempts (caught a guy with his hand in my pocket in line for a train ticket. I managed to grab him by the neck but I was at the front of the queue and had to let go)
17 - number of languages encountered
10 - guide books used
8 - religions encountered
2 - episodes of food poisoning endured
20 - novels read
1- Tsunami
4 - nights spent sleeping in airports (or their parking lots.)
Countless - trains, planes, busses, bemos, ferries, cyclos, songthaews, tuk tuks (and two cammels)
1- Marriage proposal