In June 2017 I decided to go to Canada. I've always wanted to go and thought i'd fit right in, with their bears, snow and stereotypical politeness. I booked a trip to Banff for late September, started lists and research, and on the 25th Sept I was on my way.
Monday 25th Sept
I woke up shortly before 5am, tried to get a bit more sleep before my alarm went off at 6:30 but couldn't. Got up to have the last of the pikelets (Which were crap compared to the usual ones) and a cup of tea. At 6:30 I did the last minute packing, had a wash and got ready. The taxi arrived early so I was rushing around like a sweaty orangutan. My mum had kindly put my main suitcase downstairs so I grabbed my rucksack and jumper and went downstairs. It was pissing down. I opened the front door and put the light on to show I was ready. The driver didn't get out, which I thought was strange. I started huffing and folding my arms and gesturing like "I'm ready!". He still didn't get out. I was stressing, I've only seen it in the movies but I thought they put your bags in for you. I hoped he'd at least open the door so I could run in the car because it was pouring it down. I messaged my mum who came down and as soon as she showed herself at the door, he got out and opened the boot. Typical -.-
The taxi ride was crap. At first it was sweating hot, steamed up the windows. After about 10 minutes of me grabbing at my collar and pulling pufferfish faces he put the air conditioning on. He also turned the radio up, which was annoying but at least it was on a talking channel instead of music. After a little while, the radio crackled because we were out of Milton Keynes, he decided to switch to a music channel and christ almighty, loud crap. Lacking the assertiveness skills, I just sat in fury. I put my headphones in, but they blocked no noise. I was planning on tipping him and most of the journey I was hoping I had a proper reason not to. When we finally arrived, he got out of the car (Thanks for parking my door in a big puddle by the way, these are my only shoes) so quickly that I was not out of my seat by the time my suitcase was on the side and he was getting back in the car. Blech. At least he was away so quickly that I didn't have time to give him the £5 note I had crumpled in my hand.
Pretty much immediately after this was security. There were boards and tables showing what's not allowed, and bags for you to put toiletries in. There were no signs to say you need to take your laptop out of your bag/its case, but luckily I had read it on the website beforehand. The queue didn't take too long, but the young guy in front of my had overpacked his toiletries bag (wayyy too much) so it wouldn't close and he had to throw stuff away. I put my jumper and laptop in one box, and my backpack in another. Went through the scanner fine, and then on the other side I picked up my laptop and jumper. Then, BEEP kerchunk. My rucksack was pushed to the side, for them to search properly. It felt a little like when you walk out of a shop when you haven't bought anything, and you need to walk obviously and openly to show you aren't a thief. I went round to the desk and the lady brought my bag over to check. She was actually super nice, talking to me while doing it. I have seen this happen to other people and I was worried because it's always silence and they take every single item out, that you spent months in advance packing in it's exact place. But she showed me the scan picture and it was fascinating to see, they had circled two things in my bag, one was some wires (I had about three chargers in there) and the other I was like... What is that? I didn't even know. She had a look and it turned out to be my iphone portable charger, you know those tube things that you charge in advance so you can top up your phone when out. The people at security were super nice.
Picking up my backpack and moving on to the main area, this was where it was time to WAIT. For bloody ages. It was about 9:30 and my flight wasn't even going to be announced until 12:00. I went to get a snack, drink and magazine and sat watching the planes. I was also pleased to see Netflix worked. (Sign up for the Heathrow Rewards app, you get better wifi)
Fast forward to boarding time. I was right at the back of the plane, so I thought I would be called first. I wasn't. Once I made it to my seat I was mildly horrified to see how tiny they are. The screen is right in your face. I brought my laptop with me to play dvds on, but there was no chance of it fitting. the depth of the chair is really narrow too, if you wanted to put your leg up, like holding your knees, they would just fall off. I went to put my backpack in the overhead storage, only to see there wasn't any for me. The hole above our seats had emergency stuff in like the fire extinguisher. The next one forwards was full of what looked like bags of recycling. Worried, I went to find someone asking if i'm supposed to put it with the emergency stuff. They said put it in any. I said so I'm ok to put it in? They said no, but none are reserved so put it in any on the plane. I thought but the ones further up are for THOSE seats?! I tried to hide it under the chair in front, it turned out this was the better option anyway and I kept it there for the whole journey. Then there was the matter of who was sitting next to me. Oh god please be someone nice. I don't want to damage my organs holding pee because i'm too scared to ask them to move. Sweet little old lady walks towards the back of the plane, please be her please be her. She sits down several rows ahead. Behind her someone tries to get in to another seat. Then behind that person, is a young serial killer looking bloke. Yep, I got the serial killer. He looked like he could be a Breaking Bad villain, only slightly more hipster. I've never seen someone look and act so grumpy. I had this whole fantasy thought through in my head where I'd share my food with the person next to me, shake their hand, to establish some sort of communication so that it's ok for me to ask to get past them. This person literally avoided my eye contact where I was going to say hello, and just sat down. Holy shit. Just kill me now.
About 10 minutes later when the plane was much fuller, he got up and moved seats. I decided not to question why and just keep my fingers crossed he doesn't get told to move back, or someone else doesn't come along. I did that sort of 'make yourself big' posture like we do on trains, to try and put people off. As we got to the safety instructions I thought YES! I'm sitting alone! Perfect! Only the flight was far from perfect. I put the arm rest up and sat uncomfortably cross legged and put Zodiac on. It was a bit boring, I wanted to watch it for John Carroll Lynch and Jimmi Simpson but they weren't the leads. One of the air hostesses reminded me of Barbie from Toy Story 2, she had that tour guide enthusiastic voice. About half way through the 9 hour flight, I started to feel really ill. I had a headache and I was FREEZING. The air was dry and my god, cold. I don't get cold often so it's possible I caught a bug on the plane or at the airport. I started to feel sick as well as headachy too. I had my music on and laid down sideways (This sounds much comfier than it was, remember each seat is like one big butcheek wide) but I didn't feel any better. Towards the end of the journey I was seriously nauseous. I get travel sickness sometimes in the car, but I open the window and breathe the fresh air. I was just soooo cold though. The upbeat air hostess noticed I wasn't doing so well and came over to help me. I said I feel sick. She said what's wrong (I realised 'I feel sick' doesn't mean "i'm gonna vomit" like it does in England, "I feel sick" could be anything from the sniffles to hepatitis) She was so lovely, she brought me water and a couple of cold cloths to use on my forehead and neck. Also a few sick bags just in case. She asked me if I wanted a Canada Dry to help with the nausea, and I didn't quite understand what she was saying. I had never heard of Canada Dry and I heard it like "Canazadri". I said "Is it like a medicine..?" and she showed me it's a ginger drink. I said i'm not sure and she said she'll get me one and i'm welcome to take it out with me if I want.
Time for the plane to land. I put my shoes and seatbelt on and begged my body not to be sick. I was sipping water and the other air hostess said the tray next to me needs to be up, so I had to hold the water in the bumpy landing. Pretty much as the wheels hit the floor, I was sick in the bag. It was only water, but it was like a loud burp and super embarrassing. I wanted to go "Sorry everyone, just water". Reading this back, it sounds hilarious, but you can imagine just how ill I felt at the time.
It took ages to get off the plane. I had hold of another bag just in case it happened again. People avoided my gaze rather than let the sick lady off the plane first *Insert massive eye roll*. I'm dreading the plane back, where I'm likely to be next to someone.
Once off, we had to queue at some sort of interrogation desk. While on the plane, they gave us a complicated looking declaration form. I panicked a little as I thought all this sort of thing was done. I had filled in what I could but left a couple of things blank. The queue took SO long, I kept hunching down by my bags because I was all woozy and still nauseous. I don't know if people kept their distance a little because I looked so ill, or because I was wearing weird pants and they thought I was crazy. Once I got to the desk I told the man (They were all dressed sort of like police) that I'm so sorry there were a few parts I didn't quite understand. He was really lovely and said no problem we can go through it. He helped me understand it and we were chatting, it was actually really nice, made me feel a little bit better. I wondered if he was especially nice person or if this is an example of the Canadian stereotype being true. Once all done I asked where I go and he explained about getting my suitcase, I asked "Is it obvious where I go?" He chuckled and said yes. I thanked him and went a few steps to see it really is plainly obvious, the bag carousel was right there.
The bags were delayed so I went to the toilet. Oh boy, my tummy was not happy. I went for my 'regular' not long before getting on the plane, and it was one of those 'feel lovely afterwards' ones (I even told my friend) but by now my insides were a wreck. I must be ill. I went back to get my bag which was there shortly after, and handed my 'now signed by the nice guy' declaration in to customs. Finally it was time to exit! I walked the long trek to the car hire place and checked in at the desk. I was waiting what felt like a LONG time. I just wanted to go to bed. Headache, sick, exhausted (It was about 4:30pm Canada time but past my bedtime in the UK, not to mention I was up at 5am). Eventually a lady came to get me and take me to the truck. She said she loved my accent and thought I was Australian. We arrived at my truck and I wasn't sure what I was doing, do they show me how to use it? Do we have loads of forms to go through? I was pushed in to paying for the fuel up front and bringing it back empty (which isn't too bad i guess) and not shown how to use it. I pointed to a pedal that I wasn't familiar with and she said it's the handbrake. I was confused. She got in and showed me it, breaking it in the process. Good thing I asked her about it, imagine if I had done that! The pedal wouldn't come back up. Other staff tried, but they gave me a different truck.
I was handed the keys and that was that. I was really overwhelmed at this point. I have never driven an automatic, a truck, on the other side of the road or car. I spent ages inside it trying to work things out. The stick that is normally my windscreen wash in my car, is the park drive gearstick thing in the truck. I rejected the GPS that I had originally wanted, because I wanted to use coordinates instead of general locations. I can't deal with the stress of arriving at a general area and looking for where i'm going. But they said to type an address and I thought I might as well just use my phone then, as I had downloaded alberta maps.
I started my maps and pressed where I wanted to go. However, because I was in an underground car park, the gps wouldn't work... So I couldn't start navigation. I was panicking a little bit as it didn't seem too well signed. I had the phone ready to press go and slowly set off. Found the exit and pressed the brake only for the car to SLAM to a halt. Ok, so the brakes are MUCH more sensitive than my car. I had my windows slightly open and was saying things like "Oh come on Dani, don't be silly" so that the people around knew I was aware of what I was doing and not just an awful driver. Once I had the hang of the brake sensitivity, it was fine. Very strange getting used to this massive Ford as opposed to my tiny Corsa. Phone was on the dashboard and I pressed the navigate button. It didn't do anything. So because it was quiet I pulled over to the side and put my hazards on so people knew to go round me and not wait. Some moron waited behind me. I did a small wave to say sorry while I was trying to get the phone to work. This stupid man still didn't go (There was tons of space) so I put my hand out again and gestured for him to go. Instead of putting his hand up to thank me for making it clear, the cunt got angry. I looked away because I've got more important things to do than pay attention to angry morons. Eventually getting my phone to work, I pressed navigate to my hotel and put it down. I had to use the only USB slot for my phone so I wasn't able to use the usb music I had prepared for the drive. Luckily I had a couple of cd's. I had no idea where I was going, and struggled because my maps wasn't speaking out loud. I had angled it on the dashboard so I could see it a little bit but I found it really difficult to judge which lane I was supposed to be in. I went the wrong way a few times and missed several highway exits but eventually arrived in one piece.
I arrived at the hotel and slowly pulled in to the underground car park. It had a height limit but I was sure I was fine. I went slow so I could make sure. The aerial just about touched the wood bar that showed the limit which was fine. The garage opened and I pulled in to the car park, the spaces aren't the massive american ones I was imagining, which was pretty stressful. About a third of the cars i've seen have been trucks so how does everyone park?
I went up to check in, and was greeted by a really nice lady at reception. She got me checked in and told me where everything is and that reception is 24 hour should I need anything else. I got to my room SO exhausted, desperate to take some medicine and go to bed. But I needed to go and get groceries. I went down to the garage and got in the car. I knew where it was because it was only up the road a bit, but I still put it in my maps just in case the road is hectic and I miss it. I started to exit and the garage door opened, I started pulling out and hear a slight scrape. Oh god, no... I reverse back and try again. I get the car out with the scrape noise, and feel sick thinking I've scratched it, haven't I. Oh God oh God oh God. It was a short but incredibly stressful trek to the shop. I lean up to look but couldn't really tell if I'd done anything because the car was quite dirty. I go in the shop, intending to make a happy vlog for everyone but I started crying. The place was packed, added with how ill I felt, and burned out, and now the stress of the car. I was trying to do my shopping quickly so didn't pay much attention to prices or what I would NEED. I drove back to the hotel and found another car park to put my truck in.
I made one trip to my room to put my shopping away (three carrier bags, rucksack and 2 packs of 12 bottled water, thanks to the other guest who saw me struggling and didn't help 😠)
Still in tears, I went to reception to ask for their opinion and to double check that I hadn't damaged anything in the car park. Karen the receptionist was still there and she came out to look at the garage, which turned out to be fine. Then we went to look at the truck. It was tricky to see because of the dirt but we went up the stairs and you could see a little dent. I cried a lot more then, because I have no idea what you're supposed to do now. I had insurance but I didn't understand it. She took me inside and made me a cup of tea while helping me calm down. She text and phoned people she knows to ask for advice, also her son who owns a truck. Everyone seemed to think it will all be fine because i'm insured. She also reminded me I only scraped the car a bit, I didn't crash it. She gave me her phone number when her shift ended at 9pm, saying she's there if I need her. Karen is a diamond, she helped me so much. I went back to my room still upset but grateful for other people. I washed and went to bed, in pain, jet lagged, uncomfortable. The bed is huge, you have to climb over to get off it. I was however, happy to discover Netflix works!
Tuesday 26th Sept
At 5am I got up and went with a wet cloth to clean the dirt from the truck. I wanted to see the damage. It was still dark so I couldn't really see. I sent emails to my insurance and the rental car place letting them know what I've done so they were aware and could advise if need be. (I got a reply from the hire place which was a little reassuring, I fill out paperwork about what happened and my insurance information, and that should be it unless the insurance people are going to be difficult. They have good reviews though.)
I got out the travel kettle only to discover it wasn't working. Though I remembered Karen from last night, saying they have spare kettles should I need any! (I gave my coffee pot to another guest because theirs was broken)
I did very little today except try to recover from feeling so ill. I had my first bath, but kept my hair up. I had very little toiletries so had to use one of those cheap round hand soaps hotels give you. The bath itself is really nice. It's a jacuzzi but I didn't use the bubbles, just wanted to soak. I had my laptop on the desk with Netflix on, watching Futurama. I had the do not disturb sign on the door today and was pleased that nobody (housekeeping) knocked.
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| View from my bath |
Later in the evening I see on Facebook that Steven Ogg has been announced for Walker Stalker London 2018, which I'm going to. I'm a major fan and it's funny he's been announced now, given he's the reason I am here in Alberta. I would never have even googled Calgary if it weren't for him.
Wednesday 27th Sept
Today I was up super early again. I decided to go to the grocery store again, because I wanted some cereal and to give housekeeping a chance to clean the room while i'm out. It didn't open until 8 so I left at 7:20. It was SO cold out. The sort of cold you feel in your eyeballs. But it was quite nice, breathing the fresh air. I checked on the truck first because it was light enough, and It didn't look as bad as I was expecting it to. I had to climb the stairs to the balcony to be able to see it, so at best the rental place will say it doesn't matter. It's a small cosmetic damage that you can't even see.
I then went back to IGA and arrived 10-15 mins before they opened. There was a one legged sparrow bouncing around outside. I wished I had something to feed it, but I said "I'm sorry birdy all I have is fudge" - I later learned after a google, that it's illegal to feed the wildlife so good thing I didn't. It was much quieter at this time so I was able to look around properly, I even got some footage of the stuff I was buying. I had a lengthy chat with one of the guys that works there about tax, I wasn't sure if it were like America where you have to guess what it'll cost. Also interested to find out that with the plastic milk cartons they add a little extra tax to try and discourage people from using plastic. Strange though that at the checkout they pack for you, in the plastic bags that seem to be free.
On the walk back, I realised that there are a LOT of Chinese people here. And I have seen zero black people. I walk past a Chinese lady who was casually gozzing all over the pavement, disrespectful gross bitch. I got back to the hotel at about 9am, and was miffed to see housekeeping had not been. I thought they'd have finished, because I had the sign on asking for it. I had a really quick cup of cornflakes as for some reason I bought tiny plates instead of bowls. I wasn't disappointed, it's pretty nice to have a cup of cornflakes. If you don't get enough milk on your spoon you can have a little sip.
After I finished my tea, I put my coat on and went out to walk around Banff. It was still quite quiet compared to how seriously busy it would be later, so I browsed in some shops. I bought a few things and went to have a look in Mcdonalds, picked up a paper, but it was still about 20 minutes before they started serving fries. I carried on walking down the road and came to the turning for the trail to Bow Falls.
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| Bow Falls |
Someone outside my window was blasting RHCP's By The Way album. I wasn't even mad until someone started 'singing' it. They kept repeating it too which was infuriating. By 7pm it would have been 2am for me so I was pretty annoyed. Tried closing my window but it doesn't close.
Thursday 28th Sept
I have quite big plan for tomorrow so I didn't want to do too much today. I woke up at my usual crazy early time with a headache, took some tylenol and had tea and cornflakes. Since staying here there has been a train from about 4am every hour or two, which keeps hooting. It's so loud and wakes you up and even shakes the bed. I read that trains here have to use their horn for 15 seconds when approaching a public crossing to warn people.
At about 11:30 I asked the lady who was cleaning next door what time they predict housekeeping will get to my room, she let me know they do the check outs first and I asked what her accent is, turns out she's from Yorkshire! I said I used to live in Harrogate. Seeing another English person here is like seeing a puppy, I feel the need to squee. She predicted after about 2pm so I decided to be out of the room by then, and just go to the shops and get something to eat. It was sweltering outside. I went back in to get my sunglasses and wished I left my coat indoors. It was full blown summer weather, total contrast to yesterday when it was freeeezing. I first went to Dairy Queen, I had never been before and wanted to try it. The people working there were Chinese. I ordered fries and a diet pepsi, turned around to decide where to sit. Of about 20 tables that were occupied, 19 were Chinese families. It isn't a problem (Apart from that disgusting woman gozzing yesterday), just a bizarre observation. I wonder if the big travel agents in China had a special on for Banff. I finished my food and had a wander round the shopping center. I decided to buy some touristy stuff, pen, magnet, pin. I also got a couple of solar dancing figures that I collect in my car.
I wandered further down the high street and arrived at the Museum I was planning on visiting. It's full of taxidermy animals of Banff. I don't really approve of taxidermy but the animals were beautiful, as was the building itself.
I spent ages there, and got back to the hotel at about 4:30 by which time housekeeping had been in. I wrote a note asking my bedsheets to be changed (I know some hotels only tidy the bed) and put $2 out for them, but I was disappointed to see they hadn't done much else. They added a few cups and took the bin, but didn't hoover, replace toiletries or clean the bath. I cleaned the bath and started running one, covered in sweat from the serious heat outside. It was also boiling inside the museum, made worse with a rucksack on.
I had a really nice evening though. I had a lovely bath with some chocolate milk, ate some cheese and ritz with the roast chicken crisps i brought (the food here isn't great and it made my crisps taste even stronger but it's ok) and had a lie down in my fresh bed, for the first time without a headache.
Friday 29th Sept
I woke up at about 6 today which was a nice change. (Still had my usual waking up several times but it was nice not to have a headache) I actually felt quite comfy, makes a big difference to not feel ill, I can appreciate things more. I did have a lot of blood in my nose though, because of the dry air. At 7am I had a cup of tea and a cup of cornflakes, watched an episode of the US Office on Netflix (Nick a lot of the UK Office jokes, don't you?)
I have a helicopter flight today at 11 and the pick up is from my hotel at 10:15. Let's go tick something off the bucket list!
I got back to the hotel at about 4:15pm, wow wow wow. The helicopter tour was amazing. I was sitting next to the pilot! I realised afterwards that because I was taking photos on my phone, I had my camera on my tripod in between my knees, and I was like the copilot holding a tripod instead of a joystick (Is it called a joystick? That doesn't seem right)
After talking to the receptionist (Who I later find out is actually Jamie, the manager!) about my adventure, I decide i'd better go to the hot springs. I'm not really in to that sort of thing, but I wanted to go because in one of the games i've always had on all my computers (Sally's Spa) you can open a spa in Banff. I thought I'd better visit 'my' spa. He recommends getting the bus there, which costs $2 each way. I get my swimming costume, a towel and make sure I have coins for the locker. I sit at the bus stop, which is right outside the hotel. The bus journey was ok, it got a little busy further in the high street (Or 'Downtown' as they'd say)
At the hot springs I came across my first miserable Canadian. I THINK she was Canadian, she didn't say much. The cashier there was a young girl and the least enthusiastic person yet. But it was all good, I was quite happy with how cheap the hot springs seemed. I think it was $7 something entry. I went in to the changing rooms and wasn't sure how it worked. In England we whip our stuff off and put our swimming costume on. There weren't many people in there so I wasn't sure on the etiquette. I got changed quickly, grabbed my sunglasses and phone and went in to the springs. Dear God it was hot. It was only at this point, when the back of my thighs were stinging, that I realised I had some variation of rug burn. Because the bed at the hotel is so big and high, I have to slide my self over and off. Stung like a bastard at first. There was a sign that said it was 39 degrees in there, but it was much hotter in sunlight. The day was like full blown summer. The pool iself though, was reeeeally nice. I took a few pictures then went to put my phone away (Make sure you have spare $s because the locker doesn't give them back) and went back out to just sit. It was a lot nicer than I thought it was going to be. Because I was there at around 2pm it wasn't crazy busy like it was going to be in the evening.
After spending some time in there my blood pressure was way up, heart pounding and I wished I brought water. I thought I'd better get out. Luckily there is a drinking fountain in the changing rooms. There were loads of people getting changed now so I was reassured that I wouldn't offend anyone.
After I got changed (I did so slowly, so my body cooled down and I wasn't sweating in to my clothes) I went upstairs to the cafe here. There was a really nice Chinese lady at the till. On the menu was a few Grilled Cheese varieties, one of which said "Grilled Cheese (No veggies)" I thought hell yes please. I picked up a bottle of diet coke too, which always seems to be better over here. Maybe because they are allowed to use all sorts of weird artificial stuff. I went to sit down and she brought it over. Uh oh. It's brown bread. I TRIED. I took a big bite so at least if I really didn't like it there was a big bite gone so it looks like i was just not very hungry. I couldn't get it down, it was so gross the texture of the 'bits'. I felt a gag coming so I spat it in to my tissue. I had some coke and played some apps that didn't need wifi, thinking about how I didn't want to offend the sweet cashier lady. Eventually I decided to go, luckily there was an area where you could clean up yourself so I put it in the bin, put the basket and tray away and gave her back the ketchup packet I didn't use. She was fine :3
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| I do love a basket |
I got the bus back to the hotel, there was a new receptionist at the desk and I nodded and said hey. I got to the room to see housekeeping had barely done anything again. They put the bedsheets straight (But not the bottom sheet, which is the annoying part as it comes up when you turn over), took the bin and changed the towels. The room was DESPERATE for a hoover, it was so filthy. I've been here for ages now so there's a lot of crumbs fluff and extremely long hair. There were also no new toiletries yet again, no cups replaced, no new tissues in the bathroom, no spare toilet roll and the bath and sinks had not been cleaned. Cleaning the bath is not something I want to be doing when I get back, I want to get straight in :/
I went downstairs because I needed toiletries and toilet roll badly. The new woman on reception sounded Australian. She was a little surprised when I asked for a couple of the bath soaps, face soaps and a toilet roll. She went out the back and came out with one face soap and two of the round hand soaps (Which I used in my first bath and was SO dry) I explained that Jamie gave me a square soap for the bath and she didn't know what I meant. I was disappointed as I was low on that soap and wanted to have a spare for future too. I let her know that housekeeping hadn't done much in the room and things like hoovering were desperate, but I don't think it matters anyway because I'm planning on being in the room during the times housekeeping are around now, until I go.
Saturday 30th Sept
Today I have an evening safari, meeting on the high street at 5:30. Until then I don't want to do a lot. I pop out to the sweet shop and IGA to get starburst and chocolate milk. I had a wander around the shops to see if i could get one of those lumberjack shirts that are everywhere, but they're all thick tops or coats. I saw a perfect one at the helicopter place but it was $60 odd, I regret not buying it now though.
The safari was pretty good. It was mostly the guide, Ronnie that made it good though as we didn't see much. I saw a sheep and some elk. Got a few good pictures though and it was nice to be driven around great views.
Sunday 1st Oct
I'm really miserable this morning. Not just because I'm leaving such a nice place but because I have to go back to just being unhappy alone with mental health problems. I didn't leave these things behind, but at least I was alone and able to look at such nice mountains. I'm crying as I type this. I'm dreading so much. The drive back to the airport, whether the maps on my phone work and I go the right way. The rental car place, what happens with the scratches I made? Will it go smoothly? What about the money they've already taken? They quoted me $900 and something, but $1330ish came out of my bank!! They can't take the proper amount and then refund me that initial deposit because I simply don't have that amount of money in my account. What about the plane? Who will I be sitting next to, and will I be sick again? What about the taxi back? Where do I meet the taxi driver, what if the rental people take too much money again and there's not enough in my bank for the taxi back? (I emailed and asked and they said they will be in arrivals but I don't feel confident still) What about when I get home? Did i leave everything in order? Is Pooky ok?
I had a bath and washed my hair, ordered Dominos which is due at half 4. I couldn't pay by card meaning i'll have to answer the door 😦
Dominos was so good though. I basically had cheese on toast.
Monday 2nd Oct
As you can imagine, it was pretty stressful getting home. The weather was blizzardy, serious snow. I got the truck back fine, though there was one moment of skidding on the motorway but it was quite quiet so recovered fine. I got the truck back to the rental place and started to get upset because all the happiness was over now. No more pretty sights, just insurance stuff, paying, and a long flight home where i'll probably be sitting next to someone.
I went for a wee and approached the counter, asking for a manager. I thought it's better to get their opinion on whether the truck needed dealing with at all. After confusion at the desk and apparently bringing the truck back to the wrong parking space (The lady that gave me the truck just said bring it back to that car park... Didn't tell me there were specific spaces. I put it in one that was owned by that company) she took me down to the car park where a manager was inside. Turns out this was the lady that replied to my email. She was polite but I didn't get good vibes from her. She tried explaining the process to me while the desk lady went to check the truck (Coming back seemingly describing it much worse than it was) but I didn't quite understand. I tried explaining that I cannot pay, that the insurance needs to go directly to them (Whereas sometimes YOU pay and then get it back from the insurance) but she didn't get it. Said that because I did it, I need to deal with it. Missing my point entirely.
She was also asking me what I own, like houses and stuff. I was like mate I have nothing, describing my life. I was pissed off as it didn't sound like she was writing all the information down properly. She misspelled lots of things on the paperwork she gave me, like the email address of my insurance company, which I pointed out. She says she has it right on the system. There was no sense of urgency, making sure she has every detail correct as I wanted no further part of this except an email to say it's all finished. The typos concerned me. As well as them not understanding how it works. She said the truck gets sent to a place that assesses it, then it gets fixed at the garage, then a report is done up and it's emailed to the insurance and me. (Erm, the insurance company works on a proper claims basis not a simple email 'here pay this')
I'm finishing up this blog over a week later on the 10th October, and I STILL haven't heard anything. It's the company Enterprise. Not been impressed.
I got to the airport far too early, as I thought car stuff would take hours. I was waiting around at 12:30 and my flight wasn't until 8:15. I couldn't even check in until 4 hours before the flight. I found some wifi and was messaging my mum and friends to pass the time. I found a nice bench to sit on. There was a Tim Hortons nearby so I went to see what they have, they have an "Artisans grilled cheese" which turned out to be brown bread so I just had a doughnut and cup of tea. It was alright. Like an 'It'll do'.
I moped around a little bit (someone stole my bench seat when I went to get the doughnut) until it was time to check in. I got my boarding pass and put my ticket on my bag. I went over to the bag check and the person pointed me over to what looked like a self checkout. You scan your passport and it takes your bag. I was a little worried but I got my bag back at the other side so it was fine.
Then through security. This time, I took several things out like my kindle, and only packed one phone power pack instead of three. My bag, coat, jumper went through fine but they stopped the bucket that had my laptop in. I had to wait for the previous woman to finish her check before they checked over my laptop. I didn't appreciate it being shaken, the lid is loose as it is. But hey, so long as they know it's not dangerous i suppose.
As I walked on, a cleaning bloke stopped me and said he recognises me. I didn't recognise him, and I decided to go with "Are you a gamer?" Thinking if anything, he'd know me for being the Queen of the Plants. He said no. I did the fake 'conversation filler' chuckle and moved on.
Then on to the international departure area. This was great. There were only three flights on the board so it was pretty quiet. I strolled around a lot looking in the shops and buying things. One place was a chocolate shop which I LOVED. I tried a chocolate orange leaf and asked for 30 more. She thought I said 13. Instead of correct her I just said afterwards I'll have another 10.
I got random bits from the general shop, including some fluffy socks in that red lumberjack pattern. I didn't get a shirt like I wanted to, but at least I have it in socks.
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| Westworld? |
I didn't feel particularly awful by this point. The airport was so nice and chilled out that it helped my anxiety. I sat and read a rubbish magazine to wait until the flight. It was a little awkward because people were queueing for ages even though we're all getting on the same plane and called by zones 1 - 5. I was 3 so it felt like I was pushing in when I went to the front. Weirdos.
Just as we were getting on the flight there were a bunch of police asking everyone how much money they have on them. This seemed really personal so I was vague. I don't want someone trying to get in my bag if I doze off on the plane... I got to my seat eventually and kept my fingers crossed that i'd be sitting alone. I wasn't. Oh how I wasn't. I was sat next to a teenager. One that seemed to think my elbows and arms belonged to him. Christ almighty I wanted to give him a backhander. He was stroppy most of the time and wouldn't shut up talking loudly to his family and singing(!). I didn't get any sleep, he just kept nudging me. At the beginning I put my elbow towards the front of the armrest so that he could be more comfortable sitting normally. He decided he wanted the whole fucking thing. Ok I'll go to the back. Nope still a fidget arse. Fucking hell. eventually I kept as far away from the armrest as I could, thinking I'll probably get BO from my armpits being so squashed but I didn't care any more. This didn't stop him elbowing my sides and not apologising. One time I was finally starting to doze, resting my head on my opposite hand and he elbowed me so hard in my ribs it made me leap up. No sorry. Fuck you bro. I didn't get up once for the toilet during the 8 hour flight. And when the flight attendants went past I pretended to be sleepy so they ignored me. (A tactic learned from my childhood.)
Towards the end of the flight I asked for a cold cloth for my forehead as a distraction from feeling sick. She gave me some sickness tablets too, which I thought may have been a placebo but something helped.
Arriving in Heathrow I felt a little queasy seeing the massive queue. Because I was at the back of the plane, I was the last person off. However that was the queue for international passports, nyah nyah. I went in to the queue that had zero people in and went straight through. It was a trek to get to the baggage area, took so long that the staff had taken all the bags off and left them on the floor for the next lot. I picked it up and went through the empty customs out to arrivals to look for my taxi.
The taxi wasn't there but I was ok with that as I gave myself extra time in case the bags were delayed. After 30 mins though I was exhausted and sat on the floor, struggling to keep my eyes open. I had been awake for far too long. My flight got in at 12 and I eventually found him at 1:30 (It was a guy that had his head down the whole time playing on his phone) He had the cheek to charge me his £7 parking when he wasn't even looking for me or standing where the taxi people were holding up the name signs. I didn't tip him.
I was dopey in the taxi and got home at around 3pm. I wanted food more than anything, it was one of the best tea 'n' toast ever. Oh and Canada was pretty good too.
Click here for the vlog on my trip (New tab)
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