As always I feel an urge to know where I need to be ahead of time so I left the international terminal. I should have stayed in a lounge for a hour or two. The lounge with a spa sounds like it would have been nice.
I left the terminal and was on the street. I had no idea where I was or where to go and I panicked. Signs on the door said I could not enter the way I came out and the shuttle I expected to take said they only allow passengers using a certain airline, not the one I was going to. I paid for 1 day of roaming internet through my Canadian phone company(in hindsight, considering the amount of use, it was worth it). I used the internet access to get a map of where I needed to be. Unfortunately, they have a street named “Terminal 2 entrance” around the corner. I was looking for the terminal 2 entrance, but not the street with the same name. And oddly enough, the terminal 2 entrance is not on the terminal 2 entrance road.
I walked outside in the heat for a bit until I realized I was at the wrong place. I used google streetview to find what I believe looked like a normal terminal entrance for departures. I walked for another 10 minutes and converted some money along the way. I was still hot because I was wearing pants, carrying luggage and had 2 jackets with me. I went to the check in area. The website where I bought the ticket had already checked me in so now I only had to pass security and get to my gate. I also wanted to do some last minute shopping and get refreshments while I was waiting. I was so early, the security person checking the tickets to allow people into the security area said I could only enter at noon when it was closer to boarding time. So I sat in a waiting area. I chatted online for a little while updating people on my status. I then moved to another waiting area and did the same. By this time my phone had not been charged in a few days and I moved over to a waiting area with phone charging.
Finally around noon my phone was charged and I went through security. The gate area was pretty crowded. I can see why they didn’t want me in there too early. I sat down and the exhaustion got to me. I sat around for a few hours trying to keep awake. In the last hour I managed to find an empty stall in a bathroom and change into shorts. I also got some water and snacks to help me stay awake until boarding.
Boarding came soon enough and I got on the plane. This was the first flight where I had someone sitting next to me. It was no frills. No in flight entertainment, but you could access wifi. The flight lasted an hour and I got to my destination safe and sound. What an exhausting 2 days!