A few beauty flying tips from my KL flight.

I used my Elemis bag by Temperley all the way to and from KL... a very "successful" choice!

I'm finally in Kuala Lumpur! It was an incredibly long journey with more than a few things that went topsy turvy - long delays, canceled flights, and rerouting - sounding entirely too much like fiction by the end of it all. There were huge up's and down's but I'll try to spare you the finer points and hit the highlights only.

I'd flown to Chicago on Friday morning and boarded the next plane in time, thanks to wonderful transport people, aka (in my mind, that is), "the wheelchair squad," who were fantastic on every step of the entire trip. After sitting on the tarmac for four hours (I'd already done my DIY facial out of sheer boredom and since my neighbors started talking, it was a fascinating time - very JOLLY, in fact!), the flight was cancelled. I'll just say that I'm glad that *I* didn't have to do the explaining as there was a sea of unhappy passengers, an understatement. There was much drama, including my trying to help a poor Chinese woman who spoke no English, was traveling with some sort of injury, to a mother who was either sick or dying - our sign language was failing us - and no cell phone. We were glued at the hips for a few hours as I tried to contact her family on my cellphone and I think she wanted to share a hotel room since she kept telling everyone we encountered - in sign language, that is - that we were traveling together and I had to explain what was really going on. Helpful I am, but sharing a hotel room, I thought, would have been too much. (She was given her own room, I'm not a heel!) And can you imagine just how much sign language would have been needed when I whipped out all my meds? I'm not sure any kind of language could ever have explained that! Insomnia woman here - me! - managed to fall asleep for an hour or two when someone tapping on my door at 4AM awakened me and then that was it: no way of falling asleep again.

Things started to go a bit sour Saturday morning, when, as I was about to be directed to my gate, I found out that I was going to be sent to KL via Tokyo and Singapore instead of by way of Beijing. I was now on an even longer flight with an extra stop, coming into KL Monday morning. Bear in mind that I was originally to arrive in KL on Saturday night, so I was beginning to think this whole trip would never even begin, especially after sitting on the tarmac for three hours on Saturday. At one point it even looked like they were going to cancel the flight on Saturday, too, when there was a hiccup with the radar, and I seriously considered turning around and flying home, wondering if the stars were trying to tell me something, like "stay at home, you crazy woman!"

I must say, this post is starting to sound suspiciously close to the "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" assignments in grade school we all had each fall, though I don't remember DIY facials and alcohol being part of the equation! Ah yes, the booze! I hasten to add that there was no alcohol on my part, since like most of us with CFIDS/ME/fibro I, too, can't tolerate any alcohol, but my fellow passengers imbibed. However, there were MANY moments when I so wished I were part of the soused crowd! To add to the madness, I was again refused water a few times. I was told I could have as much liquor as I wanted though, but that water took up entirely too much room! Despite having a note from my doctor saying I needed to drink a LOT of water, I did not bring it out, feeling that would have sounded too petty and having learned in Chicago, the hard way, that the airlines did NOT like to be told what to do by doctors, a LONG story I'll spare you.

No sleep, as my English (as in "British" vs. English language, though he did speak English too ) fellow passenger and I spent the twelve-hour flight talking. By the time we arrived in Tokyo those from our flight were so late for the connecting flight to Singapore that everyone on this leg of the journey seemed to be angry and grumpy about too many problems and I saw no one talking to anyone. My swollen feet found relief in the wonderful 180 degree sleeping pod - what bliss!

Finally, after a huge lay-over in Singapore, I luckily discovered that the business lounge had shower facilities and they were wonderful. It absolutely KILLED me that I wasn't able to hit the duty-free shops we passed in the motor car - EVERYTHING was there and in massive amounts and I understand it is THE best shopping airport in the world! But back to the business lounge: beautifully but simply decorated, equipped with first-class products (I remember L'Occitane) I was able to wash my hair, change clothes and put on fresh makeup for the last leg of the journey, less than an hour flight.

What I took away from this part of my trip thus far:

1. Keep the TSA and airlines happy, but don't cheat yourself. I almost disregarded the cardinal rule of having a change of clothing with me. Since I wasn't allowed access to my checked-in luggage once my flight was cancelled, it was a good thing that I'd thrown my change of clothing back into my carry-on bag again at the last moment after trying to taper down how much I carried in order to make the TSA happy, not to mention the airlines. I don't think I'll ever forget deodorant on my carry-on again and since I was afraid of the hassle I might have in carrying a syringe with me, all were packed away when I needed to give myself a shot that night in the hotel, a most unfortunate move.

2. Bring along products whose smell you know and like. This actually goes for all products you'll use on the plane. I was ready to gag from the smell of the facial wipes used on this trip. The facial spray was an unfortunate selection, too, since I had men sitting next to me on each leg of the journey and if *I* thought the smell too floral and old-lady-ish, I can't begin to imagine what *they* thought. In the end I used the wipes and spray as infrequently as possible, which sort of defeated the whole purpose of bringing those products in the first place. I'm going back to my water-in-a-can Evian or Avene on my return flight.

3. Be sure to use tried and true beauty products! I'll always pack my Dove and LaMer in my carry-on from now on, which was a good, though unfortunate, lesson for me. I left the Dove in my checked luggage and since my skin hates any other soap, between the starch and hard water washed linens of the airport hotel and unfamiliar soap, my entire body was abraded, red and sore. I threw in a tiny sample of LaMer cream at the last second and should have stuck by it. The valuable space the other serums occupied was huge and they did not hydrate - thank heavens I finally thought to try my LaMer. Healing began as soon as I remembered it. Bioderma, too, did not disappoint and was a lifesaver.

Finally, a note: I've found a way of posting from my iPad...I hope it works. It's a bit frightening hitting the "publish" button and so, a warning: any craziness in typo's, dropped words, convoluted sentences and grammar (more than the usual, that is) can't be fixed from my end, I'm pretty sure, so apologies in advance. I can see/feel my OCD starting in already! :) Eek!