Day 19, Prague airport.
I suspect some things may just never
come easy. Saying goodbye to Z and Lora has to be pretty close to the
top of that list. The 2 days I've had to reset back in Prague after
the States has done wonders to break up this assignment, but is also
serves as a painful reminder of all that I'm missing on the road.
It's pretty intense that, as someone who has usually had a pretty easy
time bidding farewell, I can't help but feel like a sobbing mess
inside when it comes to my own flesh and blood. Such, I have learned,
is the bond of parenthood.
To compound the emotions, the timing of
my arrival in Bangkok couldn't have come at a more precarious time.
As of two days ago, the Thai military has declared Martial Law in a
coup designed to overthrow the government, which appears to have been
successful. What exactly will be waiting for me, along with the Thai
people, remains to be seen. Curfews have been imposed on all
citizens, and all schools have been declared closed at the time of
this entry. The nervous curiosity tingles through my body as I begin
to wonder how this will all play out.
And in a true stroke of
truth-is-stranger-than-fiction, my subsequent destinations do little
more to soothe a wary soul. Qatar, located smack dab in the middle of
an area in the Middle East that continues to be affected by some
deadly respiratory disease, MERS, will be my next, and longest stop.
Then assuming I get through Bangkok and Doha OK, I just hope
Guangzhou will be far enough removed from the terrorist attacks in
China that claimed the lives of almost 40 people less than a week
ago. The carrots at the end of the stick are a day in Singapore and a
weekend in Madrid before I see myself finally return home.
26 more days, and an infinite
kaleidoscope of the unknown between this airport and home.
