Of airports, airplanes and distant lands ...

I have never thought that airports, airplanes and distant lands are meeting places for long lost friends and acquaintances. But, it has occurred enough times for me to think that, people are travelling more for vacations or more jobs involve travelling or life is just full of coincidences.

Just this Monday, I met a varsity friend at KLIA who happened to be catching the same flight as me to Bangkok. I have not seen him since CNY this year and just over last weekend; we were supposed to contact him for a reunion dinner but somehow missed him out in the end. A couple of months back, while waiting for my flight from Penang Airport, I bumped into my junior from varsity who was also flying back from a job in Penang. I have not seen her since graduation, which is quite a few years ago. We did have a good chat at the airport café and managed to catch up with each other’s life while waiting for our return flight.

Sometime early this year, I was getting on a flight to Singapore. As I was about to take a seat in the plane, I noticed this lady sitting behind me and guess what?! She was my ex-colleague whom I last met a few years back. Then there was this time, I was in transit in Bangkok Airport. And who did I bump into? None other than a long lost cousin whom I last met in 1990. My goodness …

Going further back, I was backpacking with a friend in South Africa in 2002. One night, while we were having dinner at a restaurant in V&A Wharf in Capetown, one guy walked up to me and asked, “Are you from Batu Gajah?” I looked up in shock ~ I mean, he didn’t ask if I was from Malaysia; he did not ask if I came from Kuala Lumpur; but he could pin down my hometown! Finally, I discovered that he is a good friend of my classmate and the last we met was in high school!!! Now, the fact that he could still recognise me pleased me no end. Ha ha ha … I must still look that young. :p

And one other incident was in 1996. I was backpacking in UK then and visiting Cambridge where my cousin was studying. As my aunt drove past King’s College, I suddenly saw a familiar figure walking on the college grounds. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. To satisfy my curiousity, we gave chase and I called out his name. True enough, it was my junior from varsity. Turned out he was also backpacking with a group of friends but everyone had left by then and he just wanted to stay on for a last visit to Cambridge. Now, how’s that for coincidences?