Istanbul, sans Waragi (Part 1)

I made it to Istanbul, but not without a series of twists and turns (and sprints).

My flight out of Addis was set for 11:30pm on May 3, about 8 hours after the rest of the team was heading back to the US. I decided to go to the airport with them to relax, read and write a few emails. Well, I soon realized that I didn't have any birr (money) and the internet cafe didn't take a credit card. Nor did the regular cafe. Or the restaurants. Sweet. After going through customs at 5:30pm, I found a duty free shop that took Visa, so I got a bag of M&Ms to last until dinner on the flight. So after breakfast at 9am, the only thing I had was a bag of M&Ms and water.

I finished my book and headed to the gate at 9pm to check in and get ready for the flight. Or so I thought. The flight was now delayed 2.5 hours until 2am. My first thought was, "crap, I can't eat until 2am." My second thought was, "crap, my layover in Paris is only three hours. It better not be later than 2am."

During that the 2.5 hr delay, a Turkish Airlines flight arrived, unloaded its passengers, picked up new passengers and departed for Istanbul. Damn it.

We were served dinner at 3:30am (finally), but I accidentally ordered a lasagne, which was awful. So I ate half. The rest of the flight was fine, but it seemed to take forever. I just kept thinking about the quick transition I was going to have to make in Paris.

We arrived in Paris at 9am. My flight to Istanbul was set for 9:55am...so I needed to hurry. I found an airport employee and told her of my situation. She got me to the front of the line, so I could find my next gate. I got to the main part of the terminal and learned that my next flight was on the EXACT opposite side of the airport. F. 48. That's terminal F, gate 48. I was at A38. It was now 9:12am. I hadn't yet realized that this was just the start of my problems.

After getting to the main section of the terminal, I looked around for transportation to the new gate. The only option was a bus that comes every 20 minutes and it had JUST left. WHY IS MY ONLY OPTION A BUS?!? WHO DESIGNED THIS AIRPORT?!? So my choices were: a) wait 20 min for the next bus or b) run. I opted for B.

I asked for directions, half-listened and took off. In the wrong direction.
It was now 9:16am.