Posted on KnowMoreChris.com, Chris Lam’s Blog.

It’s in year 2000, just couldn’t remember what the exact date is… I was enrolled into my secondary school’s 10 days Australia Exchange program. Just to say it, like, the group was supposed to depart for Australia on Monday, but what was happened to me was that I felt really sick and got fever on that day… While everyone including my parents and the teachers was asking me to cancel the trip, I’ve made a really challenging decision: Let everyone go first and I’ll fly to Australia on my own to catch them up.

My parents argued a lot about this but eventually just let me go. My fever went down the another day and so I enroute on the way to Brisbane, Australia- but not directly, I had to transit in Sydney.

Thanks for the fact that I’m still young enough for the airline (Qantas) to take special care on me, I had to follow their crew all the time and things worked well during my flight from HK to Sydney. The flight was boring though: you know at that time iPod was not really that a common gadget and only old-school stuffs was with me: like a discman… I was watching the ever replaying inflight movies, listen CDs but really did a few chat with my neighbours – wondered by I’m flying alone.

After 10 hours of flight I was at Sydney- where a little nightmare happened. As I had to transit to another flight to Brisbane- in a rather large Sydney International airport, I had to grab my baggage along with me, took transit bus to another side of the airport, and report to the ground crew – all on my own, the service was not really good over in Aussie. Then I was instructed to wait for the next flight at a small room, filled with toys and two kids as I can remember, within the staff area. Obviously the room is for either lost childrens or other childs who fly alone, too. I was sitting aside at a corner seat and then it’s waiting and waiting… Like for about 5 or 6 hours, no drinks, no food… The feeling was like the crew was forgotten about me and I’m gonna be there forever. Things was stirred when my parents finally able to had contact with me… I told them my situation and they then had called the airline to complain… They’re finally able to have someone to come to me and buy me a meal to eat and my flight to Brisbane was finally there for me.

Can’t imagine what would happen if my parents couldn’t call me… Maybe I’d be lost in Australia and live in Sydney airport for long.

Finally got on to the flight for Brisbane, the was a tiny plane and I sat with an Aussie couple. Again they’re wondered that I’m flying alone and I’ve told them everything had happened to me. It was really awful as they could feel.

After the awful long route, I could finally reunion with the rest of the group of students… I was treated like a special one and had them asked what happened to me.

I then enjoyed the rest of the Australia trip, “planted” my roots for my future return to Australia and back to Hong Kong after 10 days. When I could finally see my parents again, the feeling was really like, umm, kinda like I’ve been cast away for a lengthy time, and everyone cried (except me!)