Fate delays my daughter's flight from Jakarta so she can arrive at the right time to help a man find his wallet at the Beijing Airport

From where I sit On The Kowch, I believe in fate. This is a story of Chinese bureaucracy in Jakarta, Indonesia and reuniting a man from Korea with his lost wallet at the Beijing Airport.

The story unfolds as my daughter, Melissa-Dawn prepares to leave Jakarta, Indonesia for China over the long weekend.

The trip is from Jakarta to a city in China with a connection to Beijing to catch a flight to Mongolia.  Melissa was heading to Mongolia to meet her friend Stacey for a month of travel and eventual ride on the Mongolian Express to Moscow.

However, there is a visa issue. She would arrive in one terminal but have to go to another terminal to catch her flight to Beijing. Its like going from Terminal One at Pearson Airport in Toronto to Terminal Three.

But the Chinese say to move from one terminal to another is like leaving the airport and to do that you need a visa to enter the country. Totally insane but they wouldn't let Melissa on her flight.

The next day she made arrangements to fly direct from Jakarta to Beijing leaving two days later. But that meant hanging out in Jakarta for an extra two days. So she set up shop at the Crown Plaza in Jakarta with free wifi ... fluffy pillows and a hot shower. After months of living in $20 a night guest houses this was a nice way to catch up on her sleep in luxury.

The trip to Beijing was uneventful. She arrived at the airport and prepared to start the 20-hour wait for her connecting flight to Mongolia. She laid claim to a reclining chair that would allow her to catch some sleep, read a book and watch some videos on her laptop.

That's when she spotted a man's wallet on the floor by the chair.

She picked it up and brought it to a woman in security. Then she went back to her chair where she spotted a man almost in tears. She quickly put two and two together and asked if he had lost his wallet.

Sure enough, he was the man. He was from Korea. This was his first trip outside Korea and he was freaking out over the loss of his wallet.

Melissa took him to the security office where he was reunited with his wallet.

The point of the story is if Melissa had not run into visa problems she would not have been at the Beijing Airport on that day to find the wallet. Who knows what might have happened to that wallet.

From where I sit On The Kowch, Fate delayed Melissa's departure from Jakarta to bring her to the Beijing Airport at the right moment to help a complete stranger find his wallet.

Safe travels Melissa. Have a great time with Stacey and the Yaks in Mongolia. Don't forget to buy my hat! Love you ... dad xoxoxoxo

Steve Kowch is a former newstalk radio program director and news director

Contact: steve@kowchmedia.com

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