Old Habits

LAX, International Terminal, Box’o’Sushi, Connecting Flight to Taiwan …

Old habits die hard.

Yes, I’m back into international business travel. Rather than going to new haunts in Germany I’m heading to familiar territory: Taipei. I haven’t been back to Taiwan in four years. My last trip involved a trade show, a vacation and a typhoon. This trip is to the same trade show, with (hopefully) no typhoon and little time to be a tourist.

And after four years, I still dislike the international terminal at LAX.

LAX is a good place to transition to and from a foreign country, especially one in Asia. You get the lauguages, a little of the food and the hurried feel of any packed street in Tokyo trying to navigate the check-in counter. I’ve never found the international terminal comfortable for an extended layover, so thank goodness I have this one timed just right … long enough to absorb a flight delay in Atlanta, short enough to avoid prolonged exposure to eight countries worth of crying babies in a passenger terminal shaped like an upscale warehouse.

Ok, time to wander through security. See you on the other side of the International Date Line.