Brendon Gibbens steps up; definitely not his first rodeo.
“Okay guys, here’s the plan: we check in as a group, and I’ll chat to the ticket agent if there’s a problem.” We’re sitting on the floor of Kuala Lumpur International Airport – with 21 boards between the five of us.
Despite BG’s experience, the group tactic was getting us nowhere. The ticket agent dug in. He insisted that boards needed to be ditched, or paid for. Beeg assured him that neither was an option. Eyes locked for what felt like minutes. The pressure mounted, and someone had to crack.
Finally, the check-in agent broke. He clicked his tongue and said something which may or may not have been offensive in Bahasa, but then printed our boarding passes and handed them to Beeg with a forced smile-slash-grimace. This battle was over; but we had not yet won the war.
Surfers will make just about any sacrifice to score good waves. Time, money, comfort… And us Saffas tend to push
