Travel Journal (Part 1) - Singapore to Narita Airport, Tokyo, Japan

17 Dec 2005

I couldn't believe it but the day finally came - the day I would leave for a trip that would last a lifetime, the first ever trip I would embark upon alone. Plans were to visit Honolulu (a choice made at the very last minute), New York, Montréal, Québec City and back to New York before returning home to Singapore. This travel journal, though long overdue (because my computer went down the day I got back :P ), will record the events and thoughts that occured during the trip, both memorable and some I would most like to forget forever. They will be based on my own memory as well as journal entries I wrote down in my little book I brought along to write with.

First on the list was the most important of things that I should have taken care of much earlier - how to get to Changi Airport from home and arrive there at around 4.30 in the morning. Moreover, my whole family had insisted that they wanted to see me off. I was very touched. And the thing is, I only finished packing for the trip the night before leaving, having been to camp during the day to see if I had any unfinished work to finish before leaving for about 3 weeks. I could hardly sleep after that but I did and I got about an hour's worth before I was rather suddenly woken up by my Dad's voice in the middle of the morning at 3: "How are we going to get to the airport?" I thought of calling the cab down but my Dad insisted that we could easily get a cab just across the road. We did get cabs within 5 minutes of waiting and then we were off... My heart was just racing like mad and when I saw the Control Tower of Changi Airport loom before me in the cab, I couldn't contain my excitement. I started smiling like a lunatic. :P

Upon arrival at the United Airlines Check-In booths, I found out that it was already pretty full and that only United and I think Emirates was open that early in the morning. Being the eager beaver that I was, I promptly queued in line with my huge haversack and my smaller bag and was asked a few protocol security questions by a nice lady. Having entered another queue to receive my actual tickets however posed a problem - they wanted me to supply the address I was going to stay at in Honolulu. I was damn scared that I actually perspired. I tried calling my buddy whom I was going to meet there but his phone didn't respond. So I messaged him instead and he replied with his home address less than a minute later... PHEW!!! :) Thanks bud!

After I checked in the bigger haversack and promptly got my tickets, I felt damn hungry so we stopped by Burger King to have a really really early breakfast. This time however, my appetite was kinda bad because I started having fears of flying all of a sudden. The thought of being up in the air with practically nothing under my feet except for the plane floor and that frightening feeling one gets when the plane lifts off and lands all culminated in me confiding in my Mom that I was really really scared out of my wits that I even started to shiver in fright. My Mom then reassured me that nothing would happen and after seeing my youngest bro's cute face, I was calm once again... :)

With a face as cute as that, how can one remain frightened of the prospect of having nothing under your feet for the next 10 hours or so? :P

Soon, it was time for me to board the plane as the gates for the plane started to allow passengers to board. Before that, we went to wander around at the Viewing Hall to try and spot the United plane and just to see the planes lift off, so as to calm my nerves. A last photo with the family and then I was off to the departure gate.

A very happy family indeed in the early hours of the morn. Amazing.

At the departure gate, I hugged all my siblings and kissed the hands of my parents. Then suddenly tears started forming out of nowhere. I couldn't believe how emotional I was becoming - and this was just for a holiday in the States! Imagine if I had gone to study overseas - I would have been a wreck in the airport! Then my Sis started crying as well and my tears just became more worse.

When I finally got through the gates after they checked my passport and my tickets, I bade a final goodbye to my family, quickly wiped off the tears (!) and swiftly proceeded to Gate C20. Changi Airport is a really really cool place to linger around in. The shops I saw on the way to the gate were pretty fascinating and they even had a McDonald's within Departures Area! :) Really cool... But I was really kinda too nervous to grab fries or anything so I just went to the gate and waited for my class of seats to be announced. About half an hour later, I was able to board and thus, began the journey of a lifetime: my first ever plane ride alone and to the States for that matter! :)

I prepared myself for the take off. It wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be. True, the speeding got my heart racing but once the plane flew, I felt at ease again. I kept telling myself that a plane ride was just like riding a bus. In a way it is. And it is because of this that I can happily smile and write on the plane, high above the clouds.

Flying past the Philippines, close to Kaohsiung...

17 Dec 2005, 4.15pm, Tokyo Time

As I sit at Gate 42, awaiting for boarding to begin on my NRT->HNL flight, the sun lies low on the horizon. It is roughly 4.15pm, Tokyo time and already the sun is about to set.

The waiting area in Narita Airport - it's so so clean! I've never seen a place cleaner than this! :) And the seats are very comfortable too!

The plane ride from Singapore to Narita, Tokyo was interesting to say the least. 95% of the air stewardesses on the flight were Japanese and they were all so kawaii! :) Managed to watch 3 whole movies throughout the whole flight - "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit", "Ice Age" and "Fantastic 4". All would have been perfect if not for the fact that since I had asked for Muslim meals, I received Nasi Lemak for my breakfast on the plane. And it was pretty horrid too. But since I was hungry, I galloped it all up. Then, I left my plastic spoon jutting out of my meal box. By luck, my hand would suddenly come down rather violently on the spoon and I created a small mess on my jeans and my shirt. Very visibly stained since a lot of oil goes into the preparation of Nasi Lemak. That was so unfortunate - I was very very embarassed. The flight stewardess saw it and so did the passenger who sat next to me. So... DANG!!!

And when I arrived at Narita Airport, I felt so so lost. I was going to board a plane to connect to Honolulu. The Japanese lady at the International Connections area wrongly pointed me to the direction I was to take. I was supposed to join the queue but she pointed me towards Domestic Connections instead. That was very exasperating. Then, the security check has to be the most embarassing thing ever. Before I put my bag in the conveyer belt, my passport slipped and all my air tickets fell out onto the floor. Then, after passing through the metal detector doorm it beeped. I promptly pointed out that it was my buckle on my belt, but she asked instead for me to remove my shoes and to take my belt off in public. There were tons fo people behind me but I did it anyway. Then with my socks on, she asked me to step through the metal detector door again. And after that, she asked whether she could pit my shoes through the metal detector. That was so embarassing!!! Esp with my unfortunately soiled shirt!!! DANG!!! I guess it's a ritualistic thing to have first-time travellers to be embarassed so severely!!! :P

The beginning of sunset at the airport. That's my plane to Honolulu!!! :)


Playing around with the sepia filter that came with the camera...

It's 5pm now (Tokyo time) and the sun has fully set. It's a lovely and amazing sight. Hopefully, tomorrow morning when I reach Honolulu, would fare much much better. I really hope it does.

Sunset @ the airport. Stunningly beautiful sight - I've never seen the evening sky so clearly delineated by 3 different colours! :) Later in Montréal, I will even see a pink sky during sunset!!! :)