This post is a year too late.
Too many experiences left un-jotted, and when they are revisited, gee, what a difference it made.
It was May 2008.
An impromptu trip that fulfilled one of my life-long wish.
There was barely any time left for any planning, and it was almost just pack and go for me. Nonetheless, it was an experience that made me feel alive, and cost me a great deal of damage to the vocal chords.
The craziest bit was perhaps how I managed to be sleepless for many days just to see myself through the trip, and then rush back for a compulsory meeting. It was 3 awesome, amazing days. Met plenty of amazing people, from check-in at Changi, where we met fellow Manchester United fans who shared the same destination, and befriended some Chelsea fans.
Andrew and Edwin were coincidentally sitting right in front of us on board, and I recently wrote about a chanced meeting in the lift where I realised Edwin works in the same building as I do.
The Russian family seated behind us was more than helpful with giving us advices, and we felt the friendliness of the Russians as we set off to our destination.
On board, I wrote. And reading back what I had not re-read for a year, brought back the vivid memories.
5228 – For that’s the distance, in miles, that separated me from my destination this morning.
I managed to use the terminal at Gate E24 10 minutes before take-off, and thus, the hasty 2 sentences. Unfortunately, I forgot my password, or else I could have added pictures by blogging from my notebook, instead of the airport’s desktop.
And at this moment, I am grazing above the shores of Caspian Sea, and despite the altitude of 34801ft, I could vaguely see the green waters in the midst of earth beneath the fluffy clouds.
We are now cutting through the land to the other side of the sea. It will be a while more before we once again hover above the Caspian Sea, and as we get to the other side of the land, it is where I will be for the next 3 days.
As I chose to watch the flight path over the endless movies on KrisWorld, it provides me with great sense of… what’s the word? No, there’s no word for an adult like me with an excitement of a ten year-old.
Half an hour ago, when I was roused awake from my nap, I was anticipating the plane to fly above the Caspian Sea as I followed the flight path closely.
Now, I will be touching down in 2 hours’ time, and the glee in me has yet to be subsided. It is like an adventure I have been waiting for, looking forward to, the longest time. Just that this time, it was a moment of insanity and irrationality (not forgetting, impromptu-ness) that are bringing me where I am heading.
At this point, I have no regrets. And it is moments for me to relive over and over again, even though I have yet to touch down in a mysterious country that certainly charms.
We have flown above countries with names I never knew existed, and I saw snow-capped mountains when the sky didn’t blind me when I opened the window.
And now, as I once again lifted the window, I could see the sea of green out there, and that’s the beauty of Caspian Sea greeting me.
(Oh, and did I mention about the sudden bout of turbulence at this moment?)
We grazed Pakistan, Ahfganistan, India, Turkmenistan… and the landscape is gorgeous as it reminds me of my geography text back in secondary school days.
For frequent traveller, it may be nothing new. The last time I had travelled long distance to UK, my language ability didn’t get me far enough to want to document each and every single step of my journey.
Since then, I never quite travelled far enough to feel the same way again.
Perhaps I did manage to recover some of those old feelings I so desperately search for in recent days.
And oh, did I mention the other part of all these, that I enjoyed most? In this flight, we made friends with a banker, a lawyer, an Australian, and a couple of Russians. We even chatted with the air stewards(oh, for those who are curious, they are nice people.. Uhm, you get what I mean? Cough. Nice.. not cough, cute).
All thanks to the banker who dressed up to the occasion and provided some sort of “direction” for us to head.
They are great company and making friends with strangers like this, is simply awesome. Listening to their stories, and having a piece of home close to you.
And I ain’t gonna miss letting that feeling slip by me again.
So I am glad, that I just spent the last 15 minutes, jotting this down on the plane, for it will be one for me to remember, and no one else.
And now as my meal is served, I wish I can get to use the damn loo for I need to pee badly. But now, let me figure out how to squeeze myself out when the seatbelt sign is on, and that there is food on the tray.
Will load this as soon as I manage to get to somewhere.
Love,
Ting (6.24pm Singapore Time)
Normal
Chapter 2
I could now see scattered households, winding rivers, roads, green fields, and factions of lands in different hues.
Very pretty.
And those shadows of the clouds. Shades to some others, but just a mere patch of shadows from where I see them.
Cotton candies in the sky,
I am now an hour away from my destination, and quite nicely, I have a very nostalgic album playing on KrisWorld – Robbie ” Sexy Williams” with his greatest hits, which are essentially what I listened to everyday 10 years ago.
Oh, guess what I just saw? A trail left by another plane many feet beneath us. As I traced the source, I saw another carrier stacking just beneath us a distance away. Amazing. I tried to get a closer look, and I just hit my head against the window, clumsy as always.
Russia is now beneath me, as we are above somewhere…. somewhere… somewhere… like towards Lipetsk.
And Moscow isn’t too far away.
I just had another nice meal onboard though I feel I am seriously overeating. It sucks when you are travelling with someone who doesn’t eat much, and reminded that our last meal was barely 3 hours ago, not forgetting how I chomped down Famous Amos cookies and potato chips just after that.
What can I say? I love aircraft food, and eye-candies, if any.
Woooohoo. The plane is doing a swerve in the sky.
“No regrets. They don’t work. No regrets now, they only hurt.”
I can’t believe how 8+ hours ago, I was skipping around Terminal 2, getting all hyped about getting on the plane again.
I can’t believe how I was just offered the chance less than a week ago, and within a week, an air ticket was promptly bought, and a visa quickly processed.
As I took in the magnificent view of everything out there, and just ravel in its beauty, I am reminded of just how big the world it is out there. A world I almost forgotten. And one I know I would soon take for granted, should I have the chance to travel again some time soon.
45 minutes more and I once again, will have to go through the anxiety of the plane touching down. The nervousness seems to bug me whenever I am flying, as much as I love flying.
And I am missing my baby. I kissed her goodbye this morning, and it sucks I didn’t manage to bid her goodnight last night.
I guess to me, this trip is fulfilling for many reasons not many could comprehend.
And don’t ask me why I am so freaking emo over this trip, don’t ask me why I am emo-fying this trip. I really have no idea.
It is strange enough that every movie on KrisWorld brings me close to tears.
It is just funny that as we get ready to touch down in 40 minutes, the lady on the next row who was sleeping across 3 seats, is now glamorously dressed in her green uniform, and the “uncle” I thought was with some old guy(who struck a conversation with me, asking me where I am heading), is now in a nice, crisp shirt…. well, apparently, they are on shifts, I think. Cos this plane upon touching down, continues on to Houston. And oh, the old guy is an air steward too (gulp!).
No wonder we were wondering why so many well made-up chicks from, which the guys were talking about.
Unfortunately for me, there isn’t much to look at. Hahaha.
Though the guys were jokingly saying if I ever can’t get a seat back from Moscow, I could always switch roles with one of the crew members (who are flying back on Thursday evening, which coincidentally is the flight I would rather get on, instead of the morning one), and get her to fly back on my behalf, and I will do high-class waitressing for her.
Okay, my company for the trip is complaining I write too much words, so I will try to litter with as many pictures as I can in these posts, soon!
Oh, we are now above Lipetsk and is 31 minutes from our destination.
Love,
Ting(7.46pm Singapore Time)
I have always loved Singapore Airlines, and it must have been a long, long time, since I last travelled with them.
And though there is one quality chick serving us, I am awfully puzzled why some of my most gorgeous friends with brilliant personality didn’t manage to get through those daunting selection process to be part of the crew.
And of course, where have all the cute guys gone?!
Oh, the lady is now back in her seat with the signature bun! So impressive!
And now the captain has just announced we will be descending pretty swiftly, so I have to end this abruptly.
Wheeeee Moscow, here I come.
Strangely, the weather is pretty warm so I guess the winter coat is not quite necessary.
But maybe I will still need it with me “hiao-ly” in a tube dress.
I think I now know where the cute guys(unverified, cos they are the air crew, which I haven’t laid… my eyes on) are seated. So as I go lay… my eyes on them, I have to end this, with my ears blocked.
Finally. Touched down in Moscow Domodedovo International Airport. And Ming’s friend hosted us during my short stay, and brought us out for dinner.
I only managed to try the horse meat and cow’s tongue and the traditional Russian drink (and that means mixed with vodka, though I was assured it contained less than 1% of alcohol or something), before I blacked out in the restaurant and the chauffeur had to cut my evening short and send me back to their place.
Don’t doubt the charms of Moscow. It was grey during the days I was there and it reminded me of London. Damp, gloomy, yet with this rustic hue that makes the place utterly lovely.
The authentic Russian restaurant is one Putin frequents (I was too drunk to see whether he was there), but even before the borscht was served, I was already staggering out of the restaurant, unable to even see my steps as I only saw patches of black.
By the time I reached back to the accomodation, it was slowly getting dark, and I was getting a little more sober. I was the only person in the entire building and quite frankly I was quite the scaredy cat to be alone.
Thankfully it was long daytime in Moscow, and the fact that the armed guards are just opposite from where I was (I tried make conversation in their post, but the language barrier made it impossible) eased me up a little.
I have never seen a place as big as this, and it was beautiful with a big park where the ponies roamed. The pictures were taken close to 10pm, and it was still bright and nice.
And this was what I wrote in my room, concluding my first day of rendevous with Russia:
Chapter 3
The descend was a rocky one, and probably the shakiest I ever remember. But despite of the wind, the touchdown was one that was executed meticulously.
And I needed to be pinched to be convinced that, indeed, here I am, in Moscow.
Moscow gets dark only after 10pm, and by 5am, the first signs of light will seep through.
My first day in Moscow was a brief one. We were picked up from the airport by Lera, and were transported by an armoured vehicle to pick up our host, Daniel, before we headed for dinner.
The peak hour traffic was horrid, and Lera gave us brilliant accounts of the history behind some of the buildings.
Moscow is a quaint city. It is nice, like everyone says it to be, yet somehow, there is a certain coldness about it that lacks intimacy. Or maybe the weather that mimics London’s has something to do with it. It is not very European-ish, and actually reminds me a great deal of my hometown. More orderly and gorgeous, of course, with a style not seen anywhere else I had been.
But I actually do like the city. Maybe cos it reminds me of London. The people weren’t unfriendly as people made them out to be, despite the fact that they could be really racist.
We went for dinner at this uppity place near the residential area of Moscow, where Putin is a regular.
The hosts toasted us and I finished the small cup of drink which they told me has less than 0.01% of alcohol in it.
I held my breath as I took all I have in my guts to try the Cow’s tongue(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!! It’s spongey!) and dried horse meat (!!!!!!!!!!! It tastes like reeeeaaally weird).
At the end of it, I proudly declared… “I SURVIVED RUSSIA!” or rather, the food.
However, I was started to be really unwell and my vision started to blur.
And those who know me well would probably know what had happened.
That little cup of drink had K-Oed me, and I felt so unwell that I had to stumble out of the restaurant with the help of the guys(I couldn’t see at all!), packed into the car, and headed straight back to my accommodation.
It was perhaps 8 plus or 9pm by then, and my first night in Moscow had ended prematurely.
