After several hours of frantic packing and squeezing of all the clothes
and belongings into the bags yesterday afternoon, I finally managed to get it
done by 10pm and went to sleep.
6 hours later, at 4am, my handphone alarm rang and I groggily woke up.
After turning off my alarm, I quickly freshened up and had a hasty breakfast of
muffins and water.
At 5.20am, my roommate and I checked the bedroom one last time for
anything we forgot to take. Once we were satisfied that we had left nothing
valuable behind, we left the room and returned the card keys to the front
counter at the lobby.
We waved hello to some of our classmates who had come down earlier and
went out of the hotel with our luggage. Since it was rather early in the
morning, the sky was still dark and the air was very cold- Good thing I wore my
scarf and 2 jackets.
When the buses that would take us to the airport arrived, we packed as
many suitcases as we could into the hold. Those that couldn’t fit in were
stacked on top of each other on the seats in the bus. An unfortunate friend of
mine had to sit on the floor because all the seats were occupied, either by us
or the luggage.
I think the bus ride to the airport took us about half an hour or so.
Some of my classmates took this as an opportunity to use their handphones’
video mode to capture the roads of Tianjin that they would see for the last
time during this trip.
At the airport, we were handed back our passports and tickets so that we
could check-in for the flight. By the time we reached the waiting area, we
realized we had about an hour to kill before our flight at 9.15am.
The area we entered to check in for our flight
In comparison to the waiting area in Singapore’s departure hall, China’s
airport was relatively simple. Although it only had a few shops to purchase
food or souvenirs from (compared with the vast number of shops inside
Singapore’s departure hall), it had full length windows that boasted an
incredible view of the waiting planes that would take us to our intended
destinations.
Mr Wong (on left) and Mr Tan posing for my friend’s camera at the
waiting area
The Scoot aircraft that was going to bring us home! ñññ
After much browsing around, I purchased some biscuits and water
chestnuts to bring home for my family. Just as I left the shop, I saw people
getting up from their seats and queuing up at the counter for our flight and
whence I hastily got in line as well. After giving the ticket to the steward, I
entered the aircraft. It took a while before everyone found their assigned
seats but once we did, we could settle ourselves in comfortably for the
impending flight. Due to certain Air Traffic Control (ATC) issues, our aircraft
took off at about 9.25am.
Marilyn (on left) and Delores posing for a picture!
Truth be told, I think I much rather flights in the morning than flights
late at night. The reason being that I am more alert in the morning and that my
appetite is better. I was very glad to be able to tuck into my chicken stew and
a turkey ham crossiant sandwich without any worries about my stomach.
At about 3.10pm or so, we could finally see land out of the windows and
were glad when the aircraft finally touched down. Some of my classmates clapped
(I joined in with them) while others shook hands. It was very funny; I wonder
how the other passengers in the plane felt to hear a spontaneous applause from
a group of excited Ngee Ann Polytechinc students sitting at the back of the
aircraft.
Since our plane had dropped us off at the furthest end of the Departure
cum Arrival Hall of the airport, it was a long walk for us to get to the
arrival check-out counter. Fortunately, there were travellators for weary
travelers like us, to stand on. While we were on the travellator, I asked some
of my classmates what was the first thing that they wanted to eat when they got
home; Some answered “Home Cooked Food”, “Roti Prata”, “Hor Fun” and even “Tap
Water”.
Checking out of the airport was a breeze with the automatic scanning
machine. Once I came out, I stuffed my hand luggage on a cart and wheeled it
over to the conveyor belt where our luggage would be unloaded on. It took some
time before mine finally came out but when it did, I loaded it on my cart, said my goodbyes to my
classmates and went out of the arrival hall to meet my family, who were waiting
for me.
I was overjoyed to see my parents and sister again and to celebrate my return;
we headed over to Swensen’s for ice cream before going to Terminal 1 to see the
Kinetic Rain display. I must admit that the display is very pretty and I do
like those metal raindrops. Once we finished taking photos, we went to the taxi
stand and took a cab straight home.
Chocolate Cookie Blast and Mango Fancy Sundaes at Swensen’s
At the Kinetic Rain Display with my Sister
Back home, I gave my family members their due presents and unpacked
everything from my suitcase. As a treat, my father bought a packet of my
ABSOLUTE favourite- HOKKIEN MEE!!! Now that really is a delicious way to end
the day!
I think I’m in heaven… YYY
Well, readers, this brings me to the end of my 36th and last blog
entry. I hope that you have enjoyed reading about my experiences in Tianjin and
Beijing. And when you go overseas in the future, I hope that you will have a
good adventure filled with awesome experiences that you can one day write down
(with a calligraphy brush) and share with your kids and grandkids!!!
Wishing you an AWESOME year ahead,
Marianne
