Leaving On A Jetplane

"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go. 
I'm standing here outside your door. 
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye. 
But the dawn is breaking, it's early morn. 
The taxi's waiting; he's blowing his horn. 
Already I'm so lonesome I could die..."

Oh ok, my departure wasn't exactly that dramatic, but it was sad nonetheless. hehe.. This is the story of my departure journey...


25 Aug 2008, 8.30pm

For me, my departure started the minute i stepped out of my house's front gate. It was as though i'd be stepping into a whole new world really really soon. Whatever happens from then on in Canada is really beyond my imagination...


From Permas to Larkin...
My bro and his gf actually rushed home from OT just to send me off. My dad, mum, bro and his gf all became my entourage to send me off that night. It was heart-warming. We all squeezed into one car together with my super duper heavy bags, as well as my heavy heart. =( I sat at the back with my parents and all the way down, they kept asking me if i've left anything behind. Passport? IC? Phone? Documents? Winter clothes?... [10 seconds later] Passport? IC? Phone?.. and it goes on and on... Parents will always be this naggy i guess. It can't be helped. And yet at that moment, i was actually wishing they'd nag more.. i won't be hearing it for the next 4 mths.. so, i was actually glad they were nagging at me that time. I wonder if i'd miss their voices soon.
Kimly told me to take lots of family pics before i left. So i did. And i think it really helps lessen my loneliness here in Canada. Thanks Kimly! =D

Taken from the bus

Oh, and my sis did ask me to take pics of all my beloved soft toys at home, which i did. But sorry guys, it's too embarrassing to show you. So i shall keep it for my sis n myself to see. hehe.. =P

Oh, oh, and Aug 25th is also a very significant day for Vince n me. Sighs.. wish i didn't have to leave JB so soon. Ah well, at least we get to meet up before i leave and i'll be seeing him again when i transit in Sg. So yays! It's not too bad huh. =D

Larkin to Sg. Nibong...

It was a long loooong ride back to Penang. Tickets were running out when i bought them a week ago, and so i was sitting right at the front of the bus with little leg space to stretch. My super big backpack was also there to make the space less bigger. And the temperature in the bus at night can be comparable to winter! According to Kimly that is. I didn't thought so before that.. but after that night ride. I will now strongly advise anyone to bring their down jacket, gloves and watever they think is necessary during winter, the next time they take a night Konsortium bus for more than 4 hours. I was so tired due to the whole night of packing my endless clothes and stuff, that i slept right through the journey. In the end, i was awoken by my phone ringing. It was bee chin who was coming to pick me up from the bus stop. When i woke up i checked my watch to see that 8 hours have passed! I was happy cos it means i shd be arriving in Pg soon.. but to my horror.. the bus was only at Ipoh!!! AHHH!!! 8 aching hours and i'm only slightly more than halfway through. Damn... It was raining.. n the bus got colder.. But i managed to sleep while shivering nontheless. haha. When i finally arrived in Pg, it was 10 hours long past 10pm, the time was 8am already.. -.-"

Penang...
Immediately after reaching Penang, bee chin took me to have breakfast. Pan mee!! She fed me so much like i will never taste M'sian food ever again. haha.. It was good. Oh, and i was told that it was a Public Holiday in Pg that day, due to Anwar's election thing in Permatang Pauh. How convenient.. Now i couldn't go to IO to ask about my scholarship!! Shits.. All becos of that election. Sweats.

Well, luckily i had a whole day of meet ups to do. First, i met up with Jun for lunch. And later, we had to search high and low from BJ to Queensbay to eventually Sunshine Sq to change my M'sian ringgit into Canadian dollars. It was a very unlucky day i tell you.. Because of tht public holiday, many money changer didn't have enough canadian dollars for me to change! And the rate was super high at 3.27!!! I was told by everyone that the one in BJ was the best money changer. But to my dismay, he disappointed me. That shop was the only one who offered me their so called "best rate" (my ass) at 3.27! Luckily, we went to check it out at Queensbay and found one kind man who gave me 3.15! But the catch was he only had CAD150 left. So i quickly changed my money two of us pretty gals had to beg him to help us call other changers to see if they have extra CAD. haha.. Alas, there were none he knew.. and thank god for Vince's dad who told me tht Sunshine Sq had a changer at 3.25. So, we took it cos we had no other choice.. Million thanks to Jun for accompanying me almost half the day just looking for money changers.

Jun! Jun!!

After that tiring and exciting race against time, it was time to meet up with the BATI gang - Adam, Azren, Jaya and Mel at KFC! Gosh.. It was really nice to see them after the break, and to listen to Mel and her stories... Sadly, Sir and Hellinie couldn't make it. But it was fun nontheless. Too bad i totally forgot to take a pic with them!!! AHH!!! I just only realised. Sorry guys. Oh and Mel bought me a baju kurung!! And i'm supposed to wear it and take a photo in the snow! omg.. how la? haha.. But still, i wanna thank mel for her lovely gift.. Love you mel!! =D

Later that evening, it was time for a dinner with Vince's family. We dined at Vince's favourite chinese restaurant near USM - Xiao Mu Wu. Too bad vince couldn't be there to join us, and finish up the food for us. haha. But we managed to finish it somehow.. although with much difficulties. lol.

Then when night came.. there was bad news. We were supposed to bunk in with Farah, the other malay gal from USM, for the first night in Vancouver. Last minute, she told me that it was impossible, cos she herself is bunking in someone else's living room. The situation was so stressful that i suggested we went for supper after everything was settled. We managed to find a place at the YWCA in the end. Thank god... So supper till 3am.. and then, it was too late to sleep. I was afraid i couldn't wake up and then i'd miss my flight! haha.. So i stayed awake the entire time. lol. Thankfully, Kimly was also online and we chatted thru the scariest moments. Well, at least he did help till the last minute when he made me panic by giving me all sort of situation examples that could make me late for check in! Ish.. haha..

Oh, and guess what?! Dr Radiah who was teaching the 8am HBT class on the day of my departure suddenly cancelled class and made everyone come to the airport to send me off! Scary.. Vince was of course jealous, cos no one did anything like that for him. LOL... See here for the announcement. I initially thought Vince was joking. But when i saw it with my own eyes.. I was speechless. haha.


Bayan Lepas, Pg...
We finally made it to the airport, after waking bee chin, melati and hellinie. Bee chin was like a F1 driver cutting between cars to the airport that morning. Though we were not late exactly, but we wanted to be there earlier. haha.. And luckily we did. The queue at the check in counter was looong. Many ppl were flying to sg i guess. Then while waiting in line, the counter ppl announced tht the counter will be changed cos the luggage belt won't work. So we rushed there with all my luggage. haha..

Once i chucked my big luggage in for check in, i felt relieved. My luggage was not overweight! It was just 21kg. haha.. So happy. ^_^ You'd think with the amount of things i brought, the bag would have been overweight. Joeyin came just in time to check in with me. haha... Then as we were heading to Coffee Bean for some morning breakfast, bee chin told me to look at one lady reading newspaper. You'll never guess who that was.... It was Dr. Radiah herself!!! Gosh.. wat a shock! I knew she cancelled class, but never did i expected her to come to send me off!! Wow.. it was weirdly surprising. And i managed to take some pics of the moment...

Mel, Hellinie, Bee Chin, Me, Dr. Radiah

The master mind and me.

Mel and Hellinie.

Me and Dr. Radiah - the person who made it happen.

Me and Xiao Shuai

I'd like to thank Dr. Radiah for cancelling her class just for me thus making the send off possible, for Bee Chin who went thru all the trouble of begging Dr. to do so, for Mel who woke up early in the morning just to send me off and in the process forgot to bring her keys out, for Hellinie who woke up together with Mel and later helped Mel break into her room, and of cos Chin Yuan @ Xiao Shuai for riding his scooter (Xiao Mian Yang) all the way from USM to Bayan Lepas. It was a really touching moment. Love you guys!


Penang to Singapore...
It was slightly more than an hour's flight from Pg to Sg. Our excitement increased as the plane took off. Because the seat next to mine was empty.. we enjoyed ourselves to the extra space.. And of cos, we could act a lil crazy without anyone noticing. haha..

Can you see Joeyin's excitement from here? hehe..

View from the plane's window. It felt like heaven..

Oh, and if you happen to fly with SQ, please do not take the Black Pepper Chicken Sandwich. It tastes really just full of black pepper! =S Not nice if you ask me, but edible lah...
haha...

Singapore...
We arrived in the fine city shortly before 12pm and was awed by the shops and stuffs we found in Terminal 2. I was expecting to see Vince with a placard waiting for me at the airport, you know like in those dramas. But sighs.. he didn't make it on time. In the end, we were the ones who went to receive him at the MRT station! hahaha..

The empty taxi line.. I just love the color dividers.. hehe.

And here comes Vince at last...

We headed to NUS at once to deposit our luggages before walking around Sg to meet ppl. I'm really glad we didn't have to drag our checked-in luggage with us when we transited in Sg.. Only had our hand-carry and laptop bag to bring around. But that alone was heavy enough. Plus, the moment we arrived in Sg, it began raining.. and that made dragging our luggages around even more difficult. What luck we have. Because of the rain and heavy luggages, we were late in meeting up with Ming Eng, Chai Lyn and Sin Yee... I'm terribly sorry for that.. I know Ming Eng hates ppl being late, but we really couldn't walk anymore faster. Sorry gals.. So from NUS, we met up with Norven and together we rushed to IMM to meet up with these buddies of mine. Luckily they waited for us to come before leaving. It would be so sad if i left without meeting them. It's been almost a year since I met Ming Eng.. And although there were times when both of us were in JB, somehow, we couldn't meet up no matter what. So yays! We finally meet!!

Chai Lyn and Ming Eng

The people who waited for us..
By the time we got there, they had finished their meals. hehe..

Me and Norven

The gals

And the thorn among the roses.. Vince, who is busy eating as usual.

Picture taken after several attempts to get the waiter's help.
We were waving wildly, but no one saw us. Super blur!!

Later that evening, it was dinner with Yu Hooi, my sis and Joeyin! We went to Botak Jones, a famous crowd packed western food stall in one of the hawker centre near Clementi. I tell u.. the line was sooooo long just because of this one small stall. The second thing i was instantly attracted to this stall was their brilliantly interesting menu (which i conveniently forgot to take a pic of. alamak..). It was a very good source of entertainment for customers as they line up to order food. The food was really good and filling tho. Worth every cent we paid. haha..

A very satisfied customer

Yu Hooi and my sis caught in action

Me, probably covering my mouth to prevent juice from the succulent fish from squirting out. lol.

Joeyin, enjoying some refreshing ice cubes after the very filling dinner.

Waiting for the bus to go back.

Marge, me and Vince.

We went back to NUS tired and full... It was a great day anyhow. Got to meet up with lots of friends and enjoy good food. What a blessing. I think it's gonna be something i'll miss in Canada... =(

Earlier on we had planned to stay over at the airport our next morning flight check in. However, that means we had to rush from NUS to Changi before the last bus n mrt at around 11pm. We were late in doing so, so by no choice and lots of planning, Joeyin n i decided to stay over in Vince's room. haha.. Isn't he lucky to have gals in his room? lol..

It was a better idea though, cos we had better sleep on Vince's bed.. and we had someone to wake us up in the morning.. (thanks sayang for staying up the entire night) and I could meet up again with Norven n Margie!! Norven told me to go meet her, cos she has smth to pass to me...

It was a letter! i LURVE letters.. Thanks a lot Nor!

And a pack of sweets!! How sweet..
Too bad i didn't need them on the airplane cos i was fed very well in the sky.
But it's very useful when i go for classes later! =D

And Margie wanted to meet me to pass me her cutlery and smth very dear to her... Thank you so much dear. You're the greatest sis! Love you!!! Miss you too!!!!


Changi to Vancouver...

Flying from SIN - YVR meant we're leaving from the world reknown Changi Terminal 3! Yays!! It was a splendid sight to behold and really world class in everyway. KLIA is nothing compared to this, seriously. The architecture and facilities there are so much more nicer in everyway. Well, maybe i shdn't be bias. haha.. Let's just say T3 was very posh.

The check-in area
It was sooo international.. the counters alone took an entire floor!

Joeyin and i going camera crazy!

Breakfast @ Wang Kopitiam to fill our rumbling tummies.

Look at the eggs.. The yolk is bigger than the teaspoon! O.O

Vince pushing my trolley

And joeyin pushing hers! hehe..

The entrance to an exit

And so we were on our long journey all the way to Seoul n straight to Vancouver. It was a very sad departure.. knowing it'll be the last time i'll see vince till 4 mths later.. And when he called me before walking away, it felt even more harder to leave.. =(

Anyhow, to leave we must and so we boarded the plane. Of cos not without taking advantage of the tax free shopping in changi! Joeyin and I were searching for perfumes cos according to her, we'll be stinking in winter from not bathing, so we need to use some perfume to hide the smell. haha! And we bought Estee Lauder's Pleasure - Exotic. It came in packs of two, and that was the nicest so we both agreed to it. haha...

This time we had another passenger sitting next to me. His name is Nizar Harji. He's like this sort of old man who travels a lot. And guess wat?! He's from Vancouver!! So we were lucky enough to get lots of tips and advices about Vancouver from him. It was fine at first.. but then.. he became too friendly.. i dunno if he meant it or it was unintentionally.. he kept nudging me, touching my arms and all.. Omg.. i felt very trapped in between. And that Joeyin was like, "See he treats u so well! Good la!!" Omg.. i can kill joeyin sometimes -.-" Piece of advice, DON'T ever get the middle seat. haha.. Well, i cannot describe the agonising 19+ hours on the plane sitting there. I even had to resort to using the pillow as a shield. lol.. But after all that weird stuff, this Nizar guy was ok. He even made our trip entertaining! In the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep but us, he requested for nuts, more nuts, fruits, and chocolates for us! haha.. The air stewardess was kind enough to actually give us all those things - which usually are only served to First Class passengers. hehehe... So in the end, we had bananas, packets of nuts and a Snicker bar. =)


Korea...
The transit in Seoul was a brief one. We only managed to use the toilet, send a short msn msg, and then it's back on the plane for the next 12 hours. Nothing much to be said... but one thing tho, Incheon Airport has this internet area for passengers, and they even provide the laptops for us to use... and u know wat laptops they use?! MACBOOKs!! and VAIO... and all the branded ones.. Gosh.. how cool is that?! hahaha...

My trolley with the picture of Song Hye Kyo.
Pretty, no?

And that's the story of my journey to Vancouver.. Stay tuned for The Touchdown story coming soon!! =D