Itching for a new adventure

… Or more like a getaway. I can’t even remember the last time I had a proper holiday. Minus the weekend getaway to Batam with the parents, I think my last trip was to Hong Kong with Amanda in April. APRIL! That’s a good half a year ago.

I may be on a plane to somewhere every other day, but trust me… it is different. Now I can officially say that travelling for work is exhausting, and nothing compared to travelling for leisure.

Travelling for work means being on a schedule. You need to work out the time to sleep, eat and squeeze in a little bit of social life.. and if you’re lucky, some exploring. All that, while gearing up for your next work day. Travelling for leisure means getting up at whatever time you want, heading out to far away places and choose to stay out and party all night.. meeting new people, planning random adventures with them…… and the list goes on.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. But I am getting a little stir crazy from being bound by work… and sleeping my off days away at home. I need to get out. Nowhere far, just out of this country for a day or two.

Bangkok, Bali, Phuket, Krabi…. Vietnam? The possibilities are endless.

I promised myself that I will stay away from Bangkok this year… But, the cheap everythings the place has to offer and the friends I can hang out with makes it difficult for me to resist. Plus, there’s a cool new hostel I want to check out.

Decisions, decisions.

#overlyattachedcrewmate

Friday, 15 November 2013

We came out to a beautiful, sunny Gold Coast that morning and despite being completely exhausted, Zahra, Mazlan and I decided to spend some time baking at the beach. Gold Coast is easily one of my favourite Aussie destinations and we were extremely fortunate to have our hotel so conveniently located at the Surfers Paradise.
The waves were epic and reminded me of the waves I saw in Koh Phangan, Thailand and the water was blissfully cold. Zahra was trying her best to tempt me to get into the water, but with all my might, I managed to plant my ass on the sand and not get my denim shorts wet.
Note to self: Always pack swimwear in the luggage. 
Slept through the storm and woke up when Mazlan called and asked if I wanted to join him in checking out a pizza place down the road. Despite being bleary-eyed and would rather spend my evening in bed surrounded by pillows, I relented. A night out in Surfers Paradise was always an interesting scene. Besides, it’s Friday night… and we had to work the next day. Sobs.
Saturday, 16 November 2013
You know what sucks more than working on a Saturday? Not working when half of the team is working on the same plane you’re sitting leisurely on. Don’t get me wrong, I was very lucky to have the ‘day off’. But sitting in the cabin for more than 9 hours doing nothing makes time crawl ever. so. slowly. So I spent a quarter of my time sleeping, the next quarter eating, the next staring into space and the last accompanying Mazlan at the back.
First night in Osaka was short. We were both exhausted, so we got some takeout from the convenience store (because we arrived too late for anything to be opened) and settled in my room for a movie marathon. So much for a movie marathon. This was what I found after I was done ironing my uniform, just 15 minutes into the first movie.
Sunday, 17 November 2013
Osaka ROUND 2 – STARTO!

I’ve been to Osaka twice this month, and both times with Mazlan. Apparently he thought so too, because he commented, “Wasn’t I here just a few weeks ago… with you?”

Unlike three weeks ago when our pockets were brimming with money and went out shopping like there was no tomorrow, we were completely broke. Settled for a nice lunch of omelette rice and covered the shops we didn’t managed to see the last time. There was a bagel cafe nestled in a quiet corner of the outlet stores and every single time we walked by it, he’d go “Sesame bagels..” with a cheeky grin on his face. Every. Single. Time. Sigh. Pie.

 27.10.2013/ 17.11.2013 – Same store, same cap, same two people, different clothes, different days

We decided to head back early because, yet again, we had to work that evening. This was getting old, and honestly, I can’t wait to go home. Upon reaching our hotel, we noticed a white sheet of paper sticking out from under Mazlan’s hotel room door. With eyes wide and terrified, he pointed… “Do you see this?”

Crap. I hurried to my room which was two doors down and saw nothing underneath mine, much to my half relief and half oh-no-he’s-going-to-be-shipped-off-somewhere. And we were right. This flight back to Gold Coast tonight was going to be the last flight we were going to have together. While everyone’s heading to Melbourne and then home to Singapore, he was heading to Sydney then Bangkok.

Oh wells. Luckily we had time to relive our deprived childhood by waiting a long long time just for a big cloud of cotton candy.

Monday, 18 November 2013

Remember this picture? This was taken after the first flight when he was heading to Gold Coast, while the rest of us… Sydney. All good things must come to an end. It’s only fitting to take a final picture before going our separate ways. So here’s one to end our trip.. he to Sydney and everyone else to Melbourne and then the following day back to Singapore.

Why #overlyattachedcrewmate
Even though we’re working together on the same aircraft for 8 days, we weren’t usually assigned in the same zone. When I am at the mid, he’s at the back… and when I am at the back, he’s up front at Business. But didn’t keep us from annoying the crap out of each other. We were virtually inseparable.

We’d always find excuses to be in each other’s zones. Mostly to annoy each other or to have a laugh, or to exchange stories like we haven’t seen each other in ages. I braved myself past the biz class to visit him when he was placed up front and from what I heard, he’d always ask our manager if he could go out to the economy class.

When he was working, and I taking it easy to Osaka, I accompanied him at the back while the rest of the crew were resting. My attempts to get back to my seat and leave him alone to do work failed when he says, “Don’t go lah. I’m alone here.”

On the last night when I didn’t expect to see him much throughout the flight because of the completely different zones we were in, he found every opportunity to say hi to me at the back. Be it to rest in the economy class when he could stay up at business, or to steal crew snacks from the back… which earned a yelling from yours truly… It was nice to be entertainingly annoyed during the quiet nights.

And when we’re finally working in the same zone, I told him that I was going to the back to say hello and he whines, “Don’t leave meeee.” To which I retorted, “We’re in the same zone what. Be right back lah.” And I trekked up to the back to find him standing right next to me a few seconds later with a smug look on his face. Look at my overly attached friend.

Off the aircraft, we’re always together as you can see from the pictures above. He’s a real awesome shopping buddy, I swear. He’d tell me if the shirt I was contemplating on buying sucked, or forced me to buy the leather jacket he found attractive on me. He’s also very game to do anything I suggested, no matter how exhausted he was. We get along so well, we get the same question asked by every new crew who joined us… “Are you two batchmates?”

Every. Single. Day. And the answer is… “YES, WE ARE.”

It’s rare that we’d be put in the same roster pattern, but the trips were never boring with this boy around. Lemme get past being bored of seeing your face first (a total of 16 days is no joke, baby), then… HOPE TO FLY TOGETHER AGAIN SOON!

xx

#badluckmazlan

Ten days without a post, yikes. I really need to do something about this long period of absence from blogosphere. It’s not about dry spells or zero ideas for a post. I have tons of things to share, just have no time to do it. Things aren’t going to be better in the coming month, but I’ll try harder to post regularly.

In the meantime… here’s a story about my dear friend Mazlan. The past seven days with him around had been a total blessing. So I thought we might entertain you with the silly happenings of the past week. I’ve broken our week up into two parts (in hashtags that were very much used during our trip), to keep you from falling asleep. :P

Monday, 11 November 2013

It all started with me finding something of his while packing up for work. When I told him I’d put it in his folder in the office because it’s almost impossible to see each other because of our schedules, that was when he said, “I’m flying with you tonight.”

And I went, “Eh?”

I was prepared for an uneventful trip. I packed my Macbook, movies and a few books to keep me entertained during the nights (or mornings, depends on what time we get in) but with him there, I know we’re going to have some fun and mischief up our sleeves.

Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Unfortunately, upon our arrival in Melbourne the next morning, we found that Mazlan didn’t have a connecting flight with the rest of us to Sydney. He was to fly to Gold Coast and be on standby out there, on his own. Well, so much for having a batch mate on your trip. So with a lot of teasing and a heavy heart, we said our goodbyes, and while he got on his plane, the rest of us were stuck in the terminal… waiting to board our delayed aircraft.

I woke up from my sleep that evening to find a text from him, saying that he’ll see us again tomorrow. Happy that he’s gonna be on the team again, and a little disgruntled that he’s not going to work on the extra flight, I geared myself up for the very long day ahead.

Wednesday, 13 November 2013

Flew from Sydney to Gold Coast, bumped into Ash and his team who were heading off to Osaka, swapped aircrafts that’ll take us to Narita and waited for the two crew members who hadn’t arrived. Mazlan came onboard and the whole team went, “WELCOME BACK!”

I still don’t understand why people up there didn’t just let him stay with us throughout.

Narita was fuh-reee-zing when we arrived. Bundled up in our semi-winter wear and headed out for sushi. The walk was long and the weather was bitter cold but we were kept entertained by ghost stories and other gossips. It was so damn cold, I literally felt my cheeks defrosting when I stepped into the sushi place. I don’t know how Mazlan managed to walk in the cold with his toes exposed.

Tried crab brain sushi, much to the rest of my friends’ horrors… they came in pairs and they were as revolting as they looked. At least I could say that I’ve tried!

Thursday, 14 November 2013

Mazlan and I had our own little adventure working around the shuttle bus timings to get to a nearby shopping mall. Narita is seriously inconvenient to get around if you’re not street smart. Thankfully, I had an excellent partner in crime.

He grabbed a crepe while I waited around for my ice cream soda. I am not usually a fan of sweet stuff as they drive me crazy, but when I took a bite out of his parfait crepe.. I wanted one of my own. For those who are heading to Narita, the crepes are located on the second floor of Aeon Mall. They were the best things ever.

We headed back pretty early to pack and mentally prepare ourselves for the flight back. The weather was perfect for sleeping, and we were so bummed that we had to work that evening. We were both so sleepy, and I really needed to psych myself for the night that awaited us. Lucky for all of us, the ride was smooth sailing.

Two zombies (among others) flying back to Gold Coast that evening

Why #badluckmazlan

I learnt from him that being on rostered standby sucks. There is no certainty in how many days you work, and who you’d be flying with. They could call you and take you away from the team you’ve grown comfortable working with and make you go elsewhere. Then there was a mysteriously funny case of him losing ALL his luggage tags. God knows why, but he’d always get his luggage out from the conveyor belt sans tag. He even had to borrow mine when we went separate ways because I was going home and he, to Bangkok.
x

A Picture an Hour: Surfers Paradise

When we got into Gold Coast at 9 am on Saturday, 26th October, my friends and I hadn’t wasted anymore time. We’ve already wasted enough the previous day in Sydney and today we were going to make up for it.
0930: Watermark Hotel, Surfers Paradise
 1015: The view from my hotel room
 1111: After a short walk, we are finally here!
1130: Check out the waves!
 1220: Partners in crime, Arfah and Mazlan
1430: Ice cream for dessert after lunch before exploring Surfers’ Paradise
1545: Arfah the minah bunga (flower lady)
1630: We found the games room at our hotel. Wasted some coins on old-skool arcade games. So much fun and laughter.

1640: My friends are badasses…
… shooting sheep.

[TIME LAPSE : We had a swim in the pool and soaked in the semi-warm jacuzzi.]
 1930: We had breakfast for dinner at a nearby pancake place
Arfah and Mazlan being typical Asians
2000: Check out the couple at the back. Hahahaha!

Took one last walk down Surfers Paradise before retiring for the night. By 9.30, we were back at the hotel and super tired out from the activities of the day. But it was by far the best day of the trip. It was cool and sunny, had fun trying to take jump shots at the beach… and giving each other prank calls while we were supposed to rest up before dinner. Loved it.

Colours of Sydney

I’ve been wanting to head to Sydney for the longest time because of one person. My dear friend Bibek has been living there for almost 3 years now, studying… and I haven’t seen him since we graduated from Poly. I only had a day in Sydney this time, and while most of it was ruined because of my lost luggage, I tried to look past the storm in search of the ray of light. Sounds cheesy huh, but it got me through the day.

Each city has its colours in my opinion, and for Sydney they were brown and orange. Even though it was chilly out, a ray of sunshine peeked from behind skyscrapers, bathing colonial buildings and beautiful parks in orange warmth.

There was an Asian food festival called Night Noodle Market at Hyde Park, and we were so lucky to have been able to experience it. Even though the Char Kuay Teow and chicken rice were at least $15, the sights were lovely and atmosphere, lively. Wished my phone wasn’t dead then. Would have loved to share what I saw.

Evening came, and it was time to meet my long lost friend. I literally ran and engulfed him in the tightest hug I’ve ever given to anyone when I saw him. Thank God he managed to catch me. We’ve survived through three gruelling years of Mass Communication together. We were groupmates in almost every module we took together and we, along with our other homie Riley, used to take the bus home together every single day. There was never a dull moment with them around.
Had a lovely dinner at his friend’s place, in a home I dream to live in someday. Ciera was a very artistic woman with great taste in music and decor, I swear. It was lovely to be in their company for the evening after an exhausting day.
Took the train back, and we saw the iconic Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. Didn’t manage to see them properly, but we shall save that for the next time I fly into Sydney. Bibek promised to take me to the zoo the next time I visit (which is in 10 days). Can’t wait!
 2009: Late night projects at Makan Place as usual.
2013: Well, what had changed?!

Things to include in your carry on, in case of an emergency.

Kansai International Airport – Osaka, Japan
It is every traveller’s worst nightmare (which isn’t safety related) to arrive at your destination and have your luggage left behind at another airport in another country. It could happen to ANYONE.. people travelling for play, people on business trips and even air crew doesn’t get insured from being super unlucky. The feeling of waiting at the conveyer belt for your luggage – that doesn’t seem to appear – after a long flight, isn’t the most pleasant feeling.. ever.
I always have a getaway stash whenever I travel. A pouch containing the essentials: passport, money and an extra lock, just in case I have to get out of a country. But after last week’s fiasco where my luggage got taken off the aircraft in Melbourne when I was bound for Sydney, I learnt that having my passport, money and lock on me isn’t good enough.
So here’s what I take with me every time I travel… just in case.
1. Makeup pouch
Travel makeup pouch.. and all its goodies inside.
Makeup is essential in my line of work. I keep the essentials like face powder, eyeliner, blusher and lipstick in my pouch for the periodical freshen up.. and look alive and pretty even after a long and difficult flight. No one keeps their essential makeup pouch in their luggage. What if you need to head off for a meeting right after the flight and your luggage is lost? If you want to look the top of your game, and save yourself from buying duty free makeup at the airport shops, just bring a small pouch to be safe.
2. Toiletries and medication you can’t live without
My mistake was not including this stash in my carry on bag. Hence, when I got to my hotel room sans my luggage, I was at a loss. I couldn’t get rid of the makeup that was melting off my face, I wasn’t comfortable because I didn’t have my deodorant and I had to live with my dry, peeling skin because my moisturiser was in the luggage. I could make do with whatever the hotel provided for a teeny while, but it really sucks not being able to remove your makeup. Wipes aren’t usually effective in removing makeup, but it’s better than nothing.
Remember, liquids in your carry on MUST be in quantities of 100 ml or less. Bring any more, and the airport staff would throw it away. It’s also best to keep your liquids in one place and sealed in a ziploc bag, to prevent a bag-wide spillage… and to make your life a little easier when they ask to take out your liquids bag for inspection.
And if you have an inhaler for your asthma, PUT IT IN YOUR CARRY ON. 
3. Travel adapters

In this digital age where the lifespan of your smartphone batteries are shorter than my attention span, charging units are important. Without my phone, life would be as good as null. Stash at least your phone charger AND a travel adapter in your bag. Preferably a universal travel adapter so that you don’t have to carry so many plugs and have them not fit.
Last, but not the least… spare clothes. Or a hoodie. You never know how cold a place could be outside the airport terminal. If it’s a tropical country like Singapore, a spare t-shirt and shorts would be awesome. For people travelling for work, keeping a pair of slippers might do you good too.
My luggage eventually arrived in Sydney, six hours after I did. It was a torturous wait, being stuck in my work clothes with makeup slowly oxidising off my face… I even took a nap with my makeup on. We weren’t sure when the bags were going to arrive, or if they were ever going to come.. and we were flying off to another country first thing in the morning the next day. Not the best first experience of the beautiful city of Sydney, but I hope this mishap doesn’t happen again.