My 48hour Monday

It is good to be home after a long 10-days period but not before i "suffered" in silence and agonised over my longest longest day ever!

27 October began with a wakeup call at 7am to see my friend off to work. Then it was cooking breakfast and eating it. Bath and packing followed and then browsing the photo compilation from Robert while waiting for Warunee to come with the transport. Soon i was on my way to airport at 11am.

My flight was due at 2.40pm and so i was too early to check in at 11.30am. Uncle Chalo and some Lahu people drove over to Chiang Mai for a meeting and he too was there to send me off. He looked well, thank God. Bidded goodbyes to all and that was the beginning of my 48hour day.........

Got an sms from AirAsia, the company that guarantees departure, my flight from Bangkok to Singapore which was scheduled at 6.35pm has been delayed to 8.35pm. Oh well, i thot just a mere 2 hours.

At 12.25pm, i went over to the counter to check in only to be told flight would be delayed till 3pm and check in at 1pm. And so i lugged my luggage and went to sit at another spot, continuing with the planning of the outing for CtYF this Sat.

Come 1pm i joined the queue and was politely informed by the man at the counter if i have a connecting flight to catch at bangkok. Why, i asked? Because this flight from chiangmai would be further delayed till 5pm!!!!! Oh man, 2 over hours and at 1pm, i had 4 hours to spend.

Feeling hungry, decided to head to restaurant to eat. Looked thro the menu and chose this Crispy Noodle with Pork and Pork Sauce. Sounded good, right? WRONG!!!!! I was given a spoon to go with this bowl of thingy and as i digged into it, found 10 LUMPS of FLOUR! Whoa.....this might just be my last Thai meal before eating Singapore food and it had to end like this? Stupid me to choose crispy thinking it might be the same as Singapore version of crispy. Sigh.... got to chew on those flourry lumps and eew...... no more money left to order another and needed carbo so thank God for the food. The pork and the sauce and ingredients were not too bad but the flour????? It was not even Mee Hoon Guay.....dont know what to call it. haha, never take a pic too!

Oh boy, slurping my coke slowly after this soupy stuff was "heavenly" delight. I read my bible and then started to type my journal. Poor right hand.....was terribly painful at the end of it. Managed to finish 3/5 so thank God. Slow and surely, the time came for me to board the plane. It was 4pm when i walked into the waiting area near the gate. Typed another 1/5 of journal and badly needed a break. The call to board finally came and at 5.05pm and with much gladness, i stepped off the earth of chiang mai to head home.

Slept a little during the flight, almost like dozed off few seconds and woke up again kind of stuff. Was super sleepy but had to hang in there. Suvarnabhumi airport......infamous for long delays in baggage....lived up to its name. Previously in my 2006 trip, i encountered a delay of 1.5hours. But i was with my friends and so waiting wasnt that tough. Now it seemed sooooooooooo long. The conveyor belt was moving but nothing came out. All of us stood there and after 15mins, i was going to faint. I felt a drop in sugar level and knew then the flourry thingy didnt sustain me at all. Told myself to hang on and prayed. Another 15mins passed and still no sign of luggage. It was 6.35pm and i have to check in for my next flight. Oh God, not another 1.5hours........

At 6.50pm, the first bag popped up, to the delight of weary and angry passengers. I wished i was smarter and found a seat to wait during this torturous 45 mins. Thank GOD mine was the 3rd bag! Haha..... broke all previous record of my travelling. Never before within top 3 places.....lol!

I almost fainted when i saw the computer screen at the departure hall when i was looking for the counter row number for checking in. At the left hand side was my flight number FD3507 and as i scrolled to the right, no row number but a green flashy word "DELAYED". Oh man, no timing at all! This looked BAD! Do i ever get home?????

Decided to check in nevertheless. Airasia, guilty ever, gave me a 100baht voucher to spend for my meals at selected restaurants. It was timely coz i reckoned i had no more energy to go all the way to level one from level five to the cheap food court to eat. I was drained and needed a booster dose of food. It wasnt hunger pangs....it was weakness and lousy feeling. Went to one level down and spotted Char Siew Rice at this Chinatown Chiangmai Restaurant. Checked that the voucher is accepted and decided to eat just this. The sauce was not too great but beggars couldnt be choosers and so i ate. As much as i wanted to finish my rice, i didnt. Couldnt really. Left half uneaten but ate up all the pork! Stupid of me again coz i was depleted of carbo and yet didnt replenish. It wasnt until i was up in the plane later that i regretted not forcing myself to finish that pile of rice. Sigh....

I was given this RED sticker with the words "EXPRESS BOARDING" and stuck it onto my sweater. I purchased this online when i bought the ticket because i thot i would be too tired to fight with others for front seats and queue to wait for gate to open. It was a good foresight huh, i thot, proud of myself for spending the extra sin $10. And so i was to be at the gate before 8pm to be accepted in the express queue and immediately after my meal, i headed off. Arrived at 7.53pm and waited patiently.

Soon a group of hokkien sprouting uncles sat near me. One particular big sized man sat on my row (it was a bench with 3 chairs and he sat at the 3rd one, my bag occupying the second). He was LOUD! And he moved the bench as he talked! I was being rocked and i hated the feeling. Already too ill and weak and now seemed like my pork and rice went down the tubes in a hurry, rendering me with an awful queasy feel. Remember the Indian lady who sat next to me at AH and i felt nauseous? Well, this was not smell alright but motion and NOISE POLLUTION with Hokkien!!!! The one dialect i dont like at all......

I felt compelled to sit somewhere else but it would be pretty obvious to him and his company that i was avoiding them. I sat forward, not leaning back on the backrest and it didnt really help. tried to type the remaining 1/5 but totally no inspiration with the men near me.

And Airasia, the airline that guaranteed departure, was nowhere to be seen. BLAH! WHere were all the staff? Time ticked by and no mention of it. No announcement. Kiasu people started to form a queue at 8.15pm. Then at 8.45pm, over the PA came this news we so dreaded..... boarding at 9pm. Those Hokkien men were cursing and swearing at Airasia all the time and i was furious too. Decided it was time to break lose from this plague and went to the toilet. Thank God there was an empty seat just outside toilet and i quickly sat on it. I saw from a distance, the burly man staring at me. I dont care coz i dont owe him anything. I looked away and hoped i dont see them in Singapore :(

At 9pm, 2 Airasia staff turned up. Everyone scurried to the front. Tho i had the sticker on, didnt want to take chances and pushed myself forward. Express boarding passengers were given the clearance and i thot money well spent. Lo and behold as i walked down the escalator, a big Air Asia bus was waiting. Oh man.... not aerobridge but bus bringing all passengers to the plane. What express boarding???? I hate to say it here, but really my foot lor! I went up the bus fuming mad. At the front of the bus were some passengers and at the back there were cushion comfy seats like VIP type. Thot of sitting there but something made me not to. Decided to stand with the rest. Soon, the bus was packed with the rest of the passengers who had no stickers. Then it moved off. My mind was just thinking of how to grab a seat with so many people. Will Air asia screen again at the foot of the steps to the plane?

My worries were founded and true enough, they didnt. BUT, one thing they did, they only opened the front door to allow express boarding passengers out. Oh man, what if i did sit at the back???? I would have missed it totally. But then again, no one told us to stand in line and there were other passengers who somehow made their way to the front of the bus. SIGH!!!! One big disappointment and wondering if i can sue Air Asia for the LOOOONGGG delay and this money totally wasted.

Thank God there was a window seat at row 6 or 7. Didnt even count. Threw my bag into the cabin compartment and took my seat. Shut my eyes or looked out of the window, totally ignoring those people who were coming up. Avoided contact with the Hokkien group.....they were the last to come up coz they didnt want to queue. At 9.15pm Thai time, plane took off.

No more Thai baht left and with Sin $9, decided not to order anything except for a drink. And so i paid $2 for a cup of hot ovaltine. Tried to sleep during the journey but it was difficult because my right hand was in category 8 pain (a scale of 1-10). At whichever position i placed, it was pain right to the bones and i could only sit there, teared a little and wait upon God's mercies.

Soon, the announcement came that we would be landing in 30mins. Whew.....it was my longest longest day ever and i was just so thankful that God had seen me thro. Perhaps it was the tiredness accumulated over the 10day period (didnt sleep well at all everyday, will write in my next entry) that rendered me feeling so weak and giddy. Decided to reach out to my thai inhaler for a quick smell or a quick fix...haha... heh, i didnt use it at all till now and so i couldnt be counted as addicted to it like lowly. Anyway, i dropped it as i took it out from the bag. So clumsy of me, my right hand actually. Argh....there went my booster smell. I couldnt pick it up. It was nowhere to be seen unless the gentleman behind me helped. Sigh, let it go.

There were few Singaporeans seated near and next to me. They came in a group and they were well prepared for this flight. They had so many tidbits to savour. Haha, i hardly snack and so i dont stock up such stuff but i craved for one piece of that salty thingy they were eating lah.

12.40am, i smell Singapore!!!!! First few to pass immigration and i love Singapore airport! Luggage came in fast, less than 10 mins after plane landed. My bag.....the second one!!!!!!! HAHAHAAHAHA, God is good, knowing i was weak and tired. Whisked into a taxi and home sweet home. Dr Lowly waited for me to pay for the cab fare and it was soooooooo good to be home.

Oh man, this entry is tooooo long. Will stop here. Thanks for reading my Monday blues. Will share the other Monday blues soon.....the one filled with pain in CHOL :(