I know the CtYF NTM is way overdue and yes, i got it written down in my HP in bits and pieces (wrote as i commuted on trains these past days and week). And no, i have not completed and so wait. BUT i need to write this down lest i forget every detail of it and its exasperation.....
Yesterday Dr lowly n I went for dinner after a staff meeting in his office. I was rushing to make it to prayer meeting on time as i was the pianist for the night. It was already 7.40pm and he parked at West Mall. I came out of the car eagerly and started walking to the exit door. I stopped and turned to look when i sensed he wasnt beside me. Saw him fidgeting next to the car and thought perhaps he wanted to take something out or what..... Waited a while before i realised he was struggling. Walked back and was told "this stupid electronic stuff just couldnt lock".
"Huh?" Yes, it is a new car and yes, new high-end technology... but comeon, what can be so difficult to lock it up? He said the car just refused to be locked as there were signs indicated at the dashboard that something was just not right.
"What was it? Just follow the sign and settle."
He didnt reply me. Gave me a "i know better than you" look and continued in his struggles. I had a glance at the alert sign and offered suggestions like brake, footbrake, parking gear, etc.... You know when a man is angry or frustrated, he is not listening.... sigh....
Then i told him to pretend he is driving out, start the engine, off it and then lock the car. Surprisingly, he "obeyed". But it didnt work. The annoying sign was still there and i was going to be real late. And so came the next suggestion from me, "Why dont you just pretend to drive, as in move out 1 foot and move back"....he tried and no solution in sight.
Desperate, i said, "Why dont you let me try?".....he was angry, as in like what can he not do that i can do......besides, it is his car key, set to his seating height and depth and i didnt bring mine. So what difference does it make who try to lock it. But with all the stupid cow sense i have in my head, i still insisted that he let me try. He has been going in and out, starting and trying to off the engine for umpteen times....it will be a long long night and no harm of me trying.....
MCP??? Haha... i would think so.... When i asked the 3rd time to let me try, he gave me a look like "you are neither smart nor have common sense and there is nothing you can do that will ever make a difference". I never gave up. I thought maybe a 2nd person, 2nd touch can make an impact... hahaha... i dont know. I needed to settle this problem real quick and it was really silly wasting time over the BIG toy that refuse to SHUT UP!
Oh man..... i bit my lip and asked the 4th time. This time, either out of frustration or just wanted to see me "defeated", he passed me the electronic key. At that moment, i didnt know if i could "solve" the silly problem, and so i sat on the seat. As i pressed the switch to turn off engine, for the first time i saw the warning sign clearly......the front passenger door is not locked.... as in the pic showed that door. Immediately, i came out, went over the other side, opened and closed it. Then i handed the key to him to lock it......so pretty sure it would work this time. True enough the car SHUT UP.
It was a moment of which he didnt know whether to be angry with me or not.... COZ i was THE ONE who caused the problem....didnt close it properly when i came out. BUT didnt he read the sign??? What does a man really see when something is flashing? I wonder.... but you know what, i arrive at this conclusion:
A woman creates a problem of which a man has no clues to solving it nor able to control it and finally, it takes a woman to end it.
And i was late for prayer meeting, they had to sing acapella before exhortation.....argh.....
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
CtYF NTM 2 - 1st Night & Day
Alright folks, it was a tough decision to make whether to write the NTM in a daily journal or group the events up. Decided to do daily so brace yourself for llllllooooonnnnngggggg essay......
Thank you all who came to support and encourage us and your prayers too.
Well, thank God we could clear the custom and so we went in 2 trucks. Pr Xiong bidded us farewell at the bus station. We placed most of our bags into the Harichaikul's truck and asked them to proceed back to Chiang Rai first while we took our lunch and waited for our coach.
It was quite a ride....having a he-she as our guide and a crazy mad driver. He horned at everyone who was in his way and he was super fast and daring too. Thank God for safety and in exactly 3 hours from 1.30pm, we reached Chiang rai bus station.
We were picked up by 3 trucks and headed straight to BDC. Hot lovely goreng pisang and happy children faces greeted us!! Thereafter, we had a hot bath, our first thai dinner and the final programme for the long day.....night devotion. The shoes and bags that we brought were distributed by the youths. That night, it was a record time when we all got to bed.....9pm!!!! For the first time, no one complained it was too early....... :)
1 Dec 2008
Five star coach was the one i booked to travel from SIN to KL to catch our flight to chiang mai. Executive class - that's what it was called. Upon booking, the staff told me the seat has massage function and also come with personal tv screen. Hmmm, sounded great, right?
With excited and eager hearts, our group gathered to meet at Boon Lay Shopping Centre.... a delay of 3.5 days from our original departure date.
I was tremendously encouraged by the massive turnout of tengah folks that night. See the pic to believe :)
Thank you all who came to support and encourage us and your prayers too. The luxury coach housed all of us exclusively, 19 in total. It was super super comfy, each individual seat in a capsule and a wide reclining angle. Some of the send-off folks inspected the coach to check it out. Ha ha.:)
After everyone got a seat, it was exploration time. My name was like occuring every 5 or 10 seconds with
"aunty alen, why the tv screen not working?";
"aunty alen, why the chair cannot massage?"
"aunty alen, can we keep the towel placed on each seat?" wow! This last one occured sooo many times till i got a little frus and replied :(
"i am not sure but i think you cannot take the towel. It is not paid for."
"but we paid much for the seat and so it must be free like the bottled water, right?"
oh man, "why dont you ask the driver??" was my desperate reply. Hmmm....why do you want to keep the towel for? Then i remembered who i was dealing with..ctyf. They take almost anything lor. Last year, erh... someone koped the thai airways pillow....what's next right?
Guess no one dared to ask the driver, i didnt. If they want to take it, they should ask themselves. Eld Boon confirmed with driver that TV will be turned on after we pass JB customs. And so let's sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.....
We had boxes of bags and shoes to lug thro and it was really really straining. Some of the guys carried so much stuff that i began to think hercules or samson were in the making.... :) Thank God for their initiative. We journeyed on from JB in the same luxurious coach (someone said maybe it will be changed to a Malaysian one....haha....it didnt happen)
3A was my seat and it was SUPER cold and freezing. Besides my own aircon vents above me (of which i already turned it off), there were side vents near the window and that was centralised. Oh man....my thick jacket, Isaac's sweater plus the one towel were all i could use to shield myself from winter time in the bus. Tried to watch a comedy show to distract myself and yes, i was laughing quite a bit, thereby warming myself but tireness sank in and i was starting to doze off..... Off the screen and tried to shut my eyes and rest while shivering.....seriously, i didnt want to turn into a pillar of ice.....
1.5 hours later, our first toilet break. Ji Sheng in particular hurrayed the idea coz he was in super high tide. We were given 30 mins break at the same place our church stopped over for lunch enroute to camp in June. I did the biz and went back to coach to rest. This time, i chose the seat next to Xin Hao... 2B.....not next to window and thus i would be "free" from being frozen.
Ji Sheng took over my seat coz his TV console was not working. It was barely 15 mins into our next leg of journey when a torpedo dropped onto me. It landed on top of my jacket and towel over my chest. WHOA!!!!.....I exclaimed..... Whatever was that???? Examined the weapon.......hmmmm.....it was a bottle of green tea and where did it come from? the top ledge.... oh boy, it rolled off! And whose would that be???
Norman sheepishly said.... "erh,...mine... sorry."
The next thing that dropped was my poor guitar. Isaac placed it in the top ledge too and PAH...it landed on the ground flat. Blame the driver coz he was like speeding all the way. Shing, Hwee & Isaac examined my guitar and found it to be not "well". Hmmm, how not to when it fell from great height. Sigh.....
Anyway, guess what time we reached KL? It was supposedly to be 4-5am. We reached at 3am at the Sungei Bersi toll!!!
Eld Boon had to quickly call the other coach driver (pre-arranged by his sis to pick us up from this toll and bring us to KL airport) to come earlier. You see, the luxury coach that we rode on would not take us to the airport but to a public bus station. This coach driver was apparently awaken out of his sleep by Eld Boon and he said he would arrive in 10-15mins. Lo and behold, he arrived in 6!!! Hmmmmm, how much time does one take to jump out of bed, brush and clean up and drive sanely and safely to destination???? I didnt even want to speculate how he did it or how near he stayed????
While waiting for him to arrive, we rushed to use the toilet at Petrol Kiosk which was just after the toll. It was situated right at the back. I was the first female to step in. The boys, Ji Sheng (JS), Norman (i think) and Sean were also there at the same time. While doing my own business, heard JS shouting my name. What can be so urgent now? Cockroach??? Dont call me! I didnt reply him coz i heard Eld Boon went in. When i walked out of the toilet, saw JS and the group...it was quite a bit of commotion with much noise. Upon questioning, i was told he ripped off the flush chain or cord. IT was an accident and they were trying so hard to attach the cord back and so shouted for help. CHAY.....i thot was some snake or insect.....also wrong person to call lor.....hahahaha....
We proceeded to KL Budget airport on a 40 seater coach...not as luxurious but comfy. An hour's ride and 4.30am we arrived at the airport. Our flight check in was not due till 6.50am. Hmmmm.... and so we spend our time eating, talking, playing board games (Shing lost chinese chess battle to IZ, girls played ono and had to be hushed.....), sleeping and slacking. I started work on the powerpoint for Cantata, as in check spelling and flow of songs....thanks to John who did the ground work for me, adding and typing slides and background picture and formating.
Eld Boon drank two cups of Teh Tarik (i think) while some ate roti prata or bread. I couldnt even remember what i ate now!!!! heeee....didnt write this down. Just read Eld Boon's article on NTM. Haha... now i remember. I ate the sandwiches that susan so lovingly prepared. It was filled with Bah Kwa......and tuna too! Sumptuous and filling. Thanks, Susan for your love in feeding us in the coach and in airport. God bless you :)
6.40am was the happiest time....checking in was not as eventful as the one back from Chiang Mai to KL. The counter staff also insisted on 9 pax x 15kg since our booking was in groups of 9. Eld Boon explained to her one whole group and their website didnt allow us to book more than 9 and she kind of accepted it....haha... perhaps didnt know how to outtalk Eld Boon.....lols! In everything give thanks.
Flight was smooth.....we slept all the way. At Chiang Mai airport, was told that Pr Xiong Fuh Man was there to send some people off and he would help to transport our people to the bus station to catch the coach to Chiang Rai. So nice of him. Eld Boon & majority of the youths had already retrieved their bags and gone to the outside.
James, Isaac and I were the last few. To avoid suspicion on the new shoes & bags (shoes were from Elsie's sis-in-law church & bags from capitaland), James and I pushed the boxes on our trolley together with our luggages. I thought they would not pull us aside but i was wrong. The airport security officer singled us out. :( He asked us what were they and i spoke to him in English. He made us open up the boxes. I showed him the letter from Warunee stating that these shoes and bags were gifts from organisations and not for sale. Warunee realised we were in trouble when we did not come out. She came into the security area and explained to the man. However, he just wanted to tax us and so we were ushered into another room. There he wrote a receipt and asked us to pay a sum. I stood in silence because i have learned not to say anything or do anything in situation like this....let the Thai handle the Thai. And so i saw Warunee looked into her handbag and told the man she had only 700 baht plus and he nodded his head in agreement. Thereafter she paid him 800 baht. I looked at the receipt and it was scribbled 747 baht......where was the change???? BLAH....Warunee told me later that the man had the cheek to tell her he has no change and so he kept the money!
Well, thank God we could clear the custom and so we went in 2 trucks. Pr Xiong bidded us farewell at the bus station. We placed most of our bags into the Harichaikul's truck and asked them to proceed back to Chiang Rai first while we took our lunch and waited for our coach.
It was quite a ride....having a he-she as our guide and a crazy mad driver. He horned at everyone who was in his way and he was super fast and daring too. Thank God for safety and in exactly 3 hours from 1.30pm, we reached Chiang rai bus station.
We were picked up by 3 trucks and headed straight to BDC. Hot lovely goreng pisang and happy children faces greeted us!! Thereafter, we had a hot bath, our first thai dinner and the final programme for the long day.....night devotion. The shoes and bags that we brought were distributed by the youths. That night, it was a record time when we all got to bed.....9pm!!!! For the first time, no one complained it was too early....... :)
I slept exceptionally well that night... the first one (I think) to rest my head on the pillow. The girls streamed in to get changed and brushed up and chit chatted. I didnt hear all these. Neither did i hear the rooster at 11pm nor 3am (Simone or JH told me next morning). This was great. Thank God for good slumber that night. I had never slept so well in BDC or in northern thailand for that matter :)
Monday, December 15, 2008
CtYF NTM 1 - TRAVEL WOES!!!!
This is another outpouring of dissentment for the "now everyone can fly" airline....who promises "On time guarantee".....my foot lor!
We had no problem with Airasia for our flight from KL to Chiangmai on 2 Dec but not the return trip. Our flight was supposed to depart at 11.05am (Thai time), which would have given us slightly more than 2 hours to catch the next flight (also Airasia carrier) from KL to SIN at 5pm (Singapore time).
While queueing to checkin, the TV screen flashed this much dreaded word in my personal travel dictionary.....DELAYED.....till when? 12.15pm!!! Oh man, that meant we now had about 1 hour and 15 mins to collect luggage and check in for next flight. The Airasia counter people said "No Problem" and they will inform the KL side to look out for us and expedite our checkin process. We were given Malaysia's immigration cards to fill up and i thot hmmm.....service has improved slightly.
Need to mention this ONE big problem when we checked in at Airasia counter. Here and also at KL side. Dont know what is wrong with the staff or the training or what??? Their website only allowed 9 names to be booked at one go tho there were 19 of us. i had to book 9 for one booking, another 9 names and then 1 on his own. During checkin, we told them there were 19 of us and please give us 19 x 15kg baggage allowance. What was their reply? "No, 9 x 15kg" and no spillover to next group of 9. When we told her we have 19 people, she said "You booked 9 people in one booking". I lost my cool at that moment. I blurted "Of course i book 9 coz your website only allow 9 at one go. What can we do?" Her same consistent reply "9 x 15kg". OH MAN,.....she was just so fixed in the mind and didnt know how to work round the situation or even think on her toes. Airasia staff all the same....Thai or KL side. At least in Singapore they allowed us to pull together all names even tho separate booking. Eld Boon was fed up too. He too lost his cool. We argued that they should not count this way and so she referred the matter to another man. After their conversation, she said the same thing again and we retorted "NO!" Clearly the conversation was going no where and so she did just one brilliant thing.... SHUT UP and check us in and no more 9 x 15kg. hahahah...... Thank God at the end of checkin, we saw her using calculator to add up all the bags weight and no exceed. Perhaps she understood then or she just didnt want to waste time explaining coz queue was building up. Nevertheless, it was one same conclusion for all of us....never fly airasia again. Hang on... the worst is yet to come......
We then proceeded for our snack or early lunch with most eating the lovely hotdog buns in the newly renovated airport. During our long wait for boarding at the transit area, Eld Boon spotted the NEW announcement.....a deadly silent one......12.45pm - new departure time!! What is wrong with Airasia??? No guts to announce over the system and got to do it so subtly, hoping no one will ever notice it???? They should be feeling so ashamed of their own carrier.....what Guarantee... i think they better change the slogan to "Delay Guaranteed!"
With only 45 mins or less to catch our flight, we needed help from Airasia in KL airport and so Eld Boon and myself approached AirAsia before we flew off from Chiang Mai. The boarding counter had no one on duty and we went to the information booth for help. The two ladies were really helpful though ignorant. They tried to find the Airasia people but failed, then they made some calls and said will bring us to the Checkin counter outside. We were stopped at the immigration section because they failed to get permission for us to get out of the transit area. The male officer was helpful, gave us the boarding pass to keep for identification upon return but he kept our passports for security purposes.
What did Airasia counter staff do to help us??? NOTHING! The man at the counter listened to us and all he could say was please go back to the boarding area coz his supervisor is there now and will help us. We thot he was buying time and just pushing us away....nevertheless we had to go back coz boarding time was almost up.
As we approached the departure gate, an Airasia staff appeared and true enough, she was the supervisor on duty. She promised to call Malaysian side and they will precheck in for us and will request for the plane to wait for us. All we had to do was to quickly grab our bags and rush to check in counter. Seemed like a good plan. She also kindly consented to us queueing first to grab the first few seats so we could move faster. Eld Boon was doubtful that we could ever make it but i was really hopeful....as in i thot this time Airasia would just help us coz there were 19 of us and surely they would wait. I was just sooooooo wrong....coz i never factor in one important detail.....Malaysia airport....ARGH>>>>>>
Just before we took off, i sms to Angela to inform parents we may not be able to make it and to inform them to stand by for change of flight. While trying to send out the smses, the aircrew tried to get me to off my hp. The plane has not started moving yet and i was already boiling hot for the unnecessary delay. Impolitely, i brushed her off with "Let me send this important sms first and i will off it after that". I didnt even bother to look at her....see what anger does to a soul???
Then they irritated me further with the guitar thingy. Norman was sitting at the window seat and had Tim's guitar next to him. The air steward took it from him and placed it in the overhead compartment about 7-8 rows down from where we were. How on earth could we retreive it and rush off the plane? I didnt make my request to them.... just told them the facts and asked to give us back the guitar or have it placed at the front. I didnt hide my agitation of this carrier but i wasnt rude per se..... just not my usual self :) hehehe.....
Our plane touched down at 4.35pm and by 4.45pm, we were approaching the immigration counter. Lo and behold... it was filled with Bangla... and loads of other people....all queueing at the Foreign Passport section. The Local section was clear with more than 3 lanes. Eld Boon went to that counter and explained. The lady was kind enough to let him clear so he could run to the checkin counter and inform staff to wait for all of us. But she was not able to let all of us clear thro this lane and needed us to ask her supervisor on duty. Where was he? Coming.... a Mr Ramli in suit. CtYFers were all queueing at the Foreign passport section while i made my pleas....to a flat solid wooden panel that had not even a grain of sympathy or apathy or compassion or what not for travellers in crisis.
The first thing he said when he opened his mouth was "Plane flew off already!". I told him Airasia thai side has informed Malaysian side and so they will wait for us and please help us by letting us clear fast and not queue.
"Show me your airtickets" was his next sentence......but i couldnt coz Eld Boon took them with him to precheck in for us. I explained to him and his reply was "Plane flew off already!" I literally felt like slapping this man or shaking to wake him up but i was controlling....never had this urge before. I asked him to let me see the Airasia staff and he said go and find him of which i blurted "You go and find him and bring him to me". How to??? Didnt he have the brains? I cant clear the immigration yet and i dont know the airport well. He has his walkie talkie or hp, i am sure he knew a faster way. He went off and was back in 1 min with the Airasia staff.... what was his name???? I totally forgot but another incompetent staff....BLAH!
The first thing he told me was my flight AK131 is flying off at 7pm and not 5pm as i had claimed. He was so positively sure that i made the mistake and told me to queue like everybody else coz i have more than enough time in the world to catch this flight. The Mr Ramli smiled at this suggestion. With all the memory bank working on tip top condition, i insisted he was wrong and asked him to check again. He did and came back sheepishly telling Mr Ramli in MALAY that he saw the flight number AK 132 as outbound flight. It was the incoming flight due at 7pm. He thot i didnt understand Malay???? Of all the times i couldnt speak or understand Malay, this was THE time i comprehended fully. As i looked at him when he was conversing with Ramli, he totally had no guts to turn and say sorry for the wrong details..... Hello??? He first told me i was wrong and now i was proven right, no courtesy to apologise or at least clarify???? Oh man, I couldnt even bother to tell him i understood all that he said quietly to his friend.
What next? Ramli did it again.... "The plane flew off already". Was that all he could say? As a security supervisor or head on duty, you could only offer that much? I also know how to say this line. Even a kiddo can do that too! POOH!!!
I asked him firmly but politely "Please help us to clear the immigration without queueing. Never mind if plane flew off. Please help us." I said that to the Airasia staff and also asked him if Thai side has informed him to wait for 19 of us only to hear him say "As far as i know, no one called us about the 19 of you"......argh...... Then i pleaded with him to ask Mr Ramli to let us clear first. His reply.....
"You got to ask him"
I said, "I did but can you help to put in a good word or something"
"I cannot because i am not from immigration department"....DUD.....i know that
"BUT you all are colleagues"
"No, we are different company".....Darn right you are... i know that too
"BUT you are working in the same airport and you know each other"..... I was just sooooo short of telling him "you are from the same race and so can talk better".
"I dont know him. He is not my friend"
I TOTALLY GAVE UP!!!!
"Oh your people reach the beginning already. Now no need to wait too long." This was another instance i felt like strangling him..... throughout our conversation he had never taken any proactive steps nor counter suggested nor be seen willing to help.
I closed my eyes and prayed, "Lord, Thine will be done and may we be given the seats to catch the next flight out". Though i was hopeful for a miracle intervention from the beginning, i was prepared to wait for next flight but not without a fight or at least trying to catch it. Received a call from Eld Boon, they were not going to wait for us and they had put us on the next flight due for departure at 7.50pm....2 hours and 50 minutes wait.......oh man....... He told me to quickly collect our luggage and proceed to counter 10 to check in.
I gave up hope talking to Ramli and Airasia guy and cleared the immigration to the belt area. It was pathetic lor! Two small areas, as in 2 belts. One with a sign that indicated another flight number. The other had no signage and a lot of Banglas were there. We couldnt even move near to the belt. IT was confusion. No trolleys too!!! Our people had to go and find trolleys.......
Finally, after what seemed like 10mins or longer, our flight number was flashed at the first belt butthere were a lot of people, like 3-4 layers queueing round. The boys tried to squeeze in and dished out the bags while the girls waited and loaded up the trolley. Before we could finish retrieving, the same belt area flashed out another flight number, from Macau, and more people swarmed in. It was jam-packed.....took a pic with my hp and see for yourself.....
Made our way out of arrival hall and joined Eld Boon at the check in area. It was rather brisk and uneventful. Took our dinner at the food court before heading home.
One more hiccup to end the travel woes.....Elton lost his passport, together with the sling bag!!!! A small group of us had started walking back to the departure hall when Shing caught up with me to inform. I told him to quickly walk ahead and inform Eld Boon while i went back to help him find. While walking back, i suddenly thot of perhaps his bag was in one of the first few trolleys we pushed. Tried to make a call to Shing when Ji Sheng caught up with me to say it was found at where i suspected. Whew... thank GOD. I thot Elton couldnt make it home.
We hurried to clear the immigration one more time and it was like 7.25pm or so, the people hurried us to board the plane. No one was queueing at the gate but instead an officer kept shouting out "Singapore, Singapore". I ushered the youths to the gate as they cleared the bags scanning area. Then came all our names over the PA system......hahaha.....all except mine... coz i think they didnt know how to pronounce Alen and Thum. LOL!!! Jamesy name "Tan Tat Yong" sounded as he cleared the bag scan area... so slow.....with his laptop and stuff.
We walked for about 200m to the air craft and i was the last passenger to board the entire plane....hurray!!! hahaha.....what an achievement!
We sat all the way to the back of the plane and i didnt care. I just wanted to return home to Singapore and indulge in our tip top comfy airport, nevermind if it were just merely 10-15mins......it was worth it all :)
Thank God for safety in travel and bringing us home. Will write next about our NTM and adventure. It will take a while so hang in there.
We had no problem with Airasia for our flight from KL to Chiangmai on 2 Dec but not the return trip. Our flight was supposed to depart at 11.05am (Thai time), which would have given us slightly more than 2 hours to catch the next flight (also Airasia carrier) from KL to SIN at 5pm (Singapore time).
While queueing to checkin, the TV screen flashed this much dreaded word in my personal travel dictionary.....DELAYED.....till when? 12.15pm!!! Oh man, that meant we now had about 1 hour and 15 mins to collect luggage and check in for next flight. The Airasia counter people said "No Problem" and they will inform the KL side to look out for us and expedite our checkin process. We were given Malaysia's immigration cards to fill up and i thot hmmm.....service has improved slightly.
Need to mention this ONE big problem when we checked in at Airasia counter. Here and also at KL side. Dont know what is wrong with the staff or the training or what??? Their website only allowed 9 names to be booked at one go tho there were 19 of us. i had to book 9 for one booking, another 9 names and then 1 on his own. During checkin, we told them there were 19 of us and please give us 19 x 15kg baggage allowance. What was their reply? "No, 9 x 15kg" and no spillover to next group of 9. When we told her we have 19 people, she said "You booked 9 people in one booking". I lost my cool at that moment. I blurted "Of course i book 9 coz your website only allow 9 at one go. What can we do?" Her same consistent reply "9 x 15kg". OH MAN,.....she was just so fixed in the mind and didnt know how to work round the situation or even think on her toes. Airasia staff all the same....Thai or KL side. At least in Singapore they allowed us to pull together all names even tho separate booking. Eld Boon was fed up too. He too lost his cool. We argued that they should not count this way and so she referred the matter to another man. After their conversation, she said the same thing again and we retorted "NO!" Clearly the conversation was going no where and so she did just one brilliant thing.... SHUT UP and check us in and no more 9 x 15kg. hahahah...... Thank God at the end of checkin, we saw her using calculator to add up all the bags weight and no exceed. Perhaps she understood then or she just didnt want to waste time explaining coz queue was building up. Nevertheless, it was one same conclusion for all of us....never fly airasia again. Hang on... the worst is yet to come......
We then proceeded for our snack or early lunch with most eating the lovely hotdog buns in the newly renovated airport. During our long wait for boarding at the transit area, Eld Boon spotted the NEW announcement.....a deadly silent one......12.45pm - new departure time!! What is wrong with Airasia??? No guts to announce over the system and got to do it so subtly, hoping no one will ever notice it???? They should be feeling so ashamed of their own carrier.....what Guarantee... i think they better change the slogan to "Delay Guaranteed!"
With only 45 mins or less to catch our flight, we needed help from Airasia in KL airport and so Eld Boon and myself approached AirAsia before we flew off from Chiang Mai. The boarding counter had no one on duty and we went to the information booth for help. The two ladies were really helpful though ignorant. They tried to find the Airasia people but failed, then they made some calls and said will bring us to the Checkin counter outside. We were stopped at the immigration section because they failed to get permission for us to get out of the transit area. The male officer was helpful, gave us the boarding pass to keep for identification upon return but he kept our passports for security purposes.
What did Airasia counter staff do to help us??? NOTHING! The man at the counter listened to us and all he could say was please go back to the boarding area coz his supervisor is there now and will help us. We thot he was buying time and just pushing us away....nevertheless we had to go back coz boarding time was almost up.
As we approached the departure gate, an Airasia staff appeared and true enough, she was the supervisor on duty. She promised to call Malaysian side and they will precheck in for us and will request for the plane to wait for us. All we had to do was to quickly grab our bags and rush to check in counter. Seemed like a good plan. She also kindly consented to us queueing first to grab the first few seats so we could move faster. Eld Boon was doubtful that we could ever make it but i was really hopeful....as in i thot this time Airasia would just help us coz there were 19 of us and surely they would wait. I was just sooooooo wrong....coz i never factor in one important detail.....Malaysia airport....ARGH>>>>>>
Just before we took off, i sms to Angela to inform parents we may not be able to make it and to inform them to stand by for change of flight. While trying to send out the smses, the aircrew tried to get me to off my hp. The plane has not started moving yet and i was already boiling hot for the unnecessary delay. Impolitely, i brushed her off with "Let me send this important sms first and i will off it after that". I didnt even bother to look at her....see what anger does to a soul???
Then they irritated me further with the guitar thingy. Norman was sitting at the window seat and had Tim's guitar next to him. The air steward took it from him and placed it in the overhead compartment about 7-8 rows down from where we were. How on earth could we retreive it and rush off the plane? I didnt make my request to them.... just told them the facts and asked to give us back the guitar or have it placed at the front. I didnt hide my agitation of this carrier but i wasnt rude per se..... just not my usual self :) hehehe.....
Our plane touched down at 4.35pm and by 4.45pm, we were approaching the immigration counter. Lo and behold... it was filled with Bangla... and loads of other people....all queueing at the Foreign Passport section. The Local section was clear with more than 3 lanes. Eld Boon went to that counter and explained. The lady was kind enough to let him clear so he could run to the checkin counter and inform staff to wait for all of us. But she was not able to let all of us clear thro this lane and needed us to ask her supervisor on duty. Where was he? Coming.... a Mr Ramli in suit. CtYFers were all queueing at the Foreign passport section while i made my pleas....to a flat solid wooden panel that had not even a grain of sympathy or apathy or compassion or what not for travellers in crisis.
The first thing he said when he opened his mouth was "Plane flew off already!". I told him Airasia thai side has informed Malaysian side and so they will wait for us and please help us by letting us clear fast and not queue.
"Show me your airtickets" was his next sentence......but i couldnt coz Eld Boon took them with him to precheck in for us. I explained to him and his reply was "Plane flew off already!" I literally felt like slapping this man or shaking to wake him up but i was controlling....never had this urge before. I asked him to let me see the Airasia staff and he said go and find him of which i blurted "You go and find him and bring him to me". How to??? Didnt he have the brains? I cant clear the immigration yet and i dont know the airport well. He has his walkie talkie or hp, i am sure he knew a faster way. He went off and was back in 1 min with the Airasia staff.... what was his name???? I totally forgot but another incompetent staff....BLAH!
The first thing he told me was my flight AK131 is flying off at 7pm and not 5pm as i had claimed. He was so positively sure that i made the mistake and told me to queue like everybody else coz i have more than enough time in the world to catch this flight. The Mr Ramli smiled at this suggestion. With all the memory bank working on tip top condition, i insisted he was wrong and asked him to check again. He did and came back sheepishly telling Mr Ramli in MALAY that he saw the flight number AK 132 as outbound flight. It was the incoming flight due at 7pm. He thot i didnt understand Malay???? Of all the times i couldnt speak or understand Malay, this was THE time i comprehended fully. As i looked at him when he was conversing with Ramli, he totally had no guts to turn and say sorry for the wrong details..... Hello??? He first told me i was wrong and now i was proven right, no courtesy to apologise or at least clarify???? Oh man, I couldnt even bother to tell him i understood all that he said quietly to his friend.
What next? Ramli did it again.... "The plane flew off already". Was that all he could say? As a security supervisor or head on duty, you could only offer that much? I also know how to say this line. Even a kiddo can do that too! POOH!!!
I asked him firmly but politely "Please help us to clear the immigration without queueing. Never mind if plane flew off. Please help us." I said that to the Airasia staff and also asked him if Thai side has informed him to wait for 19 of us only to hear him say "As far as i know, no one called us about the 19 of you"......argh...... Then i pleaded with him to ask Mr Ramli to let us clear first. His reply.....
"You got to ask him"
I said, "I did but can you help to put in a good word or something"
"I cannot because i am not from immigration department"....DUD.....i know that
"BUT you all are colleagues"
"No, we are different company".....Darn right you are... i know that too
"BUT you are working in the same airport and you know each other"..... I was just sooooo short of telling him "you are from the same race and so can talk better".
"I dont know him. He is not my friend"
I TOTALLY GAVE UP!!!!
I turned to Ramli and asked again. He finally uttered something different....."Where are your people?" I pointed to him the group of people queueing about 50-60m away (couldnt really see them from my angle as there were other passengers queueing). I told him 18. He opened his eyes big as if he just woke up "18?"...... something like "no way... too many people... 1 or 2 i can help...." kind of reaction. I wished i didnt have to deal with him nor begged for his help coz i really couldnt tolerate his nonsense further. Totally appalled by these two staff nonchalant attitude but i bit my lips and uttered, "Please help us".
"OK, you come and show me your people". We walked over to the youths and then i discovered they had already reached the front of the queue....after all this ding dong to and fro with Ramli and Airasia man. ARGGHGHH.......i knew what he would say next......
"Oh your people reach the beginning already. Now no need to wait too long." This was another instance i felt like strangling him..... throughout our conversation he had never taken any proactive steps nor counter suggested nor be seen willing to help.
I closed my eyes and prayed, "Lord, Thine will be done and may we be given the seats to catch the next flight out". Though i was hopeful for a miracle intervention from the beginning, i was prepared to wait for next flight but not without a fight or at least trying to catch it. Received a call from Eld Boon, they were not going to wait for us and they had put us on the next flight due for departure at 7.50pm....2 hours and 50 minutes wait.......oh man....... He told me to quickly collect our luggage and proceed to counter 10 to check in.
I gave up hope talking to Ramli and Airasia guy and cleared the immigration to the belt area. It was pathetic lor! Two small areas, as in 2 belts. One with a sign that indicated another flight number. The other had no signage and a lot of Banglas were there. We couldnt even move near to the belt. IT was confusion. No trolleys too!!! Our people had to go and find trolleys.......
Finally, after what seemed like 10mins or longer, our flight number was flashed at the first belt butthere were a lot of people, like 3-4 layers queueing round. The boys tried to squeeze in and dished out the bags while the girls waited and loaded up the trolley. Before we could finish retrieving, the same belt area flashed out another flight number, from Macau, and more people swarmed in. It was jam-packed.....took a pic with my hp and see for yourself.....
Made our way out of arrival hall and joined Eld Boon at the check in area. It was rather brisk and uneventful. Took our dinner at the food court before heading home.
One more hiccup to end the travel woes.....Elton lost his passport, together with the sling bag!!!! A small group of us had started walking back to the departure hall when Shing caught up with me to inform. I told him to quickly walk ahead and inform Eld Boon while i went back to help him find. While walking back, i suddenly thot of perhaps his bag was in one of the first few trolleys we pushed. Tried to make a call to Shing when Ji Sheng caught up with me to say it was found at where i suspected. Whew... thank GOD. I thot Elton couldnt make it home.
We hurried to clear the immigration one more time and it was like 7.25pm or so, the people hurried us to board the plane. No one was queueing at the gate but instead an officer kept shouting out "Singapore, Singapore". I ushered the youths to the gate as they cleared the bags scanning area. Then came all our names over the PA system......hahaha.....all except mine... coz i think they didnt know how to pronounce Alen and Thum. LOL!!! Jamesy name "Tan Tat Yong" sounded as he cleared the bag scan area... so slow.....with his laptop and stuff.
We walked for about 200m to the air craft and i was the last passenger to board the entire plane....hurray!!! hahaha.....what an achievement!
We sat all the way to the back of the plane and i didnt care. I just wanted to return home to Singapore and indulge in our tip top comfy airport, nevermind if it were just merely 10-15mins......it was worth it all :)
Thank God for safety in travel and bringing us home. Will write next about our NTM and adventure. It will take a while so hang in there.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Wait Thou Upon God - 3
I am back from NTM and before i write anything about the trip, need to mention this last bit on waiting and praying.
It is about the 3 boys....JJ, Aaron and Benjamin flight to Chiang Rai. Up till the day we took the coach, the situation seemed hopeless and BKK airport doomed. Flying up like the 19 of us was an impossibility for them coz there is no flight from KL to Chiang Mai over the weekend. And to fly in on Monday would mean they would have missed the Sports Day, Cantata and Sunday Worship, not to mention staying only for 3 nights or so and go back. Totally not worth all the hassle and trouble plus money wasted.
And so JJ sms me almost daily about the situation and lamented most likely he couldnt go. I told him one thing, i.e. pray and wait. We really didnt know how things would work out but we trust in the God who plans the best paths for us. Told him to prepare mentally not to come at all if all doors are closed.
On 3 Dec, heard from local news that the Yellow group were moving out of the airports. And on 4 Dec, the authorities aimed to open airport on 5 Dec for one day because it is the King's birthday. The 3 boys' flight is on 5 Dec.....God's providence.... if it has been any other day like 4 or 3 Dec, it is impossible or them to come. And so i sms JJ about the news and on 5 Dec, they flew in as per normal... before the siege and could join us for the cantata and other programme.
It was God's intervention for the situation to return to normal, at least for the two airports to function. Honestly, i really didnt think the 3 boys could come coz it seemed so impossible.... but then, with God all things are possible.....only believe, trust and obey. Amen!
It is about the 3 boys....JJ, Aaron and Benjamin flight to Chiang Rai. Up till the day we took the coach, the situation seemed hopeless and BKK airport doomed. Flying up like the 19 of us was an impossibility for them coz there is no flight from KL to Chiang Mai over the weekend. And to fly in on Monday would mean they would have missed the Sports Day, Cantata and Sunday Worship, not to mention staying only for 3 nights or so and go back. Totally not worth all the hassle and trouble plus money wasted.
And so JJ sms me almost daily about the situation and lamented most likely he couldnt go. I told him one thing, i.e. pray and wait. We really didnt know how things would work out but we trust in the God who plans the best paths for us. Told him to prepare mentally not to come at all if all doors are closed.
On 3 Dec, heard from local news that the Yellow group were moving out of the airports. And on 4 Dec, the authorities aimed to open airport on 5 Dec for one day because it is the King's birthday. The 3 boys' flight is on 5 Dec.....God's providence.... if it has been any other day like 4 or 3 Dec, it is impossible or them to come. And so i sms JJ about the news and on 5 Dec, they flew in as per normal... before the siege and could join us for the cantata and other programme.
It was God's intervention for the situation to return to normal, at least for the two airports to function. Honestly, i really didnt think the 3 boys could come coz it seemed so impossible.... but then, with God all things are possible.....only believe, trust and obey. Amen!
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