Transit @ Dubai Airport

Posted by ver0n1c4 at 05:46 AM on December 29, 2009.

We have reached the end of our trip. 8 July 2009, early in the morning, we packed our luggage and got ready to fly back from Rome to Dubai, Dubai to Colombo, and Colombo to Singapore. The catch is the whole journey back to Singapore will take 2x24 hours!!! Here is the complete schedule

Wed 08 Jul 09 15:25     Fiumicino Airport (FCO)                    5hr 40min
Wed 08 Jul 09 23:05     Dubai International Airport (DXB)

Thu 09 Jul 09 17:00      Dubai International Airport (DXB)    4hr 30min
Thu 09 Jul 09 23:00      Bandaranayake Airport (CMB)

Fri 10 Jul 09 14:50        Bandaranayake Airport (CMB)         3hr 55min
Fri 10 Jul 09 21:15        Changi Airport (SIN)

So we started at Rome @15:25 (which was 21:25 in SGP) and arrived at Singapore @21:15 two days later. Back in our mind, we know about this very bad schedule but we were too excited to plan our trip so that we didn't bother about this at all. We only confirmed with Emirates that as long as we stayed inside the airport, we don't need any visa on arrival during the transit (which is good Dubai visa costs USD75!). Only when we are waiting to check in in Rome, we started thinking on possibilities to shorten our journey.

We decided to do that once we arrived at Dubai airport. When we arrived there, we quickly found a place to sleep. The airport looks very convenient with lots of long chair for people to rest while waiting for their flight. But only when we tried to do it ourselves, we found out that it is not convenient at all to sleep in the airport T_T Every once in a while, there will be announcement for passengers to get ready and there will be a noise of people walking by with their luggage. Time was running so slowly and everytime I thought 30 minutes have passed, it was only 5 minutes... Definitely stressful.... After trying to sleep for around 4-5 hours, we gave up and started to ask around to move our flight.

We went to the ticket counter and asked for alternatives. Turns out that they have 2 flights; one direct flight to Singapore at around 9AM and another one to Colombo at 7AM. We don't have much hope for the flight to Colombo because it was already 4-5AM. They need at least 2 hours to find and move our baggage. Plus the flight is overbooked. So he asked us to check the guy at ticketing counter about 9AM flight (after all direct flight to Singapore would be better for us =P) The ticketing guy confirmed that there is no extra charge to move our flight. But there will still be a risk that our baggage will not reach Singapore in time. We said we didn't mind about that. So he asked us to wait for assistance.

We then waited at the booking corner again but it was then another person who assisted us. And this second person was not as good as the first one as he said he needs to cancel our existing ticket if we want to change to another flight. And all the flights' status was overbooked! (7AM, 9AM, and our existing 5PM too!) So we were in dilemma whether we want to go for it or not. Then we told him that we will think about it again. But the ticketing guy gave us sign to wait for him and the first booking guy to help us. Again we have a little hope to reach Singapore faster ^.^

After waiting for around 1 hour, they helped us to get a waiting list boarding pass for 9AM flight. They told us that there are few other people on waiting list. So we headed to the designated gate and waited patiently while eating breakfast from McDonald. Finally first call to go to our flight. Being more kiasu this time, we stood up near the counter, looking desperate to go into the plane. We saw there are 7 other passengers on the same boat with us. A family of 4, a middle age man, and a couple of husband and wife whose previous flight was delayed and they failed to check in to this flight in time. So we waited together, looking fiercely at each other as we were fighting over a space to get into the flight. But then, we have no choice but to see the plane flew without any of us..... And just like that we became more friendly to each other =P

We went back to the ticketing counter, reported our failure to get into the flight, made sure that we still have our existing tickets confirmed, thanked them, and found another corner to rest until 5PM flight. Well at least we have killed 4 hours. 8 more hours to go.... We had Dedalo, Kakuro, and lots of mind games books but we didn't have any interest on them anymore. Around 12PM, I decided to take a long walk from terminal 3 to terminal 1. I managed to find Thai Express restaurant and happily ate my lunch there. Then we finally boarded into the flight to Colombo. It was a small plane and it was not the most pleasant journey we had. A woman near my seat keeps saying she felt like vomiting. A man behind me keeps talking about himself with a loud voice. And when we finally landed, a man was trying to find his missing plastic bag and he literally checked every plastic bag everyone else was carrying. Sighz.... Luckily I still have Shanghai Mahjong to accompany me on the plane.

Now, Colombo airport. It was not as good as Dubai airport but at least they have affordable day room (a room to stay for less than 12 hours). When we checked they told us to wait for another 2 hours for a vacant room. Luckily we met other passengers from Singapore. They were just back from Greece + Italy trip. So we exchanged (plus boasting) our stories with each other. After that we got our room and fell asleep as soon as we touched the bed. There was nothing special during the rest of our journey. We reached Singapore exactly 48 hours after we flew from Rome. Our luggages were in place. And we were so tired.

But most of all, it is a memorable journey we are always proud of.

Merry Christmas 2009 and Happy New Year 2010!

xoxo McJuicy

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Paris in 2 days

Posted by ver0n1c4 at 04:14 PM on December 23, 2009.

It is 23rd of December! Eve of Christmas eve! And I haven't finished my journal about this trip! (Panic mode) Phew let's sontinue with Paris trip! We woke up @ 4AM that day to catch the bus to Orio Al Serio (the budget airport). I recalled that I can't sleep well that day because I was too excited and I was afraid I couldn't wake up in time. Plus it was raining heavily and I feel that the sound of the rain was really loud that day. I woke Merry up twice to ask her if the window was closed tightly and we found out that the window was not closed tightly on both occurrences -___- Anyway, we went to airport, successfully checked in our luggages (so proud of it because it means we didn't shop a lot since the baggage limit was only 15 kg for each of us =P), and board on the plane. I remembered I asked Merry to teach me to sing Tong Hua on the plane ^.^

Touched down at Paris, Beauvais airport. Collected our luggages, went straight to the shuttle bus which brought us to Porte Maillot. We reached there after around 1 hour journey. Then we headed to the nearest Metro station and asked for Metro map. I regretted I didn't prepare the trip more carefully because there are really a lot of Metro lane in Paris!! Not to mention the ones going to suburb. So it took us a while to find out where we are right now and how to go to our hotel at Mouton-Duvernet Metro. Finally we arrived at the hotel, checked in, and decided to have lunch at the Chinese restaurant in front of the hotel. We were super duper happy to find rice and Yeo soya bean drink!!!! It was so touching after so many days digesting bread, bread, and bread T_T

After we were full and happy, we continued to Louvre. We were not sure on what to see over there. We only knew we shouldn't miss Monalisa. I can't really appreciate what I saw there but Merry said she can now appreciate it after a day in Uffizi Gallery, Florence. After few hours going round and round, we decided to go up and took few shots with the glass pyramids outside the Museum. Next was Avenue des Champs-Élysées. We walked along this famous shopping street all the way to Arch de Triomphe. When we reached there, we saw this modified vehicle which offered us a ride all the way to Eiffel tower for EUR15. We took it after he promised to help us taking pictures along the way. It was nice to have a private driver and photographer plus tour guide which told us the building around us.

Eiffel Tower was so full of people. We were wondering if we should climb the tower but then the one with the shortest queue was the one which has the less scenery. Not to mention that the one with the best view is the most expensive ones. Well, after few days in Europe, we were more and more conscious about our money So we just walked towards the Trocadéro, took some nice pictures of Eiffel Tower from there and called it a day. We are saving energy for Versailles trip on day two

Day two was dedicated solely for Versailles Palace. We managed to get the right train ticket which brought us to Versailles in around 30 minutes to 1 hour. Arriving there, we dropped by nearest McDonald to use the toilet and I spotted Macaron for the first time! I fell in love with this colourful cake and decided to buy 2 flavours, Chocolate and Coffee. Until now it is my favorite cake and I would buy so many of them, if only the price is not so expensive . After that we reached the mighty palace and went directly to the one small gate near the entrace to collect the ticket (we bought the ticket online beforehand so we don't have to queue we have to do that because we don't have enough time). So we began our journey there and once again were awed by how beautiful the palace is. We finished going around the palace in around 2 hours. By that time, the queue has become unbelievably long! And we feel so lucky to come early in the morning

We didn't buy tickets to the garden but we had ticket to go to Petit de Trianon (Marie Antoinette's mansion). So we take another way to go to the special mansion. We decided to had some lunch on the way there. The food was so delicious. It was probably the nicest meal I ever had T_T I am glad we took our lunch first because the way to the mansion was so long! We must go through bunches of never ending trees before we finally saw the mansion. Luckily Paris is not as hot as Italy, so we didn't really sweat. The mansion was so-so. The only reason it was popular was because Marie Antoinette chose to stay there when she was a queen rather than in the palace. That's what makes it controversial. Other than that, it just looks like a small cozy villa in the suburb.

Now we need to find our way out of this big palace. We can either walk through that bunches of trees or take an internal shuttle to the big garden for EUR2/person. Of course we took the shuttle given that we don't have enough time On our way back, we saw a girl (she said she was Japanese) dressed all white with ribbon and lace. We were really amazed and almost asked if she was cosplaying as Marie Antoinette. Too bad we didn't dare to take her picture, but she really dressed up from head to toe (including small white handbag and handkerchief!) Anyway, what I want to say is, if you go to Paris on budget trip like us and want to visit Versailles, just buy the ticket to the main palace and Petit de Trianon plus a ride to the grand canal. The total money spent is less than if you buy ticket for Main Palace + Grand Canal but you can't go into the mansion. The internal shuttle will drop you at the Grand Canal and you can enjoy the big awesome garden for free! If you are lucky and have enough time, you can also watch the fountain show.

Anyway, that's the end of the Versailles journey and we headed back to the Metro station. We didn't see anyone buying ticket so we asked an old lady who told us that we don't need to buy another ticket to go back to the city. So we trusted her. But when we want to go out from the train station, we can't make the gate open with the ones we bought in the morning. Panic mode again.... but then so many people just jumped over the gate and even more people waiting impatiently behind us.... So we just go through the gate but from bottom (because we can't jump). What a nice and exciting experience =P We checked that we still have enough time so we decided to dropped by Notre Dame and took few pictures.

Then we walked slowly to the hotel. Still can't believe time has run so fast. We didn't enjoy Paris enough and we were more than willing to go back there. We took our luggages, headed to Potre Maillot, went to Beauvais, and flew back to Rome. The holiday almost ends.... just like this year is reaching the end

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Mengenangmu

Posted by ver0n1c4 at 03:07 PM on December 7, 2009.

Takkan pernah habis air mataku
Bila ku ingat tentang dirimu
Mungkin hanya kau yang tahu
Mengapa sampai saat ini ku masih sendiri

Adakah disana kau rindu padaku
Meski kita kini ada di dunia berbeda
Bila masih mungkin waktu berputar
Kan kutunggu dirimu …

Reff:
Biarlah ku simpan sampai nanti aku kan ada di sana
Tenanglah diriku dalam kedamaian
Ingatlah cintaku kau tak terlihat lagi
Namun cintamu abadi …

Currently feeling: can't get this song out of my head. thus the entry...

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Milan day 2 and 3

Posted by ver0n1c4 at 10:44 AM on November 27, 2009.

Happy Aidil Adha! I am sitting in the office (only 4 of us works today) and I have a quiet slow day. So I am thinking to continue writing about my Italy trip. It is already 27 Nov and it would be a shame if I can't finish it by end of the year. Not to mention I haven't posted about my India trip.

So day 1 in Milan was so exciting especially with the Ballet Theatre. On the second day, which was Saturday, we were shopping. We realized that there were 50-70% discount of almost everything... branded stuff as well. I was a little crazy about Miu Miu at that time so we went round and round finding Miu Miu store. Milan has this fashion district where all the branded stuff were there side by side. But you need to queue especially in sale season like this... First stop was Galleria again. We bought a handbag for Anissa (and another one for myself =P). Then we splitted. I went to Luisa Spagnoli to get a scarf for my sister. And Merry got some stuff for her brother. Then we went to Massimo Dutti with its 70% discount.

We found lots of good stuff. I almost bought a pair of shoes but they don't have my size. So we settled at a shirt for me and wool cardigan for Merry. Then we went straight to the fashion district. We went from Juicy Couture to Miu Miu to Prada to Gucci to Michael Kors to Chanel and so on and so forth..... They have this big sale but well, the price is still beyond our budget =P But we were happy anyway.

We finished around 2-3PM and yet we still insisted not to go to Duomo on that day =P so we went home for a nap, followed by dinner in Kebab and some quick shopping at nearby Dept Store. Merry got herself a short which later on we realized that the security tag was still tagged to the short.

The following day we woke up early and headed to Santa Maria Delle Grazie, where the real painting of "The Last Supper" is. We had breakfast at the cafe nearby the church and stopped by at a book store while waiting for the guided tour. We found this interesting book about Dedalo. Then we had this idea to buy thins kind of book to kill our time during transit on the way back. I suggested to buy at the train station to get better price.

Then we enjoyed the guided tour of The Last Supper. It is a fresco in one of the wall inside the church. The condition of the painting was very very poor especially because of the method used by Leonardo Da Vinci. He tried to use new method instead of just usual method because by using usual method, he needs to finish the painting fast. While he needs lots of time to think how he will portray Jesus and each of His 12 disciples. I like the painting very much especially after the explanation of each facial expression. It is very lively and expressive. I managed to get one shot (despite the prohibition to do so). Of course I got lots of yelling when I do so. Anyway, here it is

From there, we finally went to Duomo. The Duomo is dedicated to Santa Maria. The Madonna is put on top of the church at its highest point. The outer wall of the Duomo was covered with bas-relief about the Bible stories and the Saints. Merry said it would be fun if Sunday School kids come here and try to guess who or what the relief is

  

Done with the Duomo, we went to nearest book store (we can't find Dedalo in train station ). We were interested to a book consists of a lot of similar quizes but the instruction was in Italian. We bought the book and the Dedalo, anyway, thinking we will be smart enough to find out how to play it. Then we had lunch in McDonald and call it a day.

It is funny that we so much free time to laze around while travelling. But we decided to do so since we had to wake up at 3AM on the next day to catch the flight to Paris. Actually we can still go to some museums or other churches. But well, we were too overwhelmed with this stuff. Overdose I think =P

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Milan day 1

Posted by ver0n1c4 at 05:14 PM on October 2, 2009.

Almost one month has passed since I chronicled my days in Venice. As you can feel from my entry, I love Venice very much. I am still sad if I remember the fact that the city might "disappear" one day. Anyway life goes on and we moved on to Milan on the following day. We arrived Milan around 3PM in the evening. Since we had planned to stay there for 3 nights, on the journey from Venice to Milan, we planned to upgrade our hotel to the one with air con, whenever possible. So we dropped off from the train at Milano Centrale and quickly fall in love with the city. They have a very nice train station. We get Harry Potter just by being there.

One thing good about travelling by ourselves is we got more confidence in reading map. We don't need to spend so much time to think and ask around. We can quickly find our way. So we headed to the hotel and were happy to found out that we only need EUR7 per night if we want to turn on the air con. Next is to find something to eat. We decided to eat at restaurant nearby who thought us as very weird to ask for meal around that time. Turns out that most restaurant opened during lunck time (around 11 to 2 or 3 at most), closed for siesta (taking a nap), and open again for dinner. The food was fine. The only thing I remember was Merry tried to ask for the bill in Italian, "Il conto, per favore." And the waiter answered in English that we need to go to the counter directly. I can't stop laughing at that time. Even now I am still smiling =P

Next we went to Duomo Subway station as it is said to be the central of the tourist spot. True that the Duomo, which is the biggest church in Milan is there but the Vittorio Emmanuelle Galleria is around there too. And we are a little bit "overdosed" by the churches in previous city. So we literally ignored the church for that reason and also because the shopping mall will close on Sunday but not the Duomo =P (we were there on Friday). We started looking around and found out that the other end of the Galleria leads to Teatro Alla Scala (Theatre Alla Scala). Merry said her book mentioned that it is a shame to miss the show in this theatre while we are in the city. Challenged by this sentence, we headed to the theatre to see the available show. The show for the day was Pink Floyd Ballet show. We then asked around to find out how to get the ticket (It was around 5.40 PM at that day and the show was scheduled at 8PM). We went to the basement store and heard the storekeeper told other tourist that we need to go to subway station to get the ticket for the following day's show. But the counter will only be opened until 6 PM. So we rushed there to try our luck. When we arrived there there was a queue so we joined the queue. Luckily one guy at information counter asked if we were going to watch that night's show and we said yes. He said that the ticket is not sold anymore but we can go back to the theatre and there will be balcony ticket for EUR10 distributed at 6PM and if we were lucky, we will get there in time! So we rushed back to the theatre again, looked around for a while and finally got two queue numbers to get the tickets! It was an exciting experience and it was all because it is a shame to miss the show

So we waited until 6PM when they called our number one by one. While waiting we were thinking if we will have enough time to go back to hotel, get changed, and go back to catch the show in time. We really needed to get change because we both were in shorts! We calculated that we will get the ticket around 6.30PM. From Duomo subway station to the station nearest to our hotel will take 10-15 minutes. From there to the hotel, we need to walk for around 20-25 minutes. So we only have around 10 minutes to get changed! I was thinking would it be better if I just go to some stores and buy decent dress. But this is Milan... no cheap stores! I will be more or less broke if I have to buy new dress. When thinking about that, we finally got our ticket. It was even cheaper... EUR7.5 each. Because we got the seat at balcony 2 ha ha ha. Ok time to rush back to hotel. We walked super fast and found out that it took much faster when we do something with determination =P So we arrived back at the theatre just in time. We even had some time to buy some drinks at McDonald.

   

Our seat turns to be at the top and left most corner =P we can even easily take a picture of the lamp at the center of the hall. Here are some pictures before the show. The ballet was ok for me. Ok to be honest, I can't find a way to appreciate it. I got excited only when Merry said something and I got most excited when she said it finished LOL. So I can't find a way to describe the show here. We then headed home around 9.30PM. The sky was still bright and I can even take some picture in front of the Duomo.

  

xoxo McJuicy

 

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