today marks the one year anniversary of the day I step foot into sandusky.
I still remember the day, May 9th 2009, when my parents and best friend mandy Q sent me off at KLIA. I also remembered calling Raymond to get my topup pin bcoz my phone has no credit, and I really need it when roaming in case of emergency. there I was, panicked .. and it was Rayman to rescue. and then I was sitting by the departure hall. and I saw the 100ml carry on liquids and felt another sense of panic. and Jason Tong called from China to say goodbye. well under his persuasion I managed to sneak in those liquids and felt proud of being able to smuggle thru the customs.
some pics I took during the excitement in this
post.
you see it was my first time going so far. and alone. Im excited for it. maybe a bit scared. but I guess the excitement got the better side of me.
first time having on board food. which was good. I ate all of it. met a really nice lady who was sitting next to me. I felt bad I kept interupting her sleep bcoz I had to use the restroom. I was too excited and also afraid of dehydration so I kept asking for free juices. tee hee. and when we arrived. she gave me 1000 yen (approx 10usd) for lunch, bcoz I had 8 hrs to kill and no yen with me.
so I arrived in japan. wanted to take a train to the city, but it was wayyy out of my budget. so I was wondering in n out of the airport. the confined smoking area. the cute food models outside each restaurant. carefully planning for how I was gonna spend my 1000 yen. Im just like a little kid in a candy store at japan. everything just seem so amazing. so different. they have super 6 7 8 9 exp sushi pendrive in stores. yummy looking but I doubt it taste as good as it looks bento sets. their vending machine look so colorful and pretty. looking at the place just made me happy ^^
and then I finally decide how I was gonna spend my 1000 yen. it was lost. no longer in my pocket :(
hrmm so no lunch. I was wandering around for like 4 hrs. walking in circles. tired. my bag too heavy. and I think I've explored every inch of the airport. time to go in. this time they found my liquids. no escape for that. thank god the people in the airport was nice. too sweet. the gave me a box to check it. i love them. how come we dont get airport service like that here. hrmpf.
thru the castam gates. you see many designers shops. hahaha Im back to being a kid in a candy store. just window shopping at each corner. wanted to go online but the lappie wouldnt work. and the PCs they have costs money :(
and then I got on board the plane to chicago. the guy who was sitting next to me, was from canada. i think he thinks Im very jakun for taking pics of my food on board. american airlines stewardess are so different from asian stewardess. they're fat. and not very friendly. I mean they are friendly, but they tell you to self service with a smile. hrmmm..
couldnt really sleep much on board
too excited
not from kl-tokyo, not from tokyo-chicago.
occasionally i look out of the window. and was too amazed by the snowflakes that forms between the window glass. and also the spread out clouds across canadian skies. awesome really.
arrived chicago May 10th 2009, had to wait for another transit to Cleveland airport .. which was pretty quick actually. this time the plane I got on was super small. hrmm they only have like what, 3 seats each row? and prob 25 rows? hahaha. I dont think got such small planes around here.
an hour later I arrived Cleveland. omg SCARY LIKE HELL OK! airport damn empty. almost nobody. feel like you're stranded in the middle of no where ..
sky getting dark. thank god I've done my homework, so I know where I should be heading to. took RTA (like KTM) to downtown. it was like, 8pm. but it was already dark. and quiet. just a few people here and there. and so I start on my journey to look for the amtrak station. it's 10 mins walk. but it took me 90 mins to get there. when I arrived it was already 10pm. my bags were so freaking heavy i have to drag them all over. and since nobody knew the existance of the place, nobody could direct me there. seriously? it's just like there, around the corner, and nobody knew about it. not even the policeman. it didnt even show up on his gps. so really wtf? but thank god for city maps at each corner of the street. I managed to find my way there.
it just started to drizzle as I was 2 mins from the station, so god arent I lucky. it was so chilly. and the wind. I love it. but I guess I miss the warmth too. I remember going out for some fresh air, and almost freezing to death. I have 7 hrs to kill. then came a guy, he told me his stories. he went non stop. I was just listening to his adventures. god knows if they're real. something about him biking from dunno where to dunno where in such cold weather but it was fun n adventurous. and lotsa shit I cant remember.
finally embarked onto train to sandusky. and it was oh-so-comfy. bcoz I was super sleepy. need rest. didnt sleep much on plane. and the chairs at train station werent exactly comfy. plus I was afraid I might miss my train. so yeah.
next chapter. arrival at sandusky