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SALUT A TOUS,

Finally, I’m actually finding time to write something for my embarrassingly empty blog space (at 2am local time, thanks to insomnia) … for those who know me too well, you’d usually need food to stop me from yapping but I’ll be doing justice here in this space at last! Just got back from one of my best friend’s fairytale wedding and what a misadventurous journey that was! Thought everything would be sober from start to end, but found out there was more than just a 12000km, 12hr plane ride back than meets the eye!

Firstly the plane from Paris to Amsterdam delays…..causing me to start panicking on the second connecting plane just right after! And so it was, totally wrecked and unfortunate, I missed the connection and was told to fly of the next day! Fake smiles greeted me at the transfer desk only to inform me I’d to go to the end of the baggage claim to book into my hotel! And on I went, with my pc slung over my shoulder and… that’s it! Arrived at the baggage claim area and no info centre in sight to check in! I proceeded to exit the baggage claim right into Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport arrival….I was in Amsterdam…..AGAIN….after 5 days….this was dreadful (i was just there last monday for hols and here I am again…)!!! Firstly, I could’ve just smuggled out illegal jeebies like dope (wait a min, ain’t I bringing coal to Newcastle??!!!) and nobody would’ve even noticed or caught me! Find out there IS a desk in the baggage area and I was led to a back-way door to get into the baggage area again! Damn….

So I was there, waiting for my turn in line with another 100 ’stranded’ from the same plane. Checked me into the Marriot Garden Hotel…different from the rest, wonder why… and was showed the way to the bus stop to catch the shuttle! 10 mins, 20 mins, 30 mins, 40 mins - sorry, wrong guess…that ain’t the schedule, that was waiting time!!!! I gave up….parted with 20euros (bloodsuckers!!) and told a taxi to drive me to the darn hotel! Finally, compensation well paid for…they offered me the Garden Suite for me to "relax and have a sauna"! I skipped the sauna bit though…too little time…was upset enough! Order a HUGE Hawaiian pizza and set in front of the TV devouring it.  Slowly and slowly, conversations slowed down, pictures blurred out and …it was morning again! Sleep that short???? Damn…

So there I was AGAIN in the Airport at 2pm not knowing what I should do before my 9pm flight….decided once again that since I was in Amsterdam 5 days before, saw the important stuff, ate the important Hash Space Cake (no effect on me by the way) and smoked pretty heavy pot… my mind scanned every piece of info, finding out what I missed out on my brain’s "To Do List" and posed the question back to myself faster than that light buld flashing over my head! BLINK! I know what I’d wanna do!! I’ll go drink some good ol’ HEINEKEN!! 5 mins later, I gathered up the train ticket, a map and what’s left of my hopes and anticipation and headed, DESTINATION : HEINEKEN EXPERIENCE! Damn…..

Was that an experience or what. 10euros gets you entrance to the magnificent "prolonged happy hours" factory walking you down memory lane on how Heineken came about. It also gets you access to beer, beer and more beer….Bars are every 10 mins away inside the place and it’s like a social gathering of the young and old with beer bellies more in common…. I took my beer slow and appreciatingly. Good drafts! Heck, they had to be!!! I’m in the factory! Had more reasons than one to finally own a classic Heineken T-shirt (which will come in handy when you read on!!)! I was somewhat satisfied! Finally, at the end of it, I was rewarded also with a free gift (also included in your 10euro stub)…my very own Heineken Beer Glass! HURAH!!! Ain’t I the happiest person on earth to own one of these (the other voice : wake me up from this horror!!) I miss Malaysia….Damn…

It’s 7pm and I’m back at Schipol to check in…It’s 9pm and we’re all on board! "Finally, I’m going home!" I said out loud, catching the attention of this middle-aged ang moh man sitting next to me. He looked at me, honestly lost in what I was thinking…or maybe assumed I was a prisoner being let off finally on parole and sending me, "the illegal immigrant" back to her country…. I explained my nightmare and his eyes reflected the "no shit sherlock, but pity pity" look." At least it won’t happen twice…things seldom happen twice!" I think I angered the gods! Damn…

1h, 2hs, 3hs……by this time, the flight attendants were serving all the drinks they had stocked for the entire journey to us, keeping us quiet and preventing a riot! We’d been stuck in the plane for 3 hours, not being told by the attendants that….there was a problem with the fuel tank!! And no one was evacuated??? What are these people trying to do??? Sacrifice us??!!! Alas, me and my middle-aged acquaintence realised we would be stuck ANOTHER NIGHT…Damn…

So there it was YET AGAIN, followed the same procedure…fake smiles, baggage claims, checking in, but this time, along with 400 passengers….pity… at least we were all in the same hotel, though a cheaper one! Grabbed myself Burer King with my new-found friend (Norwegian, married, 1 kid, works for DiGi, KL) and took our time in having our dinner, while the rest went through the 10mins, 20mins, 30mins meditative ritual of WAITING…. Burger King after a long abstainance….Great!!!! Then, the flash of that same thought came back to me….2nd night in Amsterdam!!! Get me back to Malaysia!!! Damn…

8am…hotal Ibis…body drained of all excess helium i has stocked for my Msian trip and decked in my new Heineken T-shirt (told ya it’d come in handy!)…yet my heart was relaxed…"What a journey this has been….2 hours away from Paris…and all this…" an 11am flight, on schedule (though the wrong terminal!!! That required another 1km walk to round and round the airport) and same seats as before. Great at least I have someone to talk to during the trip! The last thing I remembered was not being able to sleep (of the paranoia of the plane crashing into some Middle-Eastern country at night due to another malfunction in the plane…) and when I touched down, I sighed a HUGE sigh of relief. The sweltering, humid 35degs, the dusty, polluted air, the sweat, uncles calling "taxi, taxi"- ahhh….all the essences and ingredients for the perfect normal Msian day, everyday.

Neverthless, even with all that that had happened, I HOPED to be back (though it ate 2 days off my Msian time!!), alive and all prepared to attend the fairytale wedding of my friend (and was it a fairytale or what!!!), and that HOPE was something none of these incidences could’ve ever shaken….

Dedicated to Cherrie, whose wedding, no matter what happened, even under the most bizarre unforeseen circumstances, I promised to attend. And girl, anything for ya! It was my pleasure and honour to be a part of your wedding memories. Friends for always and Love Ya babe!

Till the next exciting episode…

Signing off for now (zzzzzzzz…..),

Elena

PS : Damn I can’t use all those fancy symbols found on the french pc pad!

P.P.S : I still have my ‘STRANDED’ hotel ticket with me as proof of my 2-night nightmare in Amsterdam…

P.P.P.S: Look out for the next blog on "My Life in Paris, Baguette Style…" soon!

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 15th, 2005 at 6:13 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.