(Part 2) 19th October 2006 -- Goodbye, Singapore! Hello,13 hour flight!!

While hearing the announcements for the 'upper classes' to board first, I awaited the grand " We are now boarding all other rows." announcement... Wonderful! I thought to myself. Thank God I'm at least not in cargo class. =P

I noticed the flight had mostly 'ang mohs' ( Caucasians) and i learned later in my trip that these were mostly transits form the long haul of London- Singapore- Sydney- New Zealand travellers. It made sense most of them looked a little bug-eyed. I would too, if i were in the middle of a 20+ hour flight!

As i shimmied my way down the aisle, I marvelled at how long the plane was... I can't be on the last row right? I've never sat on the last row before... (see part 1, 19th Oct).

Well, there's a first time for everything in life. And hey, at least the toilet is just right behind me! So there I was in the middle section. Sandwiched between two ladies. You should have seen their crest fallen faces when I confirmed with a friendly nod that that was my seat. It was like a shared thought bubble above their heads. 'Great...no free seat next to me to stretch out.That's what you get for celebrating before the plane takes off...'

I thank God for blessing me with a big bladder, perfect for travelling. Hahaha...All my friends would have noticed I seldom hit the washroom. To this date, I can't fathom how some friends need to go to the toilet just before a movie and immediately after! It's as though there's a floodgate stored up in a matter of 2 hours!

So i was content to sit there throughout the 8 hour first leg to Sydney. The lady on my left was nice but had a tendency to share her stuff with me. Her headphones, magazine, pillow and blanket kept spilling over ( in that order and repeats), which she courteously apologised and with drew them.

The lady on my right didnt' even mutter a hello. And was absorbed two books, which I soon found out one was a phrase- translation book from ?? to English. ( Couldn't' find out what language it was the last row on the plane is a dark dark corner.) The second book was an English fiction. Well, my sympathies went out to her...she had enough homework for the trip and that concluded i wasn't to expect much conversation with this party on my right.

I love in-flight entertainment. Especially the movies. I make it a point to be an expert in the controls and menus within 20 minutes upon boarding. And ensure that I've decided on the sequence of programs/ movies I'll be watching in the following 10minutes. Critical decisions are made at this point: Should I watch the cartoon Cars which I missed, Little Miss Sunshine which looks interesting but unheard of, or re-watch an all time favourite Pirates of the Caribbean 2?...Wait a minute...there's Frasier! Argh...

Verdict: 1) Little Miss Sunshine - not fantastic but worth the watch simply for the different type of storyline. 2) Cars- Ho-hum... entertaining but predictable. At least I can say I've watched it. hahaha...=) squeezed in an episode of Frasier too.