Saturday, June 13, 2009

Новосибирск 0

hey guys, sorry for the long long wait for my blog update about my russian life.
i've finally gotten hold of wifi on my laptop and so it my begin with my story.

week 1 day 0, 10 jun 2009.

Its local time (in Singapore) 2150, and Moscow time 1750.

I’ve just gotten off the flights TG 402 and 974 bound for Moscow, Domodedovo international airport, with slightly more than hour and a half transit in Bangkok international airport. Now as a typed my blog entry (on Microsoft Word, because their wifi is NOT free), I’m on a transit, waiting for my 2245Moscow time domestic flight to Novosibirsk.

Hey before I go on, I forgot to wish myself Happy 20th Birthday!!! I’m 20! Bye bye my last of my teenage hours! Oh well, there’s nothing much to talk about birthday celebration because there isn’t any! Thanks to the long long hours in the air. But never mind that, I get a slightly ‘longer’ birthday than usual. In Singapore, my birthday would be ending in less than 2 hours time, but here, its only evening. Haha to my advantage! (lets ignore the fact that I’m flying back in the opposite direction to Novosibirsk = eats up some of my birthday time) Anyway, a little gain here, a little loss there, that’s the way life goes and that’s only fair. I think the most wonderful present for my 20 is finally being able to fly to Novosibirsk!!!!~~~~

Moving away from my birthday un-fantasy, let me get back to my journey to the ‘west’.

So letting time rewind itself for awhile, I’ll start from last night. Last night was an emotional night. One last sleep on my lovely blue bed, one last look at my loving bar-top desk, one bath in my tiny bathroom, one last tv-watching session together, one last time I squeeze a king-size bed with my parents… It was one of those nights like the night before the release of my ‘A’ level results, or being the chairperson for the 55th Sion Church anniversary. You know you ought to sleep well for the ordeals ahead the next day, but the moment you shut your eyes, you drift into a world of imagination – fantasies of how tomorrow will be, how the near future will look like. Excitement just fills the air and sleep is being kept at the door.

So finally after much battling with sleep and time, its finally 0530, time to get washed up and be fresh and ready to leave for Changi International Airport. Finally The hour arrives!!! Time to say bye bye!!! Bye bye my parents (*hugzzzz) bye bye my friends, bye bye my church, bye bye my country... but I know my Lord will never leave me!

Cam whoring has never been my liking, much less my hobby, but this time, I will! Just to keep those memories and share with you!


*in these pictures are my parents, my uncle (Uncle Thomas), the NUS friend who is going with me, Chetan, and his father.

Singapore to Bangkok (TG 402)

*pink utensils for breakfast!!! Euuuuu HOT PINK! But anyway, nice crossins buns (;

*really colourful seats! Purple, pink and orange = makes you feel joyous (above)

Awwwwwww 2 hours of flight no LCD entertainment!?! I’m so going to get bored!

*touched down in Bangkok's airport. view from my cabin window.


*some enormous deco they had in their airport… just for entertainment

*look at the ceiling! Patterns! *just before we entered gate C7

There was an endless stretch of shopping! Every few other shops you see Gucci, Armani, Bvulagi, Kipling , Bobbi Brown, M.A.C, Channel, traditional thai products shops…. Well all I could say is that this is a so-wise-oh-so-stupid idea to make passengers purchase! In the end the stretch of shops got toooo long and irritated passengers looking for their gate number because their signs to indicate directions to the gate are so unattractive compared to those flashy Gucci and Armani! Anyway, I think we walked end to end just to get to gate C7 to board the flight to Moscow.

Now this is a preview of seeing a lot of Russians instead of just staring at Maria Sharapova on ESPN and wonders how all the other Russians look like… scary!!! (I’ll continue with that later) This flight we got the bulk seats because my NUS friend, at 186cm, simply needed them! Then there is this me, who was all so envious about other passengers having their personal LCD screen and us?!? – none. LOL well its jus stuck in the panel right in front of us, not those foldable ones where you keep it under the armrest. More pictures your way…


*this is Chetan's serving. some beef dish. (no idea what isit)

Dobraye dyeh! (Russian pronunciation of good afternoon) We have landed safely in Moscow Domodedovo airport! I’m seeing lots of Russians alphabets! I feel like I’m 2 again, learning how to recognize a-p-p-l-e is apple and getting all so excited when I know what this Russian word is.

This is call R-U-S-S-I-A, RUSSIA!!! *feel my excitement?!? Its my first time out of Asia alone!!! Ok back to reality, you see lots of Russians here, blonde hair, red hair, dark hair, and then… ta-da! Woots you see black hair, yellow skin colour people around! I bet they are Chinese nationals. Well back to Russians. Before I came here, I was afraid that I will become oil barrels after my internship ends, but after seeing the LC (local community) pictures of FB, I’ve decided that maybe that’s not the case. But this fear of mine only increases as I continue to blog here at this (nameless) café. I see oil barrels floating about!!! (*ok, not to be bias, their numbers are insignificant compared those I’ve counted during my trip to America few years back, but still, its more than that you can find in Singapore. Ok, maybe, yet to be justified, since I haven’t step out of the airport yet) Lesson for the day: please control my diet in Russia! STRICKLY NO OIL BARRELS!



*the 'mighty' drink that we bought so that we could sit at the cafe and wait for the next flight (transiting in moscow)

2245 local time, time to board the plane to Novosibirsk. All passengers were packed into a bus *aftooboost* and it drove us past rows and rows of neatly aligned aircraft and eventually stopped at Transaevo UL 107. Everyone climbed up the detectable stairways to get into the plane. It’s a small little Boeing 737 with little leg room! 4 hours plus of torture for the legs! For a long long time I wondered if we had bought budget domestic tickets, until when food was served and we need not pay for it, go figure. Anyway food was served and well no comments about it, look at the pictures and decide for yourself.

*at the gate wating to board the plane.


*the inside of the shutter bus that brought us to our plane.



*looking out of the cabin window of our domestic flight.



*inflight food.



i'll be back for more updates soon! in the mean time, have fun! keep me updated too!


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