we left the house for Changi Airport a little before dinner, around 7pm. the plan is that we’re flying with Jetstar on a red-eye flight, going to Melbourne, transiting in Darwin for a few hours.
the check-in went very quickly, so we figured, we should get dinner in other terminal. we decided to pay a visit to Terminal 3, since i’ve never been there. the place is huuuuge! and looks very cool. probably one of the best looking airport i’ve ever seen. it’s vast, shiny with green spots here and there. aina enjoyed running around there.
we walked around the food/shopping area on the second floor and decided on the Lerk Thai restaurant, which was better than i expected. there are still a lot of empty lots on the shopping area, thus those green walls.
after dinner, we hurried back to the Terminal 1, went to the bathroom, and enter the gate. then after a long wait, we finally realized that they might’ve delayed the flight for about 45 minutes or so. and they didn’t bother to tell us… ah, the sort of things that you expect from budget airlines, i guess.
we finally took off around midnight. the plane was empty on the leg to Darwin. even though aina is listed as infant (below 2 years old) and doesn’t get assigned seat, we got the whole row (3 seats) all for ourselves. we lefted up the armrest, allowing aina to sleep on her back instead of on our lap.
once we’re airborne, the air inside the plane became very chilly and super dry… i had a hard time sleeping from the chill and my nose hurts from the lack of humidity. aina, however, slept almost from take off to touch down. well, good for her.
so when we landed in Darwin at 4:30am (3am Singapore time), aina was fully awake, happy and jumpy. i, on the other hand, was super sleepy and exhausted. ari, who can practically sleep in any kind of situation, wasn’t as fatigued as i was.
we went through the custom and immigration in Darwin, so we had to take out our luggage and check them in again after the custom.
Darwin airport was full of sleeping people. they are everywhere: on the gate, in front of ticket counter, near the oversize-baggage drop-off, in the cafe, everywhere! i guess that’s what happened if you arrive in the wee hour of the day.
we grabbed a toasted sandwich and sat outside of the airport. it felt really good breathing real air, instead of that overly-dry cabin air… *inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale*…
half an hour to the departure, we went upstairs to the gate. there, while aina ran around the gate area, i crashed and joined the sleeping bunch. i was sooo tired… thank god ari didn’t mind watching aina all by herself.
2 comments
hey, didn’t know you’ll be updating while on the trip. good that you do though! 😀
terminal 3 is awesome indeed! and you’re right on the dinner option, lerk thai is really good. even my parents love it. inside the terminal 3 is even better, we got to test it out on our trip to perth early this year.
and yes, taking red eye flight is tiring for the parents, but the kid seems to be having fun. naia had no issue at all for travelling on a red-eye.
oh .. fun!! enjoy the rest of your trip, thal! oh, and your hair rocks!! 😀
well, i was going to, until my laptop died during the trip, bringing along the journal entries and photos… damn cheap laptop! 🙁