Hi folks, this'll probably the last post for a short while on this blog! =P Normal life resumes! Don't really have a lot to say actually? I took three planes from Barcelona to get to Singapore. I set my alarm for seven forty-five in the morning and there was just enough time for me to get ready, do some last minute packing and be down at eight forty-five to grab a cab to the airport.
It was pretty easy to get a cab actually? We exited, went out onto the street, and within five minutes, a cab materialised! Trouble was, though this cabbie was nice and friendly and helpful, his knowledge of English was next to nothing! So I had to pronounce airport as "aye-roh-poo-ehr-teh" to get him to understand where we we going. And further to that, we didn't know what terminal to go to. So we went to Terminal One first, for me to run in to check whether our flight was there. Thank God it was! Much unlike Singapore, their two terminals are very far away from each other, so it's not a matter of just taking a skytrain to and fro.
Once we checked in, we spent a load of time trying to claim our tax refunds. I really do think they try to make it as complicated as possible so that people will be dissuaded to claim them in the process lol! In any case, we went to all that effort and got back about six euros at Barcelona - we had to claim the rest at Madrid (some Global Blue thing). Pah!
We went to the Iberian Airlines Business Class lounge to chill before that. I was wondering why we got Business Class seats but apparently for internal flights, they're cheap. When we finally boarded, I found out why: they were just normal seats separated from the Economy Class section by a curtain! -.-" So I guess you're just paying a little extra for the use of the lounge and priority boarding, as well as an extra seat in between all the passengers in that section.
Once we got to Madrid Terminal Four, we quickly exited and went to check in at the Emirates counter for the next two flights. After a short wait, we got our boarding passes and headed for the departure hall, where we rushed around trying to locate the Global Blue tax refund kiosk. We found it after asking our way around and got back about a hundred and sixty euros. The Hos got a lot more back than us! =P I think it's rather that they bought more expensive stuff rather than more stuff haha!
Once on the flight to Dubai, I discovered that my flight entertainment had hung and the same goes for the Japanese lady sitting next to me. So I tried the call button, and it lit up, but all the flight attendants seemed to ignore it! Finally, when the meal came about, I asked the stewardess to rectify the situation. That she did - of the lady next to me. TUH! But I wasn't much perturbed in any case because I'd already intended to use my iPad for entertainment anyway! So about three to four hours of just listening to music drained the device of about three percent of battery life. Not half bad eh? Oh the meal was curry lamb with rice. Ironically, it was the best meal I had on the entire trip I think! It was actually spicy and the lamb was so tender! I could've had a double helping of it man! I think I've somehow mastered the art of the iron bladder in Spain too - didn't visit the washroom for the entire flight, an achievement necessitated by sitting in a middle seat next to strangers, probably!
There wasn't much time at Dubai International Airport to dilly-dally very much! It was time to board after a very short time of walking about. This was an awesome flight. It was really comfortable, and especially so because I had an aisle seat. I kept falling asleep for the first hour or so. I guess Blake Shelton's album must have some soporific qualities hahaha! But after a chicken sandwich snack that the airline provided, I turned my attention to the store of movies they had on the inflight entertainment system. I watched Sanctum (some cave-diving/ adventure type movie) first, then the ending half an hour or so of Rango (animated Animals running about in a desert and sheriff town). After which I watched Senna, a documentary about the legendary Brazilian Formula One racing driver, Ayrton Senna. He had a brilliant career moving up from karting to Formula One and was then fatally injured in a race accident in ninety ninety-four. He was a great man, a spiritual man, or so the documentary portrays, and from what I saw, a driver of great spirit and feeling. Though I still like Michael Schumacher's racing style best (and I thought I'd never like anything German with respect to cars - an exception then!). It was brutally direct, precise, and highly aggressive. So after that, I listened to a bit more music from my iPad, then it was about time to land.
It really was home sweet home upon touchdown! Honestly speaking, I've got no love for Spain, but Barcelona was a great place and Toledo (both had cool weather!)! I was plodding around the rest of the places because I'm allergic to direct sunlight (self-proclaimed lol!) and got tired real quickly. I think the shopping and the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia made the trip worthwhile. And obviously, the drop of birdshit hahaha! And also, the opportunity to learn a teensy bit of Spanish, but for now, it's time to chillax. Probably won't post for a while, so adios! ^^
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Location:Chuan Walk,Singapore
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