We woke up, finally, after the sun had risen, and went for breakfast at the hotel. It was a buffet, with some pretty good food. We then headed back to the room to rest a while before heading out to shop.
Our shopping trip wasn't very fruitful though. We walked around trying to find a specific CD, but couldn't. In the end, we bought 3 souveniers, for Huijun, Yethong and Jinjun's friend, but try as we might, we couldn't find anything else. This was probably due to the fact that most of the shops were, for some reason, selling nothing but large wooden carvings of a particular section of the male anatomy.
We headed for the hotel, packed, had our final lunch with my final orange juice, then set off for the airport in an unofficial cab. Along the way, Calvin and I were showing our passports to each other. Big mistake, I think.
At the airport, disaster struck. Calvin found that his passport was missing. We had an hour before the flight, and we frantically searched for it, but to no avail. The only thing to do was to find the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta, and at this point I was thanking God we had chosen to fly back via Jakarta, as there is no Singapore Consulate in Bali. After some searching for a police post to make a report, we gave up and headed for the plane. Some panic arose as Calvin forgot his bag and phone, but thankfully they were found.
The airliner, PK-LGK was a 737-900ER, the first time I'd flown this type. We passed by numerous interesting airlines on taxi, including some Pacific Blue airliners, Cathay, Thai, China Airlines, a BAe-146 and for some strange reason, a Trimotor. Took off straight west and headed for Jakarta.
The flight was really uneventful, save for me noticing that the safety card consisted of a series of prayers for the Islam, Hindu, Catholic, Protestant and Buddhist faiths. Somehow this didn't encourage me. Nevertheless landing in Jakarta was uneventful, and we taxied to our gate in Terminal 1, parking next to the Dreamliner special livery that Lion Air painted on their first 737-900ER. Something I found ironic was that the planes were parked directly in front of jetways, but they used airstairs instead. Still, I always like walking on tarmac.
A strong sense of Deja Vu as we found that Jinjun left the tent on board the aircraft. Upon realising this, he sprinted back across the tarmac and climbed the airstairs ... of the wrong aircraft. Calvin and I shouted after him, but he seemed oblivious, and only the flight crew of that aircraft managed to convince him. He then sprinted across the tarmac again to the correct aircraft and retrieved the tent.
We cleared baggage claim and headed for the shuttle bus to the international terminal, with Calvin calling the embassy along the way. The bus took us past the ex-SQ Lion Air 747-412 and an Emirates 777-300ER.
At the terminal, we made it to the Lufthansa check-in counter, and tried to organise Calvin's ticket. Thankfully they agreed to waive the change fees if Calvin could provide the documents to prove that he had indeed lost his passport. I withdrew some money for Calvin, as well as to pay the departure charges, and we checked in. At this point, we bid Calvin farewell as he headed for the embassy. I felt really bad leaving him behind, and would have rather we stayed together, but in this case circumstances such as our tickets having to be paid for to change and our NS obligations prevented it.
We started queueing at immigration for about 10 minutes before realising we had queued at the queue for Indonesians. We then joined the back of a foreigners queue, and I was cursing the fact that Soekarno-Hatta airport did not have a priority lane for business class passengers. Just as we reached the front of the queue, Jinjun realised that he could not find his departure card. We had to go all the way to the Turkish Airlines check-in counter to get one, then rejoin the queue at the back.
Nevertheless we did make it through with a bit of time to spare, and after a couple of quick photos we headed for the lounge. I left for a while to try (and fail) to photograph our 747, while Jinjun hit the buffet. When I got back, we enjoyed relaxing in the lounge, which is pretty luxurious, to the point that there's a guy who does nothing but open the restroom door for you.
All too soon it was time to board our flight. We headed for gate D5 and boarded the 747, turning left instead of right at the jetway and taking our seats in 2H and 2K, forward of the nose landing gear. We were presented with a welcome drink as the safety video was played, then the airliner taxied out and made ready for her takeoff.
Now, I know I'm about to wax lyrical, but the 747 and I share an emotional connection of sorts. The feeling of takeoff on this aircraft is vastly different from any other, even the A380, and on this, Jinjun will agree. For me, taking off on a 747 is always a special experience, and usually, it's heightened by the fact that normally the flights I take on a 747 are homeward bound, as it was in this case. We surged skyward as I felt a small lump in my throat, as is normally the case with the 747, simply because of its power and my connection to the plane. The sound of the nose landing gear being raised was quite magnificent, as the plane shot to the sky like a bat out of hell, heading home for Singapore at a 3000fpm climb.
The service on this flight consisted of what must be Lufthansa's idea of a "light snack". I'd hate to see what their main meals must be like then, because it turned out to be a full four-course meal, with a main of fish in butter sauce with ratatouille and pasta. Really delicious, but not as much as Singapore Airlines, I have to say.
Throughout the flight Jinjun was like a kid with a new toy, playing around with the business class seats, and I don't blame him, remembering my first time on SQ's business class. For my part, I relaxed a little, explored the seat and just thought about how happy I was to be flying again, under such great circumstances. At the same time though, I wished Calvin were around to share in the experience.
All too soon though, the flight turned over Singapore for landing. Surprisingly we landed on 20R, 20 minutes ahead of schedule. The feeling was quite fun, as the main gear touched down before the nose gear, we were suspended with the nose above the ground for about 10 seconds before we felt the nose gear slam into the ground. We took a long taxi around the north cross, then parked at E24. We deplaned after taking some good photos of the cabin, though sadly, none of the flight deck.
We met Jinjun's parents at the airport, and I managed to catch a ride home from them. But the story doesn't end here. Calvin faced a couple of snags in his passport process, and in the end came back on the same flight two days later. I met him at the airport, and it was my turn to give him a ride home.
Overall, besides the snag with Calvin's passport, this trip has been really enjoyable. Short of the Hong Kong trip, this has to be the best so far. I will never forget all the moments, the big moments, like summitting Batur, seeing dolphins swim during the sunrise and flying, or the small ones, like walking around Kuta, playing Pokemon with Jinjun in the rooms at the Vilarisi or sleeping in Surabaya Airport.
Much as I felt Calvin's pain at the end of the trip, I felt really happy seeing Jinjun so happy during the trip and on the LH flight, the first time I've seen him really enjoying himself in a while, and I'm really thankful, for him, that he got the chance to spend his birthday this way, and for myself, that I got the chance to share in the experience, and I hope Calvin felt the same way. I guess it's true about friends, that you share in their joys and their sorrows, and I really hope this won't be the last time we share the joy together. (*cough*)
All good things must come to an end I guess. Indonesia Raya, and on to the next trip. Advance Australia Fair!
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