From my point of view, the day started out normal, excluding
the presence of my father and the murmuring of my frustrated mother. My feelings of normality, however were set
aside in favour of getting ready. I was in irritate mood, and that was further
dampened during the spat over breakfast, but I will not relieve as it had
nothing to do with our trip. Though if you are curious, I am willing to spare
the details along with other beautiful wordings. After all it was a
meaningless affair.
Our flight was to depart at 1.50 pm from Changi Airport (T3). My parents were lingering windows of the terminal, taking
pictures. Even though we had already taken many pictures as this was not the
first time we came to terminal 3. And around 1.15 pm, we were seated snugly in a restaurant eating an Indonesian
dish, Ayam penyet (fried chicken and rice). And no, it was not me. Soon enough
I got tired of waiting, so I peeked at my watch with a realization came the
panic, and we rushed to our gate.
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| Changi Airport (T3) 24 April, 2014 |
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| At Indonesian restaurant, Changi Airport (T3) 24 April, 2014 |
Fortunately at 1.45 pm, I found myself in the flight well
seated but a bit irritated. On the other hand, my parents were relaxed and
taking pictures. Now my irritation has a cause, but I will spare the info at
the end of this day.
The flight was to take an approximate of six hours to reach
Japan and I found various ways to keep myself from boredom. Singapore airlines Airbus
A330-300 had mini television sets on each seat updated with the latest of movies,
shows, music and documentaries as such it was convenient.
For lunch, I opted a Japanese style cuisine from the menu
card provided while my parents ate the pre- ordered Hindu meal. It puzzles me
as to how they eat that though it has always had a distasteful smell in my
opinion. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my meal.
It was 9.30 pm (Japan time) when we arrived at Kansai International
Airport in Osaka. By then I was drowsy and blinking repeatedly to remain
conscious. However, the problem was solved the moment I set foot in the airport.
The crisp air refreshed.
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| At Kansai Airport, Osaka, Japan on 24 April, 2014 |
Kansai airport was like many other modern ones, big, well
kept, though it could not match to the décor of Changi Airport, Singapore.
The first task completed by my parents upon our exiting the
airport was to activate the JR pass which allows free transportation in the
Japan Railways Lines which are often differentiated from the rest. During the short course of time I waited, I kept hoping to
establish or find a network connection which would not demand money or registration.
That hope was rendered apart and then came frustration. My frustration was due
to the fact that I failed to tell my close friend, that I had come to Japan;
this was in all, not my fault as she failed to pick up the calls which I had
made earlier.
Moving on with some
help, we were able to buy the tickets to station, Yodoyabashi (via Nankai
station) to our hotel, Hotel ANA Crowne Plaza, Osaka. While till then matters
had been smooth we nearly encountered a problem, in the form of a handsome
train labelled Nankai Limited Express, which we thought was for our transport.
That was disintegrated by the helpfully unhelpful hands of a station man nearby
who pointed to the opposite platform when inquired. The sight that greeted us
was a battered tin box until we later realized was our train to Nankai station.
Reaching Nankai, we found our way to the subway which would
take us to our last destination of the day. It was not hard to navigate with
fortunately English written labels scattered on different sign boards.
The last feet of travel did not last long and at reaching
Yodoyabashi station we again with help and a map made it out the correct exit. On the
streets, the night life was still buzzing, which was of course considering the
time. But that wasn't our problem so we did not muse for long.
We dawdled for minutes searching the building for our hotel
‘ANA Crowne Plaza’ and checked the nearby maps, but it did not yield results. As
a last resort, we asked a young man who instructed with some difficulty to walk
straight and turn left at the second signal. After walking a short distance, my
parents for some reason repeated the question to a young lady. As a result, she
came with us all the way till we caught sight of our hotel. She was truly
really kind. Her attempt at getting to know us was also gratifying to the heart
especially with her lack of knowledge in English.
By the time we reached our room, it was nearing 12 am and we
were all tired though the view from our room upraised our travel worn spirits.
It was a delight to look with a bridge alit with passing cars and nearby
building shining bright it was spectacular. I lost interest after a glimpse not
because it wasn’t pleasing but because I knew that I would be able to enjoy the
same the next night.
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| At Hotel ANA Crowne Plaza, Osaka, Japan on 24 Apr. 2014 |
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| A view of Osaka, Japan from the Hotel ANA Crowne Plaza room (24 Apr. 2014) |
