Welcome to Oz, mate!

4 July 2011
Everytime I went to Changi Airport, it was because either my brother is leaving or arriving. Me and my parents will stand by the gate of the 'Departure' or 'Arrival' hall. During departure, we would follow them to the departure gate, and never crosses the border.

At the border.

That night it was my turn to cross that line for the first time, and see for myself exactly what lies beyond it. It was nothing, actually. Just a bunch more checks and scrutiny and custom officers. I wasn't very happy or excited. I was a bit sad actually, because she was not able to bid me farewell that night due to examinations. Thought I was happy that my parents were there. I should learn to count my blessings.

My first plane ride.

That night I boarded a plane for the first time in my life. I have heard stories about how unstable the plane will be during take-off and landings. Now it is my turn to experience it. Not so bad, I would say. Although the plane was not exactly quiet as I thought it would be. Probably because the seat I took was by the wing.

Flight information.

That night I was in the plane alone. The seats beside me were empty. It was approaching 12AM in the midnight, and I should have taken a sleep. The only thing that kept me entertained was the monitor in front of me that displays flight information. They also provided songs for your enjoyment. I was rather happy to find that they included my favourite artist Fish Leong's latest album, 《情歌没有告诉你》. I enjoyed that.

Good morning, Melbourne!

That night I flew abroad for the first time in my life. It was sad actually, that I had no one to share this excitement of being overseas for the first time. No friends, no family. It was even sadder that she was not beside me. We could have experienced this for the first time together. We could have talked the whole night. We could have shared our thoughts when we saw the above picture. There were so many things I wanted to talk about, but no one was there to listen.

But I am not here to travel. I am here to study. So I didn't really mind that no one was with me. It would be a very interesting experience for me in the coming 2 years. There are still some trivial stories I want to share, but that will be next post.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is your Captain speaking. Hope you had a good night rest. The time now is 6.30AM local time. We will be landing at the Melbourne Tullamarine airport in a short while. The weather forecast indicates there will be a slight rain in Melbourne, so the landing will be a bit bumpy but that's not to be worried. The temperature in Melbourne is 9'C. We hope you enjoyed this flight. And welcome to Melbourne."