Flying Solo at Kuala Lumpur

Home feels - that was my state of mind during my layover in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last August 9.

My layover in this city took place on my birth month - August. It was my first time to bid alone, which means I would have a random flying partner. I got the same line with the pretty Egyptian girl. Her name is Hend.

Considering it as a long-haul flight, crew are given short rest while in the sky. They are divided into two. Half of them rest while the other half look after the cabin. I was able to sleep for 2 hours in the so-called OFAR or overhead flight attendant room.

All my colleagues in this flight have been to this Malaysia's sultry capital already. It was only me who haven't seen it, who haven't laid eyes on the popular skyscraper, Petronas Twin Tower. So, each and everyone had various plan. As for Hend, she planned to pamper herself in a salon. So, I opted to stray away from the group and roam around by myself. I was hesitant about the idea at first. I was scared to go solo in a place I am unfamiliary with. At 6 pm, I was all set. I already asked hotel personnel where Petronas is and how to get there. The moment I stepped out of Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur hotel, I fidgeted and ran back to my room. Haha! I got nervous. I messaged my housemate Andrea and him to boost my enduring drive.

It was already 8 pm when I had the courage to go out, even though one personnel reminded me to take care of my sling bag for it's already dark outside.

I passed by a cafeteria. There was one local whom I asked for the direction to the metro train. He showed me the way. Then, I asked him if it was safe to walk alone through the bridge. You know what he did? He left his food and directed me to the metro train. He looked very generous and he really was generous! Inside the metro, I approached another local so as to know how to get a ticket and know which station should I go off. He was a nice Muslim guy. I got off at KLCC.

Finally! The word's tallest twin towers came into sight. It was surrounded by bunch of tourists. I was one of the tourists who struggled getting the perfect picture with the tower. I got my DSLR and selfie stick with me, but they were not enough. That's when I realized that I really need to purchase a GoPro. Haha!

After having dinner at Nando's, I went back to the hotel.

 

 

And by the way, I just want to commend Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur hotel for its beauty, cleanliness, and friendly staff. I also enjoyed their breakfast buffet, just like in Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila's Spiral. I was able to devour Malaysia's very own anchovies. Yay! What I enjoyed most was the dessert counter.

 

For me, Kuala Lumpur is like a big version of Makati in the Philippines. However, there are several tourist spots that I have yet to visit. And hopefully, I will roam around it with my loved ones. Plus, a better picture with the twins.

 

Crew on Reserve

Reserve line is one of the peeves of cabin crew. Sometimes, it can be advantageous, but most of the time not. Reserve means being on standby or on-call, waiting for a call from the check hostess or crew scheduler who will assign you a flight to any destination.

There are 2 shifts given to us. A Shift starts from 3 am until 3pm, whereas B Shift is from 3pm-3 am. You should be ready in between. Because sometimes, you only have 10 minutes to prepare. Usually, you are the substitute for crew who is sick or simply cannot operate the flight.

I, myself, never wanted to see this on my roster. But I did last July.

My supposed-to-be flying partner Jessica and I unfortunately had reserve lines. We were not the most junior thou! But marked by my lack of responsibility, we passed the bid sheet after the deadline (which we were not aware of).

Gloominess pervaded in us.

Our schedule was a headache. We even got low flying hours, which is equal to low salary. Cabin crew are paid an hourly wage after reaching certain minimum flying hours. We prayed to get 2 or more layovers. Jessica got Cochin layover. And guess what? Manila layover was given to me.

I spent my days off in the Philippines from July 13 until 19, 2015. On October 22, I was sleeping soundly. I had been snoring since 6 pm. Suddenly, I received a call from the check hostess at 3 am, telling me I need to prepare within 10 minutes because I will be having a 47-hour layover in Manila. Yay! I was shaking while packing my things. I got rattled and giddy at the same time.

Manila flights are mostly operated by our Filipina seniors who are flying for 5-15 years and are already Manila-based. Of course, I was nervous working with these highly experienced crew. Everything was smooth and organized. Wow!

Before the aircraft took off, I just inboxed my sister about my unexpected layover and also asked her to relay it to my parents.

 

Rain was pouring when we landed. The supervisor, purser, and I were accompanied by Sofitel personnel to their hotel. When I disembarked the van, I saw my parents, cousin, and Uncle June all smiles and all eyes on me. I could feel how proud they were as they eyed me on my blue uniform. It was their first time to personally see me in it.

I just took my room key card, had dinner at MOA and went with them to Pampanga. The could stay in my hotel room. However, due to this sudden occurrence, they were not able to bring clothes and my little sister was still in school. I slept at home and went on an errand the next day. Jet lag has no room for flight attendants like me. Lol!

In the afternoon, my whole family with my cousin and his daughter drove me back to Sofitel. They mellowed out by the pool. After 2 hours, we dined at MOA. Then, dropped me back to the hotel.

 

I had wonderful Zzzzz's. I woke up early the next day to have my breakfast at the Spiral. Woooow! I was stunned by their buffet. They serve different dishes. And I like the idea of this crew biking around and offering newspapers PLUS the magtataho inside. Yay! The only thing I hate about Sofitel is the prohibition of DSLRs. One lady guard forbade me to use my DSLR. The reason she said was the camera creates a high-resolution images that can be zoomed in closer to the people in the background. Sofitel must be supporting the Anti-Selfie bill. Peace!

 

Afterwards, I just prepped myself for a flight back to Riyadh.

Before, I was not attracted to roster with Manila flight. I was like "Been seeing Manila ever since. There's nothing special about it. I'd rather choose Europe flights". But I ate my words! It is one for the books.

That's how I ended month of July with a reserve line. I am very, very happy with the layover I got but please no more reserve lines for me. Please? I will be responsible. I will always submit bid sheet before the deadline. Please?

Lost in London

My second layover was in London, England. I was giddy with excitement at this destination, but what made me giddier is the crew I was with. Yay! I flew with my 5 batchmates; Ate Divine, Samsam, Rachelle, Maireen, and my flying partner Jessica.

The flight duration from Riyadh to London is 7 hours. The affiliated hotel is Park Point Plaza Hotel which is the perfect lodging for tourists. I could see the Big Ben from the window of my hotel room. Tourist attractions are very near!

My batchmates and I just had to dress up. We then started our London trip before 7 pm. Like in Frankfurt, Germany, the sun sets very late.

We did not have an itinerary. Everything was spontaneous. 

After seeing the Big Ben & Parliament Square and the London Eye, we thought of going to London Bridge. We did not have any idea where it is and how to get there. So, a kind stranger advised us to ride a bus or take the public subway. We went down the Westminster Station to get a ticket. Here the uproarious things began to take place.

All of us were standing in front of a queue, trying to figure out the ticketing thing called "oyster", until we asked one family about it. They helped us and showed us how to purchase tickets. The ticket can be used both for subway and bus. So, we discussed which is better for more minutes. Yes, it was a big deal for us. Haha! We chose bus eventually.

Ignorance has not ended there.

We chased every bus we laid eyes on. All those buses were not en route to London Bridge. We were running from station to station just to catch the right bus. I wonder how we look like on CCTVs. Haha! Well, the Big Ben struck 11 and we were not able to find the red bus that will take us to the bridge. We just decided to have dinner at a restaurant.

We woke up early the next day. We had breakfast and headed to the Buckingham Palace. A local informed us that when the Royal Standard flag is flow, Queen Elizabeth is inside the palace. Alas! The sovereign is in there at the time. We ended our layover by buying some souvenirs at a shop near the hotel.

A lot of stressful things happened after we checked out of the hotel. But I'd rather not to share it as the felicity in my heart outweighs.

I will surely come back to London. I'm hoping to see Stonehenge next time!

Extraneous Entity (Unfinished)

I lit a scented candle to cross the threshold of dreamland. My soul lay still beside a rusty window, covered with a trashy cardboard. A craggy hands touched my soul... slowly and warmly. I whispered, "These gentle hands would take care of mine". I held on to this thought for quite some time, but it did not last.

I was once told that souls can talk to, meet, and feel each other. But it takes a bona fide love to make it happen. Unbelievably, your soul and mine rhythmically move to a soft distinctive sound.

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P.S.

I was decluttering my external HDD when I found this. I began to compose it on July 2, 2014, says on the file details. This could've been a great entry, yes? It is no longer auspicious, so, I will leave it this way... unfinished

First Layover at Frankfurt, Germany

Who would have thought that a junior like me could spend her first layover at Germany on her first month of flying?

I can still remember how I was shouting for joy after seeing my roster for the month of June. I immediately called my parents on Facebook messenger to share my happiness.

Due to the bundle of exhilaration in us, Jessica (my flying partner) and I shopped thrice just to get the best outfit we can strut in Bundesrepublik Deutschland. The night before our flight, we googled the temperature of the country. We found out it would be 11-22 degrees, which we considered cold. Hence, we put the winter-ish clothes into our suitcases.

All set!

The flight was full of good vibes. We used an airbus. The cabin was handled by the generous purser, Jessica and I, with adorable Egyptian twins. They are Jeddah-based and are very, very sweet and thoughtful.

We arrived to Frankfurt on June 14, at around 4 pm. We were accompanied by a coster to Steigenberger Hotel. On our way to the hotel, my eyes kept on twinkling while I was eyeing varied beautiful sceneries we passed by. Moreover, we were surprised to see people wearing short clothing. It was summer! We were like, "For real?".

We reached the hotel at 4:40 pm. Each of us had one snugly warm and comfortable room. We expected sun will go down sooner, like at 6 pm, so we quickly prepped for our globetrotting. Jessica and I had a hard time remedying our winter clothes. Haha! My all-black outfit was supposed to be matched with a pink biker's jacket which I eventually did away with, whereas Jessica just replaced jeans with her short pyjama. Brilliant thinking, isn't? *smirks* Though we had no choice but to wear our boots.

Luckily, the main attractions are just next to our hotel. Our first stop was the Main River. The place is picturesque, especially seeing those cruise restaurants. We then crossed the iron footbridge. Astonishingly, many padlocks are locked to the bridge. Wow! They have their own love lock bridge in Frankfurt. I even saw 2 grannies kissing on one side. So cute! After that, we went to Romerberg or the Old City. Very charmingly quaint! We were just walking and walking until our tummies growled. We dined in a pizza & ice cream parlor. Happy to be served by a German who knows how to speak a bit of Arabic. Yay! Anyway, Germans are very friendly. I swear!

I kept looking at my watch, thinking it might be broken. The small hand was pointing to 9 whereas the big one was at 6. I was very surprised! It's already 9:30 in the evening, but not a tinge of darkness could be seen. Wow! The sun falls below the horizon too late.

The next day, we just went to the mall and DM for shopping. Then, we came back to Romerberg to buy some souvenirs. We left the hotel at 2 pm, ready to fly back to Saudi Arabia!

What an experience! It is one of the unforgettable moments of my life.