Leaving Singapore - well, trying to at least...
Oh man, what a journey!
We went off to the airport and thought we'd be pretty smart by taking the MRT and get there early etc. So we jumped on, so far so good, Phil on his crutches and me with both our rucksacks. Not that easy...
Anyway, we got on the MRT and all was well if not a bit squashed but lots of people were going home from work, so nothing too new. Change trains, get squashed a bit more, but OK, coz Phil got a seat. An older lady stood up for him and everyone else just kept sitting - so mean.
So we make it to the airport and reckon it should be easy from now on. Not really, because we get redirected to the budget airline departure building because we are flying with Jetstar. So there we are with crutches and bags, and we are walking down endless corridors trying to get to the bus that is meant to transfer you to that part of the complex. There is no signage, no people to ask, nothing! In the end, I find the bus but don't think it's right, so am hunting around in this underground parking lot in the dark and with the rain pouring.
Finally Phil managed to grab this random pilot who told us that actually we had to get to Terminal 1 and not the budget one at all. He was nice, but we were exhausted by that time. So we trundle along and after another long walk, we make it to the departure hall. So we're like, let's get checked in and then we get some food and chill out.
Checking in, I'm ok, but then there's a problem. Looks like they can't find Phil's visa on the system, so they tell us that we can't get on the flight. ????? So we check again and I know he's got the visa, because I did the paperwork and I don't make this kind of mistake so obviously the system is wrong. Try convincing the airline guy of that though! ;-)
Anyway, I've got email confirmation of the visas, so he tells us to find an internet cafe and to print out the confirmation for him. At this point poor Phil is knackered and so we organise a wheel chair for him and a nice guy who pushes him. Off we trot, with all the luggage again, because they wouldn't let us leave it there. By some miracle, I find a computer and pull out the confirmation, but alas and alack, no printer!
So back again to fetch the airline man, back to the computer so he can visually confirm it and then back again to the check in counter. Uff! So then, he still can't find the information on the system and is now calling Australian Immigration to find out what's up. They are not answering the phone!!!!!!
By this point, he's like "You've only got another ten minutes, then the flight closes." Eventually though, we get it sorted and we are steaming through the place and through the checks. The checks were really easy, because the guy pushing the wheelchair just jumped to the front of every queue! Wow.
So we made it to the lounge with enough time to spare to buy a bag of crisps and then it's time to board. Jetstar is a budget airline division of Quantas. It's cheap. But we didn't choose to fly with them, Trailfinders buggered us about basically. So there's no entertainment on the flight and normally you have to buy your food and drink but on this one, you get it complimentary so at least something.
The seats are leather which is nice, but the legroom ... let's just say that you get less legroom than when you're travelling in a packed London bus. We got put in the back so Phil had a row to himself to put his leg up and that was good. And we are off!
We went off to the airport and thought we'd be pretty smart by taking the MRT and get there early etc. So we jumped on, so far so good, Phil on his crutches and me with both our rucksacks. Not that easy...
Anyway, we got on the MRT and all was well if not a bit squashed but lots of people were going home from work, so nothing too new. Change trains, get squashed a bit more, but OK, coz Phil got a seat. An older lady stood up for him and everyone else just kept sitting - so mean.
So we make it to the airport and reckon it should be easy from now on. Not really, because we get redirected to the budget airline departure building because we are flying with Jetstar. So there we are with crutches and bags, and we are walking down endless corridors trying to get to the bus that is meant to transfer you to that part of the complex. There is no signage, no people to ask, nothing! In the end, I find the bus but don't think it's right, so am hunting around in this underground parking lot in the dark and with the rain pouring.
Finally Phil managed to grab this random pilot who told us that actually we had to get to Terminal 1 and not the budget one at all. He was nice, but we were exhausted by that time. So we trundle along and after another long walk, we make it to the departure hall. So we're like, let's get checked in and then we get some food and chill out.
Checking in, I'm ok, but then there's a problem. Looks like they can't find Phil's visa on the system, so they tell us that we can't get on the flight. ????? So we check again and I know he's got the visa, because I did the paperwork and I don't make this kind of mistake so obviously the system is wrong. Try convincing the airline guy of that though! ;-)
Anyway, I've got email confirmation of the visas, so he tells us to find an internet cafe and to print out the confirmation for him. At this point poor Phil is knackered and so we organise a wheel chair for him and a nice guy who pushes him. Off we trot, with all the luggage again, because they wouldn't let us leave it there. By some miracle, I find a computer and pull out the confirmation, but alas and alack, no printer!
So back again to fetch the airline man, back to the computer so he can visually confirm it and then back again to the check in counter. Uff! So then, he still can't find the information on the system and is now calling Australian Immigration to find out what's up. They are not answering the phone!!!!!!
By this point, he's like "You've only got another ten minutes, then the flight closes." Eventually though, we get it sorted and we are steaming through the place and through the checks. The checks were really easy, because the guy pushing the wheelchair just jumped to the front of every queue! Wow.
So we made it to the lounge with enough time to spare to buy a bag of crisps and then it's time to board. Jetstar is a budget airline division of Quantas. It's cheap. But we didn't choose to fly with them, Trailfinders buggered us about basically. So there's no entertainment on the flight and normally you have to buy your food and drink but on this one, you get it complimentary so at least something.
The seats are leather which is nice, but the legroom ... let's just say that you get less legroom than when you're travelling in a packed London bus. We got put in the back so Phil had a row to himself to put his leg up and that was good. And we are off!
posted by Phil and Tanja @ 8:53 PM
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